21: Technology and Mathematics Education

Anyone who presumes to describe the roles of technology in mathematics education faces challenges akin to describing a newly active volcano—the mathematical mountain is changing before our eyes, with myriad forces operating on it and within it simultaneously. Many of these forces contain a technological component. The methods of mathematical research and application and the criteria regarding what is important to investigate are all evolving more rapidly than ever before (Steen, 1988). These changes affect decisions on what mathematics should be included in the school mathematics curricula. But the same technological forces that shape the mathematics also deeply affect the teachability and learnability of mathematics, both new and old.