ERIC Number: EJ1482259
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Sep
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2211-1662
EISSN: EISSN-2211-1670
Available Date: 2024-09-13
Mathematics Apps under the Magnifying Glass -- An Analysis of the Inventory of Math Apps for Primary Schools Using German-Language Apps as a Case Study
Daniel Walter1; Ulrich Schwätzer2
Technology, Knowledge and Learning, v30 n3 p1871-1893 2025
The usage of digital media, especially tablet apps, is currently a major concern in educational settings. A controversial discussion is also taking place in relation to mathematics education at primary schools. While on the one hand there are empirical findings on helpful isolated examples and related subject-didactic potentials of digital media, on the other hand numerous apps are criticized. Systematic analyses of the app stores inventory are rare, however. This article therefore deals with the analysis of the app store's inventory of mathematics apps available for primary school use. Using the German app market as an example, 227 apps were analyzed. The results show that those apps are mainly located in the content-related area of "numbers and operations," while process-related competencies and subject-didactic potentials of digital media are largely neglected. Moreover, apps focus on unstructured forms of practising fluent calculation. All in all, only a fragment of mathematics learning at primary schools is addressed, with frequently no consideration of subject-didactic potentials in mathematics apps, making the need for development of subject-didactically based mathematics apps obvious.
Descriptors: Mathematics Education, Computer Uses in Education, Computer Oriented Programs, Tablet Computers, Elementary School Mathematics, Elementary School Students, Foreign Countries, Mathematics Instruction, Teaching Methods, Instructional Effectiveness, Numbers, Arithmetic, Computation
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link-springer-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1TU Dortmund University, Institute for Development and Research in Mathematics Education, Dortmund, Germany; 2University of Duisburg-Essen, Department of Mathematics, Essen, Germany

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