Doing Math? Grab a Spreadsheet Application!
Thursday October 19, 2006
When I went to school, calculators didn't exist. When I went to school, computers were an unknown. When I went to school.........yeah, yeah, you get the point. That was then and this is now. I guess what I'm trying to say is, technology has changed almost everything we do and most certainly it's been a great asset to mathematics. I find I rely less on calculators and more on spreadsheets these days and it just so happens that About has a new Spreadsheet guide that knows his math! Hop on over to see the great tutorials Ted is offering on spreadsheets.
Comments
I write from a position of an university teacher. The main problem with the use of computers in education is that you have to deside where to stop. For example, there is an approach to teaching linear algebra based on placing the Gauss Elimination Procedure at the core of the exposition. Use of spreadsheets for manipulating rows of a matrix (or equations in a system of simultaneous equations) turns dull routine problems into fun. However, why not skip the spreadsheet stage and move directly to Maple, Matlab and Mathematica? These are serious professional software packages, but they allow creation of all-singing, all-dancing children-friendly user interfaces — and they automatically solve any school/undegraduate level problem given in symbolic form: just enter the problem and push the button.
So, my question: what is the criterion for the choice of a certain level of software tools? Why calculators? If calculators, why not spreadsheets? If spreadsheets, why not professional software packages with kids-friendly interfaces?