The role of new technologies to support the teaching and the learning of mathematics

摘要

New technologies and the internet have contributed to the modification of teaching methods. This paper describes an educational project to redefine the contents of some undergraduate courses in mathematics, with a high integration of new technologies, at the Academy of Architecture of Mendrisio (University of Italian Switzerland). In particular, an innovative approach in the course 'Mathematical Thought' will be explained, where new media arc used for dealing with some mathematical concepts with philosophic, artistic and architectural connections (for example, the groups of symmetry, the golden section, the Fibonacci's sequence, and fractal geometry). The contents of mathematics are redefined in this paper for the specific course of architecture. It is a new approach with a strong collaboration with other courses (for example, architectural design, technology, ecology). By utilising this approach, the author proposed that the use of new media would enhance the teaching methods. By incorporating particular lecture arrangements, it is possible to integrate different media (for example, scientific documentaries, hypertext, hypermedia, animations, virtual reality). It has been observed that new media can introduce more interaction than the traditional teaching approach and they can help to realise an incisive lesson.