Mathematics is the methodical application of matter. This subject makes our lives to be in order and prevent from disarrays. Certain qualities that Mathematics may develop are spatial reasoning, creativity, and critical thinking, problem-solving ability, and even effective communication skills. It is believed that the existence of Mathematics has a huge effect to the movement of the world. Despite of its importance, Mathematics is one of the most underappreciated sciences.
The alarming observation of Filipino students as they study Mathematics is that they excel in knowledge acquisition but fare considerably low in lessons which require higher order thinking skills. The low understanding of the students toward the subject has become a cause of great concern on Mathematics education. There are different factors that can affect student’s performance in Mathematics, some of these are study techniques, teaching strategies of teachers and students’ attitude toward the subject.
Indeed, it is important to consider the interests of the students to engage better in learning Mathematics. As the world is continuously changing, technology becomes a prominent source of knowledge in terms of education and learning. Evenson (2017) stated that in the last decade, technology influenced almost every aspect of life including education. Bloom’s taxonomy explains the way students perceive and evaluate with any kind of understanding is very important in their learning process. If students are not interested in Mathematics, they tend not to exert any effort to learn and comprehend the different concepts that are being taught to them. It is imperative for an educator to know the importance of knowing the level of interest of the learners. Through this, teachers may formulate new ways of teaching the subject matter. The 21st century learners are considered to be very engaging and innovative. Education 4.0 is the answer to this matter. This is the fourth industrial revolution in education that caters technology-oriented classroom set up. Traditional education is said to be no longer fit-for-purpose. The role of the teachers in this era is to be the facilitators of learning and not the ones who control the activities of the leaners. Diverse activities with the use of technology should be established to maintain the interest in acquiring knowledge. Department of Education encourages the teachers to use different kinds of technology in teaching like computers, projectors, and mobile phones. Traditionally, education has been catered in classrooms where students learned through the instruction of their teachers and through textbooks. However, the wide usage of computers and other communication gadgets has made the learning process easier. Since 1980’s, mobile phones were widely used by the people of all ages around the world. These gadgets have been utilized not only as communication devices, but also portable and private technological equipment.
Nowadays, mobile technologies are becoming progressively ubiquitous and relevant to the lives of people. Such technologies can be used innovatively in different areas. Using mobile phones in imparting knowledge is a clear example of such innovation. Mobile devices with internet connections have shaped the needs for a new form of electronic learning, called mobile learning. Young Filipinos are the most frequent users of these gadgets in the country. Internet-enabled mobile devices such as smart phones can help learners to access learning resources anywhere and at any time. One of the commonly used kind of smart phones is the Android-phone because of its reliability, versatility and scalability. Android is so widely utilized for its compatibility with all the major browsers within the mobile ecosystem.
Android phones offers different applications or commonly known as “apps” that can be utilized by the users for their specific functions. One of these functions are for educational purposes, especially in Mathematics. There are many apps that can be downloaded for mathematical uses such as Scientific Calculator, Wolfram Math, Desmos, Mal Math, and a lot more. Mathematics is considered to be a difficult subject for many, and it is totally understandable. There are lot of things that numbers do. People look for math apps for a variety of reasons, but most of them are for scholastic purposes. The environment of Mathematics learning using mobile apps enables independent and cooperative learning in authentic real-life conditions, engages learners in various mathematical activities and makes learning Mathematics stress free and faster.
It is a huge challenge for the teachers to make Mathematics easier to understand. The teachers who were implementing the subject have vital roles in improving the students’ attitudes toward Mathematics by helping them learn Mathematics and by making it more interesting. The teachers are also accountable for creating an intellectual environment in the classroom where serious engagement in mathematical thinking is the norm. Effective teaching requires deciding what aspects of a task need to give priority, how to guide and organize the work of students, what questions to ask the students having different levels of expertise and how to support students while still going to the process of learning.