Explain this
Teaching Mathematics Using ICT
How the publisher describes it:
“This volume deals with the use of ICT training in teaching and tackles the Teacher Training Agency's national standards for ICT, both for qualified teacher status and for subject leadership.”
Review by Peter Hall
In brief:
This is an excellent book both for the classroom practitioner wishing to develop their practice and the manager wishing to develop their department. Examples are easy to follow and the accompanying CD has many of the relevant software programs on demonstration licences as well as additional data files and so forth.
“This book does exactly what it says”
This second edition is an update from the first edition published in the year 2000. The authors are keen to incorporate many of the advances in ICT in the past few years. Indeed the very title of the book ICT rather than IT explains part of their reasoning – we are just as likely to want to use technology other than the straightforward computer.
The book begins with a carefully written chapter outlining the different technologies available. Even the most technology-shy reader would find this a helpful beginning. There is such a variety of computing equipment available that it seems necessary to know such a lot in order to survive. The chapter includes useful websites and ends with a useful set of questions to help the reader understand what use of technology they are trying to find.
Chapter two contains a huge number of ideas for the use of ICT within the mathematics curriculum. Whether showing how to create number lines in Logo, iteration on a graphical calculator, or linear functions on TI-interactive each idea is clearly illustrated with screen shots or calculator displays. The instructions are simple to follow and take little time to understand. Ideas are given for number and algebra, geometry and trigonometry and statistics and modelling.
Use of digital images is explored with a nice example of finding a formula to fit the curve of Sydney Harbour Bridge, as well as using a digital camera to produce one’s own data.
The chapter goes onto more advanced mathematics such as differentiation, integration and advanced curve plotting. Finally some cross-curricular ideas are suggested.
Throughout the first two chapters much effort is made to help the reader understand the national requirements for ICT usage in mathematics lessons, case studies of various classes are given which help illustrate the point very well. Indeed the whole of chapter four is dedicated to the question “Why integrate ICT into Mathematics teaching?”
This is an excellent book both for the classroom practitioner wishing to develop their practice and the manager wishing to develop their department. Examples are easy to follow and the accompanying CD has many of the relevant software programs on demonstration licences as well as additional data files and so forth.
To conclude with “We hope this book has given you the stimulus both to integrate ICT into your own teaching, and to face the challenges which the future will inevitably bring” – perhaps it is enough for me to say that this book does exactly what it says.
Peter Hall • AST Mathematics, Imberhorne School, East Grinstead
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.; 2nd Edition edition (15 Jan 2004)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0826470599
ISBN-13: 978-0826470591
Product Dimensions: 24 x 16.8 x 2.4 cm
