Mathematics Education: Short Article Series

Technology Adoption in Mathematics Education: A Global Perspective
A Short Article Series

Edited by

Hee-chan LEW
Sung-Chi CHU
Kyung Yoon CHANG

From one perspective, if you follow the themes of past ATCM conferences, technology adoption in mathematics and mathematics education (MME) has made significant progress, with different levels of sophistication, in different parts of the world. Computer technology (‘Computer Technology in Mathematical Research and Teaching’) has long been recognized as the pervasive tool that will enhance research and teaching in MME. With the magnetic-like pulling power of the World Wide Web, Web-based applications with multimedia are taking the center stage as we move into the 21st century (‘Applications of Technology in Mathematics Research and Teaching for the 21st Century’ and ‘Multimedia for the Advancement of Mathematics’). What technology should enhance and enable is no longer a question to ask for mathematics education, instead of coordinated efforts on the integration of technology and mathematics ("Technology Connecting Mathematics") to benefit the learning, the teaching and the research all at the same time ("Technology in Mathematics: Engaging Learners, Empowering Teachers and Enabling Research"). This year (2005), the windfall of rapid technology development of the Web is taking the experience to all in learning mathematics – for the subject matter, for research in sciences and simply for daily chores in life ("Enriching Technology in Enhancing Mathematics for All").

The themes collectively project a common vision of technology adoption and development for MME in unison, yet the progress we make in our country individually paints a different picture. This series of articles provide a sense of both the struggles how some of us have faced, and the achievements that we have reached. Nonetheless, the concluding remarks of these authors are no doubt in unison – there are much to do with technology adoption in mathematics and mathematics education but the march will continue.

Gao, et. al. lead us through the efforts of the Chinese government and the Ministry of Education to enable the technology use in schools throughout the country in China, and how Geometry Expert, a locally developed software, enhances the need of similar mathematical software in mathematics education. In Malaysia, the authors (Abu Hasan & Abu Karim) have to also deal with fundamental issues such as teaching mathematics in a traditional way – nothing wrong with that, versus teaching with computer technology, or CAI.

In many instances, government is one of the major stakeholders in mathematics education, and how differently the approaches are being taken. Wong, Tang & Lee describe the 5-year plan and what did come out of that government initiative. Similarly, Ang and Lee described the second phase (mp2) of a master plan to bring technology in the classroom in Singapore. The need for ‘examinable’ materials in textbooks sometimes create a void in teaching materials where technology is part of the lecture. This is a concern in Singapore, and also in Korea as discussed by Chang. The author also provides a SWOT analysis of … Fitz-Gerald & Keady provides a down-under view of teaching mathematics for engineering students – with Maple down-under in most of the tools used.

From personal experiences, Isoda traces the technology adoption scenes from his perspective of a participant of ATCM, a local host of ATCM 98, and to the localization approach in bringing materials to high school. Hvorecky uses some examples to emphasize the formalized approach and the benefits of mathematics are not limited to only the classrooms. The UK experience offered by Butler is refreshing as the author looks at the tools available for students and teachers, coupled with the Internet resources - leading to the key element: training.

Fernandez & Fitz-Gerald provide ‘a detailed example’ to bring ‘e-assessment’ in focus, offering a perspective in the independent learning of a student-centred environment. It is suggested that the mathematics education community needs to cooperate with a genuine sharing spirit (Fitz-Gerald & Keady) to ride the waves of technology (Ang & Lee). Open questions on the appropriate approaches such as student-centred (Fernandez & Fitz-Gerald), or learner-centered (Wong, Tang & Lee) coupled with the ‘right’ teaching training, or should we develop a technological framework where the environment is conducive to both learners and teachers - teachers are posited in their familiar environment to create and manipulate while the learners can learn independently, explore, and assess with assist from teachers when necessary.

Other views remain to be heard – this series will expand as we move it online after ATCM 2005. Please visit http://www.atcminc.com/AOLA/ for further details.