The new technologies in teaching Maths

Fiorela Férnandez’s article published in Correo newspaper on October 22nd, 2008

The new technologies in teaching Maths.

The technology has always been presented in humans’ lives and every day is changing and creating new ways to reach what is now called New Technologies (internet, video conferencing, virtual classrooms, electronic whiteboards, educational softwars, etc). Its potential lies not only in the benefits that it offers to the teaching and learning traditional patterns, but in all the changes that have occurred in the educational university environment. This is ratified by the terms "new technologies will not only transform the forms of communication between teachers and students or between them and the sources of knowledge, but they maybe will change the mindset in the learning of mathematics"(Lacruz, 2006); “The new technologies imply that teacher’s authority is based less on what he or she knows and more and more on the way he or she transmits what he or she knows” (Draxler,2004)

The appearance of various application software: Electronic calculation sheets (Excel), statistical software (Statgraphics, SSPS) and specially the most recent software for symbolic data processing (Math assistant: Derive, MatLab), allows to the mathematician and Mathematics teachers, and who needs the tools of this science, to have a lab in their classroom producing an innovating change (to not perceived in all its dimensions yet) in the form of searching and teaching Maths.

It is this latter aspect which proposes serious problems to the Maths Didactics to push into the background the mechanical work in solving many problems that was absorbing time and energy, opening new ways to the development of Maths, the Didactics of Maths and the human thinking in general.

However, to the integration of content with the environment where it is developed is known as Virtual Environments of teaching, and they are result of a proper use of new technologies, which support the distance education techniques, and the teaching about collaborative work between students and teachers. (Garcia,2006)

Our country needs teachers committed to change and with skills to work with NICTs, authorities with future vision and management skills and modern tools domain,  trained multidisciplinary teams working in multiple scenarios, didactics and NICTs, access and availability of cutting-edge technology with minimum investments, as the education is the base of the development of a country.

In short, the use of the computer and the New Technologies is not trivial or impossible, but it requires teachers have theoretical and practical information to produce transforming changes in searching and teaching. Due to this urgent need, USAT will provide in this month of October the certification program: Design and Management of E-learning courses, whose purpose is that USAT professors learn to make virtual their subjects and courses.