A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

260 ❘
Teaching in the disciplines
THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY
There is an increasing focus on the use of technology in higher education and a lively
debate on effective e-delivery and e-learning. Sadly we have to note that few of the
generic developments in this area are well aligned with the needs of learners in
mathematics and statistics. To a certain extent these problems also have an impact upon
those studying engineering and the sciences. For example, most of the software for
computer-based assessment is very restrictive when used in mathematics. Common
problems are:
• inefficient or poor display of mathematical expressions;
• restricted choice of question types;
• failure to recognise mathematically equivalent solutions;
• difficulty in allowing students to input complex mathematical responses.
As a result, technological developments in the discipline have tended to follow a distinct
but parallel path. The important extra ingredient which enhances the power and ease of
access of computer technology usually involves some form of computer algebra system
(CAS), by which is meant software systems that can perform symbolic as well as
numerical manipulations and include graphical display capabilities. Examples include
Maple, Mathematica, Macsyma and Derive. Some of these systems are available not only
on personal computers but also on handheld ‘super calculators’ such as the TI-92 plus and
the TI-89.
Much has been spoken and written about the use of a CAS in learning and teaching over
the past few decades (see, e.g., the International Congress for Mathematics Education
(ICME) Proceedings since 1984, and journals such as the International Journal of Computer
Algebra in Mathematics Education (IJCAME)). Yet there still seems to be a range of views
about the effectiveness of these systems in the learning and teaching of mathematics.
Certainly, the strong emphasis on the use of calculator technology, especially in schools,
has been blamed for ‘the mathematics problem in society’ and this ‘bad press’ has
contributed to the debate on whether the use of technology such as a CAS may be linked
to falling mathematical standards among graduates.
On the other hand, there have been several studies citing students gaining a better
conceptual understanding of mathematics with no significant loss in computational
skills. For example, Hurley et al. (1999) cite a National Science Foundation report which
states:
Approximately 50% of the institutions conducting studies on the impact of technology
reported increases in conceptual understanding, greater facility with
visualization and graphical understanding, and an ability to solve a wider variety of
problems, without any loss of computational skills. Another 40% reported that
students in classes with technology had done at least as well as those in traditional
classes.