As part of its commitment to enhancing Mathematics education in Anguilla, the Anguilla Community College (ACC) GeoGebra Institute hosted its first training event from March 17th to March 19th. GeoGebra is an Open source (free), multi-platform dynamic software that allows students to interactively discover mathematical concepts and the relationships among them. The software package used at all levels in the education system, helps millions of students to understand algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics and many other fields of science in a deeper way. GeoGebra was started in 2001 by Markus Hohenwarter who has released the software as open source. GeoGebra has received many educational software awards in Europe and in the USA. Currently, GeoGebra is used in 190 countries, translated into 52 languages and attracts 300,000 downloads monthly. There are 40 GeoGebra Institutes of which ACC is its newest member. The GeoGebra institutes provide support and training for the use and application of GeoGebra. The mission of GeoGebra is very simple: to help math learning for students world-wide. The local initiative is facilitated though the Division of Humanities & Education.
The training sessions were facilitated by Dr. Robert F Cunningham. Dr. Cunningham holds degrees in mathematics from LaSalle University and from Villanova University. In addition, he holds a doctorate in mathematics education from Temple University. Serving as a full professor at The College of New Jersey, he teaches both mathematics content and pedagogy. Dr. Cunningham’s research focuses on both pre-service and in-service mathematics teachers. His research in mathematics education has also examined technology in support of instruction. He has published widely in refereed journals and made over 60 national and international conference presentations. In 2001-2002, he served as the president of the Association of Mathematics Teacher of New Jersey and program co-chair for the Eastern regional conference of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. These efforts along with grant direction resulted in awards for outstanding leadership and service. In 2013, he was the invited keynote speaker at the Mathematics and Educational Symposium at the National University of Ireland at Galway. Recently has been appointed to a 5-year term on the Fulbright Specialist Roster in mathematics education which will fund linkages with overseas institutions. Over the past few years, his lively interest in teaching and research has prompted him to involve undergraduate students in conducting, presenting, and publishing mathematics education research.
In addition to helping students learn mathematics in a way that is exciting and approachable, GeoGebra also strengthens the local offering of Mathematics education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. It is hoped that following this training that local Mathematics educators will form a local network of GeoGebra users as a way of advancing the cause of technology integration in Mathematics.
Individuals who would like to benefit from this work are asked to contact Dr. LeRoy Hill at the Anguilla Community College at leroy.hill@acc.edu.ai or via telephone at 497-2538/498-8395.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
