TEACHING MATHEMATICS WITH TECHNOLOGY: Computation and Estimation
As we prepare for the day envisioned by the Curriculum ond Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 1989), when every student will have a calculator and every class will have at least one computer available at all times, we need to reexamine the roles of computation, estimation, and mental mathematics in the teaching and practice of mathematics. It is true that calculators and computers can perform virtually all computations, relieving us and our students of much drudgery; however, this is not their only role. Calculators and computers also make it easy for us to solve problems in a new mode, T-E-M-T-T: trial, error, and modified trial through technology.