Our students are at various levels in terms of their learning skills and abilities, but on average they are very enthusiastic about learning Mathematics.  They are even more motivated when we use technology in the classrooms. I first used GeoGebra in my class when we were plotting graphs and the pupils found it fascinating.

Internet connection is not very reliable in our country, that is another reason why GeoGebra is a great educational tool, as it can be used offline. Low bandwidth, high cost of connection and access to computers are the main challenges we face .

In addition to desktops, a number of tutors now have laptops and 8 of our 56 members  of academic staff have recently been given tablets by one of our cooperating partners.  So we are now starting to teach with tablets but only at a very small scale (see picture below in my Math class, I am the first one on the right)

In our computer laboratory for students, we have forty work stations. For my class of an average of 45 this is manageable. However, the computer-student ratio for all the institution is still a problem as it now stands at 1:10.

I must mention as well that I am still in the process of learning how to use GeoGebra and I would be happy to learn more from members of the GeoGebra community.

We would be happy to cooperate with other GI-s, please  contact us at:

http://wiki.geogebra.org/en/GeoGebra_Institute_of_Chalimbana

Mathematics class at Chalimbana University learning Maths on a tablet

In countries like India educational software technologies seem still out of reach due to internet access problems in schools and the high cost of most educational softwares. Since GeoGebra can be downloaded for free on a single laptop, then uploaded to many computers, and can be run without any internet access, it creates a favourable learning environment.

Other than Internet access, another critical factor is the IT knowledge of teachers working in a digital environment. A “higher aim” set in the Indian National Curriculum Framework now is to the develop the children’s inner resources to think and reason mathematically, to be able to come to logical conclusions and handle abstraction. This requires teachers to fundamentally change their teaching methods. That is also why professional development related to GeoGebra is not only about learning how to enter a digital environment, but also about discovering its new, pedagogical potential in everyday teaching.

Other than one-time workshops, regular follow-up activities and an easy-to-reach mentoring system are necessary, too, so that teachers feel more confident about the use of the software in their classes.

GeoGebra Institutes in India provide high quality, children focused trainings and support teachers while overcoming these problems.

After a successful GeoGebra workshop in Bhilai, another one was held also in India, 9 10th February, 2013 at the Delhi Public School in Patna, Bihar State. The workshop was organized by Delhi Public School in Patna in order to get the participating teachers acquainted with the use of the software and discuss how to integrate it into everyday teaching. Dr. Praveen Kumar Chaurasia (Assistant Professor, GI National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), see http://pkchaurasia.iitiancollege.info/) was the resource person for the workshop, and focused his training on the possibility of using GeoGebra in child-centered learning, highlighting the pedagogical aspects of the software rather than technical ones. Dr. P.K. Chaurasia also talked about the National Curriculum Framework in India and its recommendation for child-centered learning which can be fulfilled using Geogebra. His experience tells us that children use GG as a cognitive tool that helps them to construct meaning based on their prior knowledge and conceptual framework. He showed the participants how to design applets using the software. Right after this session everybody created their own applets.

In the next blog post we will share the latest news about the work of GeoGebra Institute, Kerala, which is now linking GeoGebra with its empowering social business activities.

Guest post by Réka Berkes

A similar kind of workshop is going to take place on Saturday, 19th January 2013 at Maitri College. Again the students will be from department of education (B.Ed. and D.Ed.) with mathematics background. I will share some of the photographs of the event also.

Guest post by Sanjay Gulati, GeoGebra Ambassador

Tony took his first degree in psychology from University of Cambridge, his second one is in System Analysis and he gained his Eng.D in Communications Engineering. He started his career as a teacher, moved to a French human factors consultancy in Paris, then BT with whom he worked for many organizations in a consultancy role ranging from Essex County Council to Coventry University, University College London, Specialist Schools Academy Trust, Eurescom, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), AT&T, MCI, Nationwide, Pepsico, DHL, Microsoft, CISCO, Chunghwa Telecom, and Sony in Singapore.

Now he is Educational Development Director at CCITE (Cambridge Centre for Innovation in Technological Education). It was a real pleasure to attend his presentation and to ask some questions after it.

To combine psychology with maths and engineering at first could sound strange but at the end of Tony’s presentation I understood how the two things strengthen each other. What I always felt in our educational system (in a language class of a Hungarian high school) was also proven: engineering and science aren’t championed in the schools. Checking the statistics, the first 4 most popular faculties at universities are: business, law, sociology and art (in the UK, but I’m sure the Hungarian statistics are quite similar) It’s nice that students are interested in these beautiful subjects; the petty is that technology is missing – said Tony.

I remember in the high school we were scared about the math and physic lessons. These subjects were considered extremely difficult studies with absolutely no fun and enthusiastic within. Trying to learn these subjects without understanding them, can be a torture for everyone. I was faced so many challenges during my 17 years of studies also (e.g. there was no internet and not even telephone ;)) and if I didn’t understand something after our teachers’ explanation (it happened many times after math lessons) I had to wait with my questions until the next opportunity to ask them. Now students luckily are more open minded (and their teachers as well) and with internet and with a global and complex tool like Geogebra they can share their ideas from different places of the World, they can work like a real team. Tony’s opinion is that the personal interaction and the global side of Geogebra are as important as the maths.

During the presentation of a flying paper plane in Tony’s presentation I was so impressed that I would like try Geogebra in tango dancing as well, and finally I’ve recognized that there’s so much fun in math and engineering now! I’ve seen cca. 30 open minded young people attending the presentation, full with enthusiasm, some of them even ready to dance in the room I’m sure they are brave enough to ask questions and to try and prove their ideas with Geogebra. What was emphasized by Tony also, together we go still far. Engineering and math is not an alone career. You can try whatever you want as many times as you want.

You can come up with your own ideas at http://www.geogebra.org/cms/en

We can focus on what we know and we have the opportunity to be more spontaneous and creative.

– A Guest post by Edit Lovas.

A short video of the presentation: