When it comes to using software to enhance the learning and teaching of mathematics it is all too easy to "talk the talk", but "walking the walk" is something else. There are many pertinent problems associated with accessibility, robust systems, curriculum time, classroom management, software familiarity and intuitive usage to name but a few.…

Many delegates at "conference" relish the opportunity, and the space, to "do some mathematics". Opportunity and space help to make the experience memorable, but how often is the quality of the starting point, or question acknowledged? Here is a set of starting points or problems that invite the reader to "do some mathematics". Deliberately, no…

Geometer Sketchpad is far from a new innovation, but its potential in the classroom is probably still understated. The application described here can be replicated in any classroom, and the impact on learning is likely to be significant. The experiences documented are "real", and show how a software package can enhance an area of the mathematics…

In the September 2010 issue of "Mathematics Teaching," Tom O'Brien offered practical advice about how to teach addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and contrasted his point of view with that of H.H. Wu. In this article, the author revisits Tom's examples, drawing on his methodology while, hopefully, simplifying it and giving it…

Nowadays, many technological means are available to support teaching, such as the interactive whiteboard, class sets of laptop or netbook computers, and high speed internet access. For mathematics education there are advanced software packages for geometry, algebra, calculus, and statistics, which in many cases are available on line at no cost.…

In this article, the author describes an activity she has used with two different groups: (1) high attaining year 8 children; and (2) Secondary Mathematics PGCE students. In the activity they created what was, ostensibly, the same geometrical objects using paper folding, pencil, ruler and compasses, and the "Geometer's Sketchpad"--an example of…

This article is about the students' investigation about the relationship between the diameter of the view tubes (x) of constant lengths and the viewable vertical distance (y) on the wall while keeping the perpendicular distance from the eyeball to the wall constant. The students collected data and used and represented it in tabular and graphical…