This article draws on extensive experience working with secondary and tertiary teachers and educators using an applet to display rational polynomials (up to degree 7 in numerator and denominator), as support for the challenge to deduce as much as possible about the graph from the graphs of the numerator and the denominator. Pedagogical and design…

To enter the world of work, students require skills which include flexibility, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration and communication. The use of mobile technologies which are specifically created for a context could stimulate motivation in students to recognise the relevance of Mathematics in the real world. South Africa in…

With the evolving technologies available to educators and the increased importance of including technologies in the classroom, it is critical for instructors to understand how to successfully utilize these emerging technologies within their curriculum. To ensure they are prepared, further study on the best practices and challenges of…

Over half of educational apps on mobile-app markets are for preschoolers, but little research has examined whether the designs of preschool apps are truly educational. Preschoolers process information differently from older learners (i.e., shorter attention spans), so app designs should be guided by developmental science. This content analysis of…

Over the last several years, iPads have become increasingly popular in the classroom. The number of available apps that could be used in the mathematics classroom are countless, but some make better mathematical learning tools than others. This research presents a set of sixteen criteria that can be used to evaluate the potential of an iPad app to…

In theory, educational applications that are engaging and motivating should easily persuade learners to use a mobile device for studying. Since this technology is already familiar to learners, mobile learning should be easily accessible; given a suitable m-learning application, learners could practice mathematics anytime or anywhere. LevelUp is an…

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of a Vending Machine applet as a cognitive root for the development of preservice teachers understanding of function. The applet was designed to purposefully problematize common misconceptions associated with the algebraic nature of typical function machines. Findings indicated affordances and…

Teachers increasingly use virtual manipulatives and other apps on touch-screen devices (e.g., "iPads") in an effort to help students understand mathematics concepts. However, students experience these apps and their affordances in different ways. The purpose of this article is to inform teachers' decisions about app implementation in the…

Trying to find quality apps for use in mathematics classes can be time consuming and bewildering. This article outlines a process for evaluating apps and provides teachers with access to comprehensive qualitative evaluations of 53 geometrical apps based on pedagogical, mathematical and cognitive fidelities.

This paper explores how a young child (56 m) builds an understanding of the cardinality principle through communicative, touchscreen-based activities involving talk, gesture and body engagement working via multimodal, touchscreen interface using contemporary mobile technology. Drawing upon Nemirovsky's perceptuomotor integration theoretical lens…

Course instructors need to assess the efficacy of their teaching methods, but experiments in education are seldom politically, administratively, or ethically feasible. Quasi-experimental tools, on the other hand, are often problematic, as they are typically too complicated to be of widespread use to educators and may suffer from selection bias…

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between app affordances and user abilities in second graders' interactions with mathematics virtual manipulative touchscreen tablet apps. The research questions focused on varying manifestations of affordance-ability relationships during children's interactions with mathematics virtual…

Recent recommendations for the teaching of mathematics place an emphasis on the Common Core's Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) (CCSSI 2010). The SMPs emphasize constructing viable arguments, critiquing the ideas of others, reasoning abstractly and quantitatively, and using computational procedures. These skills, including the use of…

Interactions with technology have become a focus of education research, revealing specific constructs relevant to these interactions. Attributes of users and tools contribute to physically embodied interactions with technology and both users and tools modify attributes throughout these interactions. This study examines patterns of user-tool…

As the use of mathematics apps in classrooms becomes more prevalent, robust research into their effectiveness is required to inform best practice regarding their use. This is particularly the case for Geometry apps where accurate and dynamic representations are critical in enhancing mathematical learning. This paper provides findings from an…