As a math teacher, I find more and more that the demand for technology use in math is growing. I tend to struggle to find a balance between when technology is needed and when it needs to be left out. There are several articles out there that discuss the use of technology in math, find and read an article about math and technology and talk about the benefits you see from integrating technology into math and also discuss the negative aspects that you can see as a result. Also please post the link to the article because I will actually want to read what you find.
33 Comments
Mary Mcgee
4/8/2013 02:54:25 am
http://www.centralmethodist.edu:2089/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=ed9004d1-1c93-4b3a-8c28-97b4a22b5e6f%40sessionmgr115&hid=127
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Cassandra Nappier
4/9/2013 03:21:52 pm
If it had not been for the calculator, there is no way I would have passed most of my classes! Even though that is an old piece of technology, it is still technology. It is the foundation of the technology of math that we have today. I agree that with encouragement, younger children will be able to excel in math through the use of technology.
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Mary McGee
4/10/2013 04:25:37 am
I loved my calculator but I must admit that when I was faced with a scientific calculator I found my head spinning.
Dane Frazier
4/11/2013 11:02:05 am
There is a lot of technology out their that is accessible by everyone at all times so I believe that it is a great idea to have the most amount of technology in the classroom
Caleb Haynes
4/19/2013 02:05:19 am
Yes I agree a calculator is almost essential to help, but I believe some of the other technology is good don't get me wrong but definitely can go without having it.
Kayla Y.
4/12/2013 03:09:25 am
Math seems to be a struggle for many students. So I agree that use of technology can only help engage their learning, and assist them in the understanding of the subject more. I believe technology should be used more often.
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Heather Carlton
4/8/2013 03:50:04 am
Here is an article I found from Harvard about using an ipad in a math classroom: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/hub/blog/math-teaching/technology-math-education-ipad-game-changer
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Mary McGee
4/10/2013 04:27:22 am
I agree we only have so much time, so many minutes in a day, I wonder where we are going to find the time to teach all of the technological needs and still teach our core elements. Last year my son was in a emint classroom and the computer work helped him advance in math greatly.
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Dane Frazier
4/14/2013 12:20:59 pm
I agree that it hard to find time to teach all the things that need to be taught but technology needs to be taught more then anything.
Laurel Thornton
4/11/2013 08:07:50 am
I agree that if used improperly, calculators can hinder learning. I use one for simple things like balancing my checkbook even though I am perfectly capable of doing simple addition and subtraction (sadly, mostly subtraction in my checkbook... ) with out one. However, I remember being taught processes on my graphing calculator which we never would have learned with out one. As with any technology, I think students need to be taught when it is appropriate and when it is not.
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Kayla Y.
4/12/2013 03:11:27 am
iPad apps, just like calculators, can make learning math so much easier. They can help students understand concepts better, and how to reach answers successfully. I agree, that these could be very beneficial to students in this technological era.
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Armegis Spearman
5/4/2013 10:22:04 am
This article has great points and really sums it all up when it speaks on the fears of the calculator when it first surfaced. I think we have to use more resourceful ways to teach our children today as the ways of society moves us in this direction. More interactive learning is becoming a normal everyday occurrence when everything from the television to the refrigerator can interact with you. The fact is that, the everyday repairman has to return to school to learn new technology in order to keep peoples everyday appliance working.Why are we fighting it when we will have to embrace it tomorrow?
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Crissina Kemp
4/9/2013 12:08:12 pm
The article I read was Winning Equation: How Technology Can Help Save Math Education at the link below.
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Melissa Lovette
4/11/2013 12:13:44 pm
Oops! I didn't realize I had the same article as you did until after I posted mine. Sorry!!! I agree with the statement you made concerning the crutch factor. Students still need to learn how to solve problem and compute those problems. In the real world sometimes you may need to figure out a discount price. If you don't have that cell phone or calculator handy that's something you need to know how to do off the top of your head, or even how to count back change. These are simple things that sometimes people take for granted. Technology in all it's glory can be beneficial but I still believe students need to learn how to think for themselves.
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Cassandra Nappier
4/9/2013 03:19:26 pm
I read the article: http://blog.keycurriculum.com/2012/03/writing-in-math-computers-work-as-well-as-pencils-and-sometimes-better/
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Colie Trawick
4/11/2013 01:56:38 am
This is interesting, I was never good in math. I though it was a visual thing as well but I had a great teacher who made things visible for me and it still didnt help. Maybe I just didnt get it. I dont know if technology will really help but it is an interesting concept.
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Heather Carlton
4/11/2013 03:31:08 am
I have always struggled in math as well, and I think visual/interactive tools would have helped immensely!
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Colie Trawick
4/11/2013 01:54:59 am
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech146.shtml
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Wendy Walker
4/11/2013 02:30:22 am
I disagree that it is difficult to integrate technology in core subjects in regards to teacher ability and time. Most people use a lot of technology in their daily lives and it has to be a priority to teach your students. Once you understand it, it is not time comsuming to stay on top of the technology and find ways ti implement it.
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Heather Carlton
4/11/2013 03:33:16 am
I would say training a whole district of teachers on a variety of devices is pretty difficult, due to new software and programs. But it's definitely worth it!
Wendy Walker
4/11/2013 02:27:12 am
The article I found is http://teachers.redclay.k12.de.us/pamela.waters/math/fetc/index.htm
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Melissa Lovette
4/11/2013 12:04:04 pm
Yes, you are correct material needs to be presented in a variety of ways. Students do not all learn in the same manner nor in the same way. Therefore, by bringing in technology it freshens it up a bit. I teach from a pretty good math series, however use the iPads in my math workstations. The apps I have for my workstations are wonderful as well as educational. Right now they are working on multiplication and division. I can tell it's working because they are passing their drill test we take each week. Using the iPads is more exciting and fun than sitting two students in front of each other with a set of flashcards. I know drill and practice is best for memorization, however it's the same thing on an iPad just in game format.....which is a whole lot more enjoyable!
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Laurel Thornton
4/11/2013 07:55:50 am
http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/pros-and-cons-of-allowing-kids-to-use-calculators-in-math-class/
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4/11/2013 11:57:29 am
My article title Winning Equation: How Technology Can Help Solve Math Education contained both pros and cons of utilizing technology in the math program. The article stated that during most of the 20th century we (the United States) dominated but since then we have fallen. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel is the one who actually recommended that teachers add some sort of techonology into their lessons. This was to improve student performance in mathematical concepts, applications, as well as problem solving.
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Troy Holbrook
4/12/2013 05:46:00 am
It is true that the United States has slipped in our academic standing on the world stage. In the past twenty years we have gone from the number one place to number seven overall when considering industrialized nations. We definitely need all the advantages that can possibly be brought to bear in order to regain a foothold. If technology can be used successfully in other academic disciplines, then it surely can be used effectively in mathematics. Just think, the Chinese probably thought they were on the cutting edge of technology when the abacus was invented, then came the vacuum tube and electro-mechanical calculations. Today we enjoy the benefits of micro-miniature electronics that perform complicated and rapid calculations. No one really knows what tomorrow will bring in the form of mathematical technology.
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Zech Bowman
4/11/2013 02:28:01 pm
I would just like to pose this question to those of you who say that the technology available would have helped you learn math better. I use this technique with my students to get them to think about how something I have explained helps them. So here goes, can you explain how exactly these tools would have increased your learning? What about it would have made a topic such as finding the products of positive and negative numbers more real and exciting to you? Would you be able to multiply the numbers on command?
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Crissina Kemp
4/17/2013 01:03:05 pm
Great questions from a student perspective. I never struggled to learn math and quite enjoyed the problem solving of it. I also think math helps people to think about problems and the different ways to solve them. I think having technology tools in math class would have made learning the information more engaging and fun. It might also reduce some of the negative connotation away that is often associated with math. It would have been nice to have a technology tool to use in math that can show you repeated examples of how to work problems explaining the process again because sometimes it can be difficult for students to hear it one time during class and then go home and remember how to do the math. It would also be great if it provided ways to practice problems repeatedly until students have mastered the concept.
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Kayla Yount
4/11/2013 11:44:28 pm
Rather than finding an article, I actually found a video that discusses the benefits of technology integration into the math classroom. The link to the video is
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Crissina Kemp
4/17/2013 12:55:40 pm
I like that you found a video instead of an article for this blog. I may try that for some of our future blogs in class. The article I read mentioned using the SimCalc program, but didn't explain details about the program. Your post help me learn the different things the program can do, and it sounds like it would really be helpful for students. I like the way it incorporates real world applications like learning to read graphs and tables and relating the algebra to figure out how it will affect the graphs. The Cognitive Tutors program sounds like a good tool also, but I wonder if the students have to complete assessment to figure out the information they don't know or need the extra help with? Personally, as a college advisor who sees a lot of math anxiety in students, I think any tool that will help explain the math to students or enhance their learning in math is a great idea.
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Troy Holbrook
4/12/2013 05:18:05 am
http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/teaching_with_technology/math_teachers.shtml. This website advocates the use of computers in the math classroom because, ”They were, after all, devices for computing, which is what math teachers do.” The author of the site went on to discuss how computers can be effectively used in animation, simulations and equations.
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4/19/2013 02:03:35 am
I believe that technology can help in math classroom but only so much. Ya it will help the students be able to use some of the basic skills and enchance them using certain programs from the internet like webquest and drawing geometry on certain programs, but I feel like the basic skills are best learned in the traditional ways. I feel like the main negative with incorporating technology in math is taking up to much time trying to incorporatet the technology instead of just teaching the students the basic skills in a traditional manner.
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Armegis Spearman
5/4/2013 10:25:44 am
I feel the same way when it comes to the amount of interaction students have with technology in the classroom. I think they all should have a balanced amount of the old way of learning without the handy tools. This gives them something to fall back on in case they are not around in a real world situation and they need a few simple skills to survive. BALANCE!
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Armegis Spearman
5/4/2013 10:15:29 am
http://schoolcomputing.wikia.com/wiki/Technology_in_Mathematics
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Student BlogThis blog is for class conversations for ED 514 at Central Methodist University. These post are by the students of ED 514. We invite input form other teachers about how they use technology in their classrooms. Archives
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