It is hard to imagine that, eight hundred years on, the study of Fibonacci could affect the lives of teenagers in Australia. Or is it? A mathematics class of more able Year 9 students in a regional city of Western Australia feels that it has happened to them. Thirty-two students submitted a Fibonacci task as a mathematics assessment, with many of…

Dice are considered one of the oldest gambling devices and thus many mathematicians have been interested in various dice gambling games in the past. Dice have been used to teach probability, and dice rolls can be effectively simulated using technology. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recommends that teachers use simulations…

This article is the second in a series of two papers which suggest some practical, spreadsheet-based ideas for helping students to make appropriate connections between particular algebraic concepts. Solving equations has traditionally been taught as a pen-and-paper process. Spreadsheets, such as that of Excel, provide a contemporary, and powerful…

Some might argue that the true ability to think, perceive, and analyse mathematically is the ability to solve problems. Others might say that it has more to do with advanced applications of procedures in particular contexts. The author would like to put a slightly different spin on this by viewing it, at least partly, in terms of one's ability to…

When the author first used "VisiCalc," the author thought it a very useful tool when he had the formulas. But how could he design a spreadsheet if there was no known formula for the quantities he was trying to predict? A few months later, the author relates he learned to use multiple linear regression software and suddenly it all clicked into…

In this article, the author focuses on possible ways to develop the concepts of joint variation and function through the upper primary and lower secondary years of education. The examples demonstrate the building of a range of important mathematical ideas by modelling life-related situations using students' informal and intuitive knowledge. Over…

In the Western Gregorian Calendar, the date of Easter Sunday is defined as the Sunday following the ecclesiastical Full Moon that falls on or next after March 21. While the pattern of dates so defined usually repeats each 19 years, there is a 0.08 day difference between the cycles. More accurately, the system has a period of 70 499 183 lunations…

Presents an example of an introductory lesson on spreadsheets which provides a quick overview/revision of the essential elements of spreadsheeting before progressing to programmed exercises. (ASK)

Creates graphs to see how the relative frequency of an event tends to approach the probability of that event as the number of trials increases. Uses a simulation of a poker machine to provide context for this subject. (ASK)

Presents a student mathematics project aimed at developing students' skills with computer spreadsheets and using the Internet to give students an appreciation of the many ways that mathematics can describe common everyday items--in this case the bicycle--and make them aware of their own role in learning. (ASK)

Presents an activity in which students use computer-based spreadsheets to find out how much grain should be added to a chess board when a grain of rice is put on the first square, the amount is doubled for the next square, and the chess board is covered. (ASK)

Describes the use of three computer tools used to enhance the teaching and learning of algebra: the spreadsheet, LOGO, and computer algebra tools. Examines the strengths of each tool and presents practical considerations for their use. (MDH)

Discussed are the use of spreadsheets for demonstrating and exploring with the whole class, basic and advanced spreadsheet operations, geometric progressions, and graphing. Teacher responses to these methods are described. (CW)