A study of Mathematics web-based learning in schools

American Journal of Applied Sciences, Nov, 2008 by Mansoor Al- A'ali

INTRODUCTION

The introduction of information technology in recent years has provided the opportunity to integrate alternative learning techniques into traditional teaching (35). Learning or teaching systems have been developed in a bid to improve the teaching process. Software classified as drill-and-practice significantly improved achievement test scores. The internet also began to have significance for professional communication among teachers. Sixteen percent of teachers communicated with peers outside their buildings on professional matters. The rate rose to 33% for those who had Internet access at home and at school.

Expecting motivation and interest give us implication of future learning. Research studies that focused on technology and students' motivation to learn relied on self-reports of students' attitudes towards computers and found that most students considered computer activities to be highly motivating and interesting (8).

For the teachers' side, productivity is an important issue. Technology tools can free teachers' time so they can interact with students more. Teachers can leave fact-finding to the computer and spend their time doing what they were meant to do as content experts: Arousing curiosity, asking the right questions at the right time and stimulating debate and serious discussion around engaging topics.

Using technology to support collaborative knowledge integration includes tools that enable group thinking, problem solving and task orientation. Sharing data also offers the opportunity to share with a wider and more authentic audience. The goal is to help students develop community knowledge bases and expertise instead of focusing only on individual student learning. Shared data leads to larger and more accurate data sets. Sharing real data from primary sources with experts leads to students thinking and working the way experts do (23).

Several studies have been undertaken to investigate the impact of computer software in order to evaluate their effectiveness. The UK studies include an evaluation of an integrated learning system introduced into a small sample of schools to support the teaching of basic numeracy and reading. The introduction of a particular software can result in substantial gains for pupils in acquiring numeracy skills. There is considerable disagreement over the extent to which software has been effective in raising achievement. Nevertheless, there does appear to be limited evidence that the way in which software is integrated into the curriculum and the amount of time spent on the system, has some influence on its effectiveness.

Emergence into the 21st century features tools that are different, communication that is different, information that is different and work that is different. Given this shift, education must shift to incorporate computer-based, electronic technologies integrating learning with these technologies within the context of the academic subject areas. However, how teachers learned their subject matter is not necessarily the way their students will need to be taught in the 21st century. Learning subject matter with technology is different from learning to teach that subject matter with technology. Few teachers have been taught to teach their subject matter with technology (31).

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) provide individualised instruction, by being able to adapt to the knowledge, learning abilities and needs of each individual student. Existing ITS build a model of the student's current state of knowledge and individualise instruction based on that model (31), (32). Intelligent tutoring systems offer many advantages over the traditional classroom scenario: they are always available, non judgmental and provide tailored feedback (15). They have been proven effective, resulting in increased learning (2).

Intelligent tutoring environments for problem solving have proven to be highly effective learning tools. Many of these environments present complex, multi-step problems and provide the individualized support that students need to complete them: step-by-step accuracy feedback and context-specific problem solving advice. They are two or three times as effective as typical human tutors, but only half as effective as the best human tutors, which can improve student learning by two standard deviations. This means there is still room for improvement, which can be accomplished by making the interfaces more suitable and effective for learning in certain domains. Cognitive Tutors are a class of intelligent tutoring systems that are designed based on cognitive psychology theory and methods that pose authentic problems to students (learn-by-doing). In Cognitive Tutor Algebra, students represent the situation algebraically in the worksheet, graph the functions and solve equations with a symbol manipulation tool. Each Cognitive Tutor is constructed around a cognitive model of the knowledge students are acquiring and can provide step-by-step accuracy feedback and help (31). They have been created for a variety of learning domains, including algebra, geometry, foreign languages, chemistry, computer programming and more. Cognitive Tutors for Mathematics are in use in about 2000 schools in the United States and have been shown to raise student achievement one standard deviation over traditional classroom instruction.