Technology Integration

I recently presented at a workshop on Math and Technology Integration.  The beliefs of the teachers present ranged from “traditional beliefs” to “I’m mixed”, to “Constructivism,” to “I’m not sure what I really believe.”  As teachers, we should have a solid, firm belief on the reasons why we teach the way we do.  Not to mention that the teachers’ beliefs about math/technology can and does have an impact on both their teaching and their students’ beliefs.  A childs’ affective domain (belief, attitudes, and emotions) is (to some degree) in the hands of teachers.  

After attending a workshop myself on the Future of Math and listening to how important it is for our children to be prepared for middle school and high school, I asked myself…what about the students NOW?   How they act/believe in the future (outcome) is what their attitude/belief and emotions are at a younger age (usually).  As a parent, I want my child to understand the math when he sits behind a computer so he can explain and intrepret his data/graph. I started my presentation from this perspective. How do your students feel about math now?  Are they confident?  Do they see the importance of math?  Are they afraid of it?  Frustrated?  I asked my son to type why he thought math was important/what he needs math for and how he uses it.  (Why Math Is Important To Me.doc )  Once I went over his thoughts, I explained that he feels confident in what he is doing…not always right but not afraid.   Because of this, his effort, motivation, and ability will present itself in his achievement.  If students are expected to memorize and play software games that are drill and practice, they are seeing someone else’s perspective.  They have not created or constructed their own.  Therefore, they have not made math connections to their lives.  Once a student has acquired an understanding for certain standards/lessons/concepts, then technology can be used for solving problems.  At this point, students become more mathematically empowered and gain a confidence that students may never achieve in a traditional math classroom.  Technology also provides a means for students to create, adapt, and experiment with representation in order to develop and communicate their knowledge.  Students need to communicate their mathematically understading constantly.

As much as I love technology…math is not always about calculators and computers.