Media and Math engagement

 THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN CAPTURING THE INTEREST OF STUDENTS TOWARDS MATHEMATICS



Today, in this fast developing world, the role of media in daily life of the people is of utmost importance. Media in one form or the other is a means of transmission of knowledge, skills, creativity etc. There are mainly three types of media; print media, broadcast media, and the internet. Print media include newspapers, magazines, journals etc. Television, radio forms the broadcast media. Studies have shown that these media greatly influence the children. Schools today acknowledge that these media support learning i.e., they can provide students with better learning experience.


Mathematics is the queen of all sciences. But it is considered as a complex and difficult subject. The lack of interest among students makes it a boring one. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development shows that students learn from concrete to abstract ideas. Thus, it is important to provide a suitable learning environment. Media provide a platform to grasp abstract ideas through tangible visualizations.


We know that learning begins with play. Children learn geometry through play by making shapes of triangle, square etc. Here, fun is a common characteristic of learning experiences. So, educators must search for experiential learning techniques considering this major factor.


There are mathematics related games like sudoku, magic squares etc. and quiz corner, articles on mathematicians along with their works in the newspaper. Magazines and Journals are also sources of gaining the interest of students. Projects and seminars may be given so that students make use of these media.


In traditional classrooms, radio, television, audio tape, video tape, slide projector, overhead projector serve as passive learning media when interaction of the learner is less. So, teacher acts a facilitator by using these media as learning materials in the classroom in order to grab the attention of students. Wireless classroom microphones may be employed so that the students can easily listen to the teacher in a noisy classroom since mathematical concepts are quite difficult to grasp. Interactive whiteboards enhance the experience in the classroom by showing anything that can be on a computer screen. This not only aids in visual learning, but it is interactive so the students can draw, write, or manipulate images on the interactive whiteboard.


Computer in the classroom is a means of providing experiential learning through access to mathematics enriching videos, presentations, demonstration of new lessons with the help of internet. Class blogs allow students to present ideas, thoughts in an e-platform. This is an opportunity for students’ comments and reflections. Online study like worksheets, question banks and others enrich mathematics learning. Soft wares like Graphic Calculators, Dynamic Graphing Tools (Geo gebra), Microsoft Excel/Spreadsheet, Mat lab can be employed for teaching-learning mathematics. There are some useful websites like NRICH (www.nrich.maths.org.uk), MATH CENTRAL (mathcentral.uregina.ca), MATH FORUM(www.mathforum.com), and PBS (www.pbs.org/teachersource/math) DR. MATH (www.mathforum.com/dr.math) where the teachers as well as students will find answers to the many questions that teachers and others have posed.

Research  into  teaching  and  learning  with new  technologies  is  currently  a  very dynamic  and  relevant  area  of  educational system.  Many  of  the  traditional instructional  design  probably offer  limited utility  when  we  are  teaching  complex mathematical  concepts;  one  major limitation of traditional teaching methods is the inability to show three dimensional (3-D) graphics.  Multimedia  technologies  are probability  one  of  the  most  exiting innovation  in  the  information  age.  “The rapid  growth  of  multimedia  technologies over  the  last  decade  has  brought fundamental changes to educational system (noryhayati  and siew  2004)”.it  will create suitable  learning  context  which  enables learner to control the learning environment

The  use  of  multimedia  in  teaching  and  learning presents impact  to institutions  of higher education. Multimedia  is  a  multi-sensory  that  stimulates multiple  senses  of  audiences  at  a  time.  “Its interactive  nature  enables  teachers  to  control  the flow  of  information  (Iqbal  and  khan,  2015)”. Multimedia  technology  affects  both  aspects  of teaching and learning. It does this in three ways: in how it presents information; in how students interact both with the medium and through the medium with the  teacher  and  other  learners;  and  in  how knowledge  is structured  within  multimedia. In  this paper we will show a comparative approach between the traditional way of teaching and multimedia based teaching approach.  Definition:   Multimedia  refers  to  any  computer-mediated software  or  interactive  application  that  integrates text,  colour,  graphical  images,  animation,  audio sound, and full motion video in a single application. “Multimedia  learning  systems  consist of  animation and  narration,  which  offer a  potentially  venue  for improving student understanding (Mayer & Moreno, 2000).”  Goals and Theoretical Background of the Module        The Module, Calculus  and Numerical  Methods, was a Mandatory undergraduate Module for students of  Coventry  University  degree  in  Middle  East College Oman.

The  use  of  multimedia  in  teaching  and  learning presents impact  to institutions  of higher education. Multimedia  is  a  multi-sensory  that  stimulates multiple  senses  of  audiences  at  a  time.  “Its interactive  nature  enables  teachers  to  control  the flow  of  information  (Iqbal  and  khan,  2015)”. Multimedia  technology  affects  both  aspects  of teaching and learning. It does this in three ways: in how it presents information; in how students interact both with the medium and through the medium with the  teacher  and  other  learners;  and  in  how knowledge  is structured  within  multimedia. In  this paper we will show a comparative approach between the traditional way of teaching and multimedia based teaching approach.  Definition:   Multimedia  refers  to  any  computer-mediated software  or  interactive  application  that  integrates text,  colour,  graphical  images,  animation,  audio sound, and full motion video in a single application. “Multimedia  learning  systems  consist of  animation and  narration,  which  offer a  potentially  venue  for improving student understanding (Mayer & Moreno, 2000).”  Goals and Theoretical Background of the Module        The Module, Calculus  and Numerical  Methods, was a Mandatory undergraduate Module for students of  Coventry  University  degree  in  Middle  East College Oman.

The main objectives of the Module for students are; Formulate a personal sense of what is calculus and what it means to Calculus and Numerical Methods.  Become more prepared to learn the application of calculus and numerical Methods as a tool in different field of study;  To grasp basic knowledge of limit, differentiation, integration and numerical approximation methods.  Develop good mathematical problems solving skills. Calculus and numerical methods is a 15 credit point module. This module is grounded in basic calculus problems and numerical approximation methods. This module is designed in such a way that it will help students understanding of the concepts of limit, differentiation and integration. Laboratory is also part of Module which is equipped with fundamental Mathematical software’s such as MATLAB, MAPPLE as part of the module design.

Thus, when these media makes abstract ideas tangible, teachers can easily build upon students’ prior knowledge and skills, emphasize the connections among mathematical concepts and connect abstractions to real world settings.


REFERENCES


• Evolving Classroom(2001) http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/evolving_classroom/technology.html


• ARJUNAN N. K (1999).Psychological Bases of Education.YUGA PUBLICATIONS, Palakkad.


• http://mathforum.org/t2t/faq/media.htm

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