"Pitfalls" to Teaching Geometry Dynamically

I thought that the article presented many valid points and it was nice to actually read an article that discusses the pitfalls of technology. I am usually instructed to read articles that only present the positives which can be misleading.

The pitfalls that impacted me were:

1-Although students are using the software they may not actually be learning anything.

2-Students may be misled by the "picture" or construction

For the first pitfall, I think it is important to remember that just because students are on a computer and using it for mathematics does not mean that they are learning. I think that this occurs in the classroom frequently and students are hurt in the long run. Just because students are using a piece of technology does not mean that instruction does not need to occur as well. When I teach I plan on using both as a means of reaching as many students as I can.

The second pitfall is something I had not thought of, but makes complete sense. I think that students should have to do many trials of a construction in order to help them make a decision about the validity of their proof. Once students have a specific idea as to whether a statement may be true or false, they should then move to a formal proof (without using the technology) to help them decide for sure. It is very true that a picture on GSP can be very misleading and just happen to work out, when in reality it was a stroke of luck and not a definite case. Therefore, paper and pen and formal proofs need to be done as well.

-Another pitfall that was not mentioned was that teachers themselves need to be proficient at using the technology. I feel that sometimes a technology is introduced to a school and the teachers are just expected to know how to use it. Staff development days need to be used for teachers to learn how to use the software and know it well enough to be able to use it in their classrooms. Also, I know of schools that have the resources but the teachers are not instructed on how to use them. They are basically just applications on their computers that end up not being used because the teachers are not aware of how to do so. The article mentioned that students need to master the software, but before that can even occur, teachers need to be the ones to have it mastered!