Answer to Question #207268 in Geometry for Excellent

Question

Describe four advantages of using media in teaching mathematics.

Answer 1

Media are four broad classes: audio media, visual media, audio-visual media, and interactive media.

Usually in mathematics teachers use visual media such as graphics. Graphics are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone to inform, illustrate, or entertain.

Advantages of using graphics in a math class:

- Helps visual students learn. If a picture can accompany a mathematics problem, then some sort of graphic will most likely be useful. Not only will this give all students a clearer picture and/or allow them to be creative, but will allow students who learn visually flourish as well.

- Allows to show representations that would otherwise be difficult to show on the board. Teachers can spend a lot of wasted class time and effort to perfect a drawing for a class for them to get a good idea of the mathematical concept. Choosing a graphic before class will save on time and will be more accurate.

- Offers a change of pace. Students are not used to seeing pictures being used in certain ways as the examples previously listed. Switching it up from time to time will help students stay engaged.

- Can be used for a broad range of mathematical concepts. As long as you are creative, graphics can be applied to any math topic. This allows flexibility and with time it will become easier.

Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video and audio.

Interactive media is helpful in the four development dimensions in which young children learn: social and emotional, language development, cognitive and general knowledge, and approaches toward learning. Using computers and educational computer software in a learning environment helps children increase communication skills and their attitudes about learning. Children who use educational computer software are often found using more complex speech patterns and higher levels of verbal communication. A study found that basic interactive books that simply read a story aloud and highlighted words and phrases as they were spoken were beneficial for children with lower reading abilities. Children have different styles of learning, and interactive media helps children with visual, verbal, auditory, and tactile learning styles.

Interactive media promotes dialogic communication.

In the teaching of mathematics interactive media helps to create interaction among students. The use of technological devices such as graphing calculators encourages interaction among students to share their knowledge and skills. Cooperation among students occur when they are given the opportunity to present their work with the aid of a projector, a screen and a laser pen. Students share their work with classmates in discussion sessions with the help of teachers.

The application of information technology can also increase students’ motivation and interest towards mathematics. The use of Microsoft Excel in learning algebra can change students’ perceptions of algebra. Students are eager to perform tasks with the aid of Excel, and indirectly the learning process becomes meaningful to students. Students increase understanding of algebra with the help of computers.

One effective and practical learning media used in education is video media. A video is a series of moving images that combine the elements of audio and visual. The element of audio is the sound that allows students to be able to receive learning messages through the sense of hearing, while the visual element is moving images that can be seen by visualization.

Learning videos, as a medium of learning, have a positive impact on students in the learning process on aspects of cognitive, affective and psychomotor. The cognitive aspect is the ability to recall and strengthen students' understanding of learning. The effective aspect, through video, can affect students' attitudes and emotions. While the psychomotor aspects, that are difficult to practice can be done repeatedly through individual learning using a learning video. The role of video as a medium of learning raises the spirit of students in learning. Learners become excited and more focused on paying attention to the material given.