ICT and Calculus Education…Towards an effective Context of Technology Utilization Mohamed Ali Mohamed Azzam

Supervisor: Tarek Khalil

Thesis (M.A.)—Nile University, Egypt, 2009 .

"Includes bibliographical references"

Contents:
Chapter One: Introduction and Statement of the Problem .................................................................. 1
1.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem............................................................................................................... 3
1.3. Objective.......................................................................................................................................... 3
1.4. Research Framework ...................................................................................................................... 3
Chapter Two: Review of Literature ......................................................................................................... 4
2.1. The Evolution of Technology Utilization in Education ............................................................. 4
2.2. The Effectiveness of Technology Utilization in Education ....................................................... 9
2.3. Teachers’ Professional Development for better Technology Utilization in Classrooms .... 20
2.4. Current CAI Practices in Egypt .................................................................................................. 25
2.5. Concluding Remarks .................................................................................................................... 45
Chapter Three: Research Methodology ................................................................................................ 47
Chapter Four: Results .............................................................................................................................. 51
4.1. ICT Readiness of the Interviewed Educators ........................................................................... 51
4.2. Current CAI Usage ....................................................................................................................... 54
(i) In case of not using CAI, why are not educators using it? .................................................... 54
(ii) In case of using CAI, how are educators using it today? ..................................................... 63
4.3. Future CAI Usage ......................................................................................................................... 71
4.4. Teaching, Assessment and Classroom Management Techniques ......................................... 81
Chapter Five: Conclusion and Recommendation ................................................................................ 88
5.1. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 88
5.2. Recommendation .......................................................................................................................... 94
References .........

Abstract:
High-quality education system has always formed the backbone of innovation. Innovation is a major contributing factor to the advancement of nations by developing and acquiring technologies. Consequently, the ability to bring those technologies to market is the mechanism for creating wealth for individuals and countries. This could not be achieved in Egypt, unless our education system is capable to graduate distinguished engineers and scientists, whom must be skilled and competent to deal with the unprecedented pace of development that is taking place nowadays in every single aspect of our life.
Over the years, technology has been perceived as a tool for overcoming a multitude of challenges facing most of the nations. Among those challenges is the advancement of the quality of the education system in general, and the quality of mathematics and sciences education in particular. This turned out to be a critical mission towards accomplishing the goal of the overall development of the Egyptian economy and society. Lately, a number of projects and initiatives were implemented in Egypt to utilize technology in the educational practices in Egypt.
The research examines the current Computer Aided Instruction (CAI) practices in Egypt, and their effectiveness in accomplishing the ultimate goal of establishing, utilizing and integrating technology in the classrooms. Questionnaires are utilized and interviews are conducted with mathematics educators to assess the current use of technology in math education, and to test a number of Hypotheses including that CAI practices are: still primitive; do not significantly improve the learning outcome; and do not induce learning skills development.
The research suggests a new context of using CAI especially in the area of mathematics in general and calculus in specific, and offers recommendations for better utilization of technology, in order to develop the teaching process and improving the learning outcomes.

Text in English, abstracts in English.