TEACHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Lesson 8
Using ICT in Mathematics Teaching

Using ICT in Mathematics Teaching

Introduction
Using ICT as a tool, students spend productive time developing strategies for solving complex
problems and develop a deep understanding of the various mathematics topics.

The ability of Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) to display texts, pictures, sounds,
graphics, animations, and videos has opened up vast opportunities for teachers to create interactive
and joyful learning experiences. However, many teachers lack the skills necessary to use ICT
effectively in their classrooms.

To help would be teachers, this lesson is presented to develop the skills required in integrating ICT
into their classrooms. With this knowledge, teachers can support students to develop the
21st Century skills required for their future workplaces.

Learning Targets
In this lesson, you are expected to:

1. explain the importance of IT to support mathematics teaching and learning in schools;

2. select, use, and create IT-based mathematics teaching and learning materials; and
3. implement mathematics teaching and learning using the developed IT-based learning
materials.

Think
How does ICT enhance Teaching and Learning?
There is a list of reasons which demonstrate how ICT can enhance teaching and learning in
the 21st century. However, some of the main ones include:
❖ Student motivation.
❖ Student attainment levels.
❖ Student engagement in subject learning.

The following list of ICT tools used in classroom teaching is categorized into various areas of
learning.
This will then go to illustrate the benefits of each for teachers and students.

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TECHNOLOGIES TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM

With the 'new literacies' comes new ICT skills as literacy is no longer limited to reading paper
books and texts. Today, new literacies bring the learning of new technologies which are essential
for students to master if they are to be literate for the 21st century. New technologies can be used
to do traditional things in a different, more motivating way. As a consequence, teachers are
challenged not only to integrate technology into traditional aspects of literacy instruction but also
to engage students in emerging technological literacies.

❖ Word processing has close links to literacy and language development. Being proficient in
word processing skills is something which students will continually use and build on
throughout their school career.
❖ Blogs are an excellent way for students to collaborate and communicate using an online
word processor.
❖ Wikis ('What I Know Is'): These can be a repository of knowledge for students and like
blogs, the possibilities for wikis are wide open. There can be research projects, writing
projects, and library projects just to name a few.
❖ Emails - great for developing online literacy skills. We all write differently online and for
different audiences too.
❖ Web creation and design: These are really online word processors and so the possibilities
in literacy lessons are endless but can be limited to the teacher's own capabilities in ICT.
❖ Web searching (Information literacy skills): The ability to find information is a vital skill to
have in the 21st century. What strategies are available to navigate electronic texts and the
internet? Where are the signposts and clues?
❖ Drawing and graphics programs: Visual literacy is equally important today than ever before.
Imagine demonstrating to your students how to use one of these drawing or graphics
programs so that they can use it creatively in order to add an image to a newspaper article, to
understand how pictures can sometimes tell a thousand words just by the colour, expressions
or medium used
❖ Digital video: Harness the power of video to help students develop their language skills.
o
❖ Databases – the handling of data is a very important part of a mathematics lesson. It involves
analyzing information collected by the students themselves during a hands-on, practical
activity. This can be done with real and relevant data making it an authentic learning
experience.
❖ Spreadsheets – these are designed to help you work with numbers and students can use to
do the same too. They can be set up as a number of machines that can repeat calculation
processes quickly and easily. They can be used to help solve problems where repeating
calculations can help find the answer.

❖ Interactive whiteboards with the aid of digital projectors – the combination of these two with
the addition of the computer itself will allow us to teach mathematics using whole-class teaching
methods. It can also be used to help you to demonstrate to students, various techniques that
they need to use during the mathematics lesson such as spreadsheet skills.

❖ Programmable toys – robotic toys can be used as a catalyst for problem-solving from early
childhood to primary education.

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❖ Desktop publishing software – this is a great idea for when investigating and designing
objects on the screen. They are very useful for studying 2-dimensional objects as they allow
you to create simple shapes quickly and easily. Some have built-in functions that allow students
to rotate and reflect these shapes once created.

ICT offers powerful support for teaching numeracy and mathematics. It can be where the teacher
uses ICT alone or when students use it to gain the benefits from its features such as allowing to
develop ICT capability.

Assess

Enumerate and describe ICT that can be used in mathematics teaching

Cite advantages of using ICT in mathematics teaching

Website
Links
https://oer.avu.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/766/EDU22_EN%20Integrating%20ICT%20in%20Mat
hematics%20Education%20%20.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
http://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org/en/issue-briefs/improve-learning/curriculum-and-
materials/information-and-communication-technology-ict

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