Student-centred use of technology

A lot of the use of technology in mathematics can be very teacher-centred.  Tools such as Interactive Whiteboards can the unintended consequence of reducing student-centred use. Student use of technology can be much more powerful in terms of increasing students’ understanding.

Using technology for problem solving
A few years ago I wanted to construct a dynamic file that would display a cubic based on knowing the position of two turning points.  The task was a lot less trivial than I had initially thought but in solving it I think I learnt more about cubic functions in that hour than I had learnt in all the years previous to that!  My thoughts on completing it were that if this was such a powerful tool for me to learn mathematics through investigation and discovery then I should be giving my students the opportunity to experience this.  This is unlikely to happen through watching me operate software at the front of the class.

As an aside, this is a really nice task.  Using some geometry/graphing software, such as Geogebra or TI-Nspire, add a pair of points to the screen then construct the dynamic cubic that will have these two points as the turning points.

Encouraging student-centred use of technology
One of the issues is giving students access to the technology.  One of the solutions to this is set problems for students to complete outside the classroom.  The use of free tools, such as Geogebra, makes this realistic.

An alternative is to use handheld devices, such as TI-Nspire.  These don’t require access to a computer lab and students are often receptive to their use as they can use many of these in their exams.

Tasks
As well as giving access to the technology it is important to have effective tasks that encourage learning.  Some examples of tasks (for A level Maths) are available at http://www.mei.org.uk/?section=resources&page=ict

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maths GIFs: parabolas

Image
One of the fantastic features of dynamic graphing software is that you can animate how a graph changes as some aspect of it is varied. I'm particularly keen on making short GIFs of animated graphs that demonstrate interesting properties.  One advantage of animated GIFs is that they are really easy to distribute via Twitter. There are loads of them if you have a look at the hashtag #mathgif .  Parabolas I've been posting animated Maths GIFs to Twitter for quite a while now. Here are some of my favourites featuring parabolas: The midpoint of the points of intersection of y  =  x ² and y  = mx  + c lies on the line x = m /2. The tangent at point P to a parabola with vertex Q can be constructed by finding R, the point of intersection of the vertical through P and the horizontal through Q, finding the midpoint, M, of QR and then drawing the line through P and M. If the tangents at two points A and B on a parabola are perpendicular then the line AB goes through t...
Read more

The problem with Powerpoint for teaching maths

There are a lot places on the internet where the are negative opinions about Powerpoint.  I don't want to repeat these arguments here, instead I wish highlight particular problems relating to the use of Powerpoint in the teaching and learning of mathematics.  These are that: It reinforces a view of mathematics that it is a series of algorithms to be rote-learned; It can reduce the amount of student-centred use of ICT in learning mathematics; It is usually a static form of mathematics and there are many easy tools for creating equivalent dynamic forms of mathematics. Reinforcing a limited perception of mathematics Many Powerpoint presentations for mathematics feature a question with the stages of a solution presented.  This can have a negative impact of students' perceptions of mathematics.  There is a link between students' perception of mathematics and how successful they are.  Students who perceive maths a series of unrelated recipes for solving probl...
Read more

Desmos Classroom Activities: An ideal tool for remote/blended learning

Image
The past few months have been a very chaotic time for teachers and students. Many schools and colleges are now back to teaching full time but this year is likely to be very challenging and teachers want to know that they can provide opportunities for students to learn, even if the normal day-to-day routines are disrupted. For me, one tool stands out as particularly effective in ensuring that students have interesting and engaging activities that will develop their mathematical understanding: Desmos Classroom. Desmos Classroom Activities  Desmos Classroom activities are collections of screens that provide students with the opportunity to interact and respond to mathematical questions. They can feature text answers, mathematical answers, graphical features, multi-choice, card sorts and many other types of elements.  There is a large selection of pre-made activities and it's really easy to adapt these or create your own. These activities are great for supporting students in think...
Read more