Plenary Lecture 3 Flexibility in Mathematics Education: Leveraging the Power of the Spreadsheet

摘要

The common electronic spreadsheet may conjure up visions of accounting or auditing applications however, it is a vastly underrated tool when it comes to illustration and modelling of mathematical fundamentals. In2002,thespeakerestablishedtheelectronicjournalSpreadsheetsinEducation http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/. It was set up to provide a focus for researchers and teachers to share their ideas and experiences of using the modern electronic spreadsheet as a teaching tool. The journal is devoted to the publication of peer-reviewed articles which provide a focus for advances in our understanding of the role that spreadsheets can play in constructivist educational contexts. The first number of volume three of the journal was published in June 2008. The journal is fully open access. The presentation will give a brief overview of major insights gleaned by researchers of roles played by the ubiquitous spreadsheet over the past 25 years in educational contexts. Following this, some examples will be given where Microsoft Excel is used to illustrate and model mathematical concepts, including applications to elementary financial and discrete mathematics.