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Many schools for the deaf are now incorporating microcomputers into the classroom, but as is true with textbooks and other teaching materials, there is lack of software on the market for the hearing impaired. As a teacher of the deaf for 7 years at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, I have found through my experience with the high school students that the use of hearing student oriented mathematics software is sometimes just as good or better than the mathematics software geared for the hearing-impaired student. Classroom experimentation with the students has shown that some of the more difficult math programs with higher reading levels appeal to the low reading hearing-impaired students more than the easier reading level hearing-impaired programs. When developing a computer lab there are several things to consider: costs, networking, choice of mathematics software, and methods of acquiring and developing better software. Microcomuter hardware and software is a cost-effective move for the future. It makes the students more proficient, interested in their school work, and further increases their educational development.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish the effects of computer‐assisted instruction (CAI) on the attitude of students studying mathematics.Design/methodology/approachCAI in mathematics, as an alternative to traditional instruction (TI), is investigated using a sample of students in Iran. The sample consists of second grade female students of maths/science in two high schools of Hashtgerd. The study is carried out over four weeks in May 2008. The effects of the independent variable (CAI) are studied in one high school while in a second high school in the region, a control group is used to measure the effects of TI.FindingsThe findings reveal that CAI increases the learning level of students and improves their attitudes toward mathematics compared with TI.Research limitations/implicationsThe scope of the study is limited to a sample of students from two high schools in Iran. Thus, the results are indicative rather than conclusive. More work needs to be carried out involving a larger sample not confined to the Iranian setting to produce more conclusive findings.Practical implicationsNew technologies and software featuring CAI should be implemented and used in the teaching process, especially for those courses which contain abstract concepts like mathematics. For example, simulated software could help teachers utilize simulated objects, concepts, and problem solving paths in a virtual environment.Originality/valueThe study adds to the literature on the utility of CAI and is original in that it is one of the few carried out in an Iranian setting.

This study determined the effects of the Computer Based Software Program Package (CBSPP) for Regular Users of Computer (RUC) and Irregular Users of Computer (IUC) on students' achievement in graphical concepts in mathematics. It also examined the moderating effects of computer self-efficacy and gender. Skinner's behaviorist theory provided the framework, while the pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design with factorial matrix was adopted. Two hundred and ninety-six senior secondary II (SS II) students were purposively selected from six schools in Ogba (3), Egbema (2) and Ndoni (1) Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria based on the availability of the computer. Two whole classes each of SS II totaling 97students were randomly assigned to the RUC and given laptop computers to use for the period of the experiment, IUC (99 students) and control group (100 students). Instruments used were: achievement test on the graphical concept () and computer self-efficacy () scales. Instructional guides were also used. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance and Scheffe post-hoc test at = 0.05. There were significant main effects of treatment on achievement. There were significant main effects of computer self-efficacy on students' achievement and gender on achievement. There were significant two-way interaction effects of treatment and computer self-efficacy, treatment and gender, computer self-efficacy and gender on students' achievement. There were significant three-way interaction effects of treatment, gender and computer self-efficacy on students' achievement in favor of the RUC.

In the last few years educational computer games have gained attention as a tool for facilitating learning in different sectors of society including but not limited to military, health, and education. However, advances in computer game technology continue to outpace research on its effectiveness. Few empirical studies have investigated the effects of educational games in the context of formal K-12 settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a series of mathematics computer games on mathematics achievement and motivation of high school students. In addition, the role of prior mathematics knowledge, computer skill, and English language skill of the participants on their mathematics achievement and motivation when they played the games were investigated. A total of 193 students and 10 teachers from an urban high school in the southeast of the United States of the America participated in this study. The teachers were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Students' mathematics achievement was measured using school district benchmark exams and a game performance test generated by the developers of the mathematics games. A mathematics motivation questionnaire based on Keller's (1987a) ARCS model of motivational design measured students' mathematics motivation. Multivariate Analysis of Co-Variance (MANCOVA) was conducted to analyze the data. In addition, interviews were conducted to cross validate the results of the quantitative data. The MANCOVA results indicated significant improvement of the mathematics achievement of the experimental versus control group. No significant improvement was found in the motivation of the experimental versus control group. However, a significant improvement was found on the motivation scores of the students who played the games in their school lab and classrooms compared to the ones who played the games only in the school labs. In addition, the findings indicated that prior mathematics knowledge, computer skill and English language skill did not play significant roles in achievement and motivation of the experimental group. Teachers' interviews revealed that these individual differences had indeed played significant roles in game-playing at the beginning of using the games, but the impacts gradually diminished as the students gained the required game-playing skills. The overall results indicated that the mathematics games used in this study were effective teaching and learning tools to improve the mathematics skills of the students. Using the games in mathematics education was suggested by the teachers as an appropriate alternative way of teaching, as one of the teachers stated: "This is definitely the way that we have to go to teach mathematics in the future." Mathematics games should be integrated with classroom activities if teachers want to increase mathematics class motivation. Teachers' helps and supports are vital in using the games effectively in a population with different prior mathematics knowledge, computer skills, and English language skills. ; 2008-05-01 ; Ph.D. ; Education, Department of Educational Research Technology and Leadership ; Doctorate ; This record was generated from author submitted information.

The major objective of the study was to elicit the effect of computer game-based instructional strategy on senior secondary school students' learning outcomes in Mathematics. The researcher used a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test, control group design to carry out the study. The treatment was computer game instructional Package and conventional teaching method. Two hundred and forty (240) second year senior secondary school students (SSSII) were randomly selected from six (6) public secondary schools in On do State Nigeria. The students' pre-test and post-test scores were subjected to Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA),T-test and Chi-Square .The findings of the study showed that the performance of students exposed to computer game instructional package was better than their counterparts exposed to the conventional classroom instruction. Based on the research findings recommendations were made on the need to develop relevant computer game instructional packages for teaching Mathematics in Nigerian secondary schools.

▪ Abstract  Since mathematical sociology was firmly established in the 1960s, it has grown tremendously. Today it has an impressive scope and deals with topical problems of social structure and social change. A distinctive feature of today's use of mathematics in sociology is the movement toward a synthesis between process, structure, and action. In combination with an increased attention to social mechanisms and the problems of causality and temporality, this synthesis can add to its relevance for sociology in general. The article presents recent advances and major sociological research streams in contemporary sociology that involve the application of mathematics, logic, and computer modeling.