Technology in teaching mathematics

I never thought of technology as an important part of a mathematics curriculum. Not until I completed this 24 hour course on Elementary Mathematics and read through Chapter 7 - Using Technological Tools to Teach Mathematics. The authors of the text suggests that teachers should "consider technology as a conscious component of each lesson and a regular strategy for enhancing student development" (P. 113). I decided to to try out the applet that was provided in the link to Pick's Theorem. I started making the different polygons that I drew on the Geo board provided in Ban Har's class. It became more interesting as I challenged myself to make variations of polygons of the same area. (This was so much quicker than drawing it on paper and having to calculate the area! =p)

Here are the 6 variations I came up with:

I also found an interesting video, on the role of technology in mathematics education by Jeremy Roschell, director of the  Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International and Ken Koedinger, professor of human-computer interaction and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.