Meletiou-Mavrotheri, Maria

Declining interest in mathematics and the need to raise the educational standards of youth in this discipline set a critical agenda for the revision of pedagogical practices. Tablet PCs and other mobile devices hold a lot of promise as tools for improving education at all levels. The research discussed in this chapter comes from an ongoing, multifaceted program designed to explore the potential of tablet technologies for enhancing mathematics teaching and learning at the primary school level. The program is taking place within a private primary school in Cyprus and aims at the effective integration of one-to-one tablet technologies (iPads) into the mathematics school curriculum. It has adopted a systemic approach to the introduction of iPads in the school setting that focuses on the broad preparation and on-going engagement of all key stakeholders involved in the educational process. In the chapter, the authors report on the main experiences gained from Phase 1 of the program, which involved the design and organization of a professional development workshop targeting the school teachers. The authors describe the content and structure of the workshop and discuss its impact on teachers' knowledge, skills, and confidence in incorporating tablet technologies within the mathematics curriculum.

This chapter discusses an attempt to empower teachers to 'augment’ students’ reading experiences as part of the project The Living Book, Augmenting Reading for Life (Erasmus+). The project’s overall aim is to address the under -achievement of European students in reading by developing an innovative approach that combines offline activities promoting reading literacy with online experiences of books’ 'virtual augmentation.’ More specifically, recognizing the important role of teachers in any educational reform effort, the project aims at strengthening teachers’ profile and competences in adopting the Living Book approach and in dealing with diversified groups of learners, and particularly with pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, through a series of training sessions. The chapter outlines the theoretical premises of the Living Book and provides an overview of the theoretical framework underlying the design of the 'Augmented Teacher’ professional development course. It also describes the content and structure of the course, and the process of evaluation currently taking place in the project partner countries.

A crucial step in learning to fly an airplane is to use a simulator, where the risks are minimized or even eliminated, and similar problems and hazards can be replayed and reflected upon time after time. A key aspect of this case study is to exploit such techniques by adopting the latest technological developments in simulating teach-ing practice to give pre-service teachers more "teaching" experience than would otherwise be practical or possible in typical student teaching placements. The case study explores the affordances offered by digital simulations for contextualizing pre-service teachers' learning of mathematics content and its pedagogy. Using the simulated classroom SimSchool as a virtual field experience, the authors seek to bridge the classic gap between teacher preparation and practice by creating reality-based learning contexts that strengthen pre-service teachers' appreciation of how to implement standard-based mathematics instruction in complex classrooms.

A crucial step in learning to fly an airplane is to use a simulator, where the risks are minimized or even eliminated, and similar problems and hazards can be replayed and reflected upon time after time. A key aspect of this case study is to exploit such techniques by adopting the latest technological developments in simulating teaching practice to give pre-service teachers more "teaching" experience than would otherwise be practical or possible in typical student teaching placements. The case study explores the affordances offered by digital simulations for contextualizing pre-service teachers' learning of mathematics content and its pedagogy. Using the simulated classroom SimSchool as a virtual field experience, the authors seek to bridge the classic gap between teacher preparation and practice by creating reality-based learning contexts that strengthen pre-service teachers' appreciation of how to implement standard-based mathematics instruction in complex classrooms.

This chapter presents a pilot exploratory case study that seeks to bridge the classic gap between teacher preparation and practice by exploiting the affordances offered by digital simulations for contextualizing novice teachers' learning and pedagogy. Using the simulated classroom SimSchool as a virtual field experience, a teaching intervention focused on mathematics education and the use of technology was conducted in order to determine best practices. Both undergraduate and graduate education students participated in the study. The study explored participants' views on the experiences with the simulated environment. Interviews and self-reflection reports were used for data collection. Findings suggest that participants appreciated simulations as virtual environments that provide the opportunity to practice and experiment on particular teaching approaches in a safe environment. Nevertheless, they also express a number of concerns related to how they compare simulations with real classroom experiences and their interaction with virtual students, as well as some technical considerations. Simulations have a great potential to create reality-based learning contexts that foster opportunities for pre- and in-service teachers to improve their pedagogy. Thus, further research is required to unfold all aspects of such approaches.

This paper provides an overview of the construction of a conceptual framework regarding ICT-Assistive Technology (ICT-AT) competence development, designed to gain awareness of the elements involved and to facilitate the understanding and exchange among stakeholders of the ENTELIS (European Network for Technology Enhanced Learning in an Inclusive Society) project. The framework was designed based on the basic principles of Activity Theory, which however have been adapted and adjusted to the project's objectives. Hence, it includes a map of actors and other parameters functioning in a person surrounding 'ecosystem', and it allows us to understand and map roles, expectations, barriers, as well as to devise solutions to tackle digital divide. Taking as a starting and central point the person and his/her wish to self-determination and fulfilment (quality of life) and the related needs, it provides a map of how the various concepts and variables interact within the theoretical and methodological perspective of the collection, description and assessment of experiences in ICT-AT education and competences development of persons with disabilities (PwD) of all ages. The conceptual framework represents two interacting learning activity systems: (a) the internal system of the end-user, which includes the end-user and his/her needs, the setting where learning takes place and the other actors involved, and (b) the external system, which embraces the internal system but also wider issues of policy and practice and experiences and 'actors' that contribute to the development and use of ICT and ICT-AT skills in all areas of life. The elements of these systems and their interaction provide the basis for analysing experiences and advancing knowledge relevant for bridging the digital divide.

Declining interest in mathematics and the need to raise the educational standards of youth in this discipline set a critical agenda for the revision of pedagogical practices. Tablet PCs and other mobile devices hold a lot of promise as tools for improving education at all levels. The research discussed in this chapter comes from an ongoing, multifaceted program designed to explore the potential of tablet technologies for enhancing mathematics teaching and learning at the primary school level. The program is taking place within a private primary school in Cyprus and aims at the effective integration of one-to-one tablet technologies (iPads) into the mathematics school curriculum. It has adopted a systemic approach to the introduction of iPads in the school setting that focuses on the broad preparation and on-going engagement of all key stakeholders involved in the educational process. In the chapter, the authors report on the main experiences gained from Phase 1 of the program, which involved the design and organization of a professional development workshop targeting the school teachers. The authors describe the content and structure of the workshop and discuss its impact on teachers' knowledge, skills, and confidence in incorporating tablet technologies within the mathematics curriculum.

Despite increased interest in mobile devices as learning tools, the amount of available primary research studies on their integration into mathematics teaching and learning is still relatively small due to the novelty of these technologies. Integrating Touch-Enabled and Mobile Devices into Contemporary Mathematics Education presents the best practices in mathematics education research and teaching practice by providing an account of current and future trends and issues in mobile mathematics learning and associated technologies and educational methodologies. This edited volume approaches a broad audience including researchers and practitioners interested in the exploitation of mobile technologies in mathematics teaching and learning, as well as mathematics teachers at all levels. This premier reference source compiles the best practices and recommended processes for effectively utilizing the vast capabilities of mobile technologies in the mathematics classroom through a collection of chapters covering topics including, but not limited to, touch-enabled virtual mapping, perceptual learning technologies, mobile teaching, statistics apps for mobile devices, smartphones for the visually impaired, pedagogical and instructional design, and touch screen interfaces in algebraic instruction.