Calculators and other aspects of ICT have become an important feature in our everyday lives, for this reason it is important that these technologies are incorporated in the classroom.
Liebeck suggests the importance that ICT has within the primary classroom, and even thirty years ago the importance of ICT and the effects that it has within the classroom was a topic that was beginning to be explored.
English, R. (2006) Maths and ICT in the Primary School. London: David Fulton Publishers LTD.
All class are able to see the screen, unlike when a full class of children has to share one computer screen.
Pens which can be used on the screen lend themselves to the idea of VAK.
Variety of on screen resources e.g. Graph paper etc.
Can share lesson electronically and review previous lessons.
Promote increased concentration.
Using calculators:
Numeracy Task Force- was established in 1997
By using the interactive whiteboard children are able to practise some small motor skills such as gripping the pen and writing, children can also work on their own concentration by completing activities such as “dragging” numbers and placing them correctly on a number line. This can be linked to EYFS (2012)
It should be remembered that although the vast majority of children will have experienced computer and other technologies in their everyday home lives, the use of computers in the classrooms will be the introduction to technology for some children.
As some children may not have had experience with mathematics it is important to try to make the topic exciting in order to make the children enthusiastic about the session. By using an interactive element children are able to make use of a kinaesthetic resource.
Gifford, S. Hopkins, C. Pepperell, S and Tallant, P. (2009) Mathematics in the Primary School. 3rd ed. Oxon: Routkedge.
For
* Used in everyday life * Children learn about other areas of mathematics more rapidly e.g. estimation, decimals and large numbers * Skills to use a calculator will need to be learnt eventually * Allows for more complex problems
Against
* Children may not develop mental mathematics if they rely on calculators * Paper and pen methods may not be used
Calculators can be learnt both as a learning device and a tool.
Bottle, G. (2005) Teaching Mathematics in the Primary School. London: Continuum Books.