Could the drive for using CAS come from students?
In a previous post I wrote about how Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) are really useful tools for teaching when writing questions: http://digitalmathematics.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/using-cas-for-writing-questions.html This focussed on teachers using them for preparation but not necessarily exploiting them in the classroom. Many teachers are reluctant to use them in lessons when they aren’t allowed in examinations. There is also the view that the purpose of mathematics lessons is for students to learn processes and therefore a tool that can perform those processes will hamper students’ progress. CAS is out there There are free tools available online that have CAS built into them such as websites like Wolfram Alpha , and software such as Geogebra and Microsoft Mathematics . If students find these they can use them when set basic algebraic tasks. A series of questions on factorising quadratic equations can be performed very quickly on Wolfram Alpha! Once ...