Derive 6 ? A Computer Program for Teaching and Learning Mathematics

Abstract

Since the days that computers emerged as fast and diligent number-crunching devices, mathematicians have searched for ways of getting them to perform increasingly sophisticated tasks. This has led to the latest development in technology, computer algebra systems, a sort of mathematical expert system which is necessarily changing the way we do mathematics. Derive is a very mature computer algebra system for PCs, its roots go back to the late Seventies. It is the first computer algebra system which was widely used as a tool for teaching and learning mathematics. Many ministries and school authorities throughout Europe have adopted Derive as the primary computer tool for mathematics education. Derive 6 is the newest version with a lot of features which support teachers and students in a mathematics class. We give an overview of Derive 6 with emphasis on these more pedagogical product features. We demonstrate these features with appropriate classroom examples from lower and upper secondary school mathematics and put them into a general didactical framework.