Students' Kinaesthetic Interactions with a Touch-Enabled Virtual Mapping Tool

Abstract

Recent technology advances have substantially changed the way we teach and learn mathematics providing educators with opportunities for creating novel inquiry-based learning environments by increasing the range and sophistication of possible classroom activities. The affordances provided by mobile technologies can motivate students to engage in authentic problem solving activities that can promote their mathematical learning, and the attainment of important competencies essential in modern society. This chapter reports on the main experiences gained from a study that exploited affordances of tablet devices used by young students (11-year old). Findings from the study indicate that general purpose apps such as Recce that was employed in the current study can scaffold learning of the mathematics curriculum in educationally powerful ways that engage students and promote their mathematical growth.