The study of mathematics and the development of technology are closely interconnected. In fact, modern technology would be impossible without the contribution of mathematicians. Mathematical concepts are used to create medical treatments, design transportation systems, and develop efficient energy sources.
Many students don’t understand why math is so important to them. Making use of technology in the classroom can help them understand these connections. Interactive worksheets and data visualization tools can help them learn about math applications. They can also play games that allow them to solve problems and develop new skills. Teachers can engage students in math by providing these experiences, and also showing that math is relevant to daily life.
Research also shows that content-specific apps and websites that allow students to use virtual manipulatives can be just as effective as physical manipulatives to aid in student engagement and understanding. For instance, rekenreks or geoboards are digital tools that offer a simple way for students to visualise and represent numbers in a variety of formats. They can be used to help with problem solving as well as number sense and reasoning in algebra.
Another benefit of technology in the classroom is to cut down on time by letting students work with the data instead of manually making calculations. This allows them to concentrate more on the significance of the data and the relationships between the variables in the question. Students can input data for graphing and a computer software program can draw the graph.
