eJMT Abstract

The pedagogical benefits of using computer aided dynamic geometry software system in classrooms are well understood among educators. MathDisk, the latest entrant into this fray, has all the essential aspects one could expect from an Interactive Mathematical Software. MathDisk also goes beyond the conventional feature set that defines this class of software and brings in proven learning techniques found in other disciplines in mathematics teaching. The main aim of this paper is to describe one such technique called “progressive disclosure”, a concept extensively introduced in User Interface Design to improve the readability and accessibility of software. Progressive discovery or disclosure is an informational presentation pattern, where we seek to focus the attention of the audience to the point that you we are making, rather than presenting them with too much distracting information. The concept itself is by no means an innovation, however MathDisk provides a simple and systematic approach to apply this concept to teaching mathematics. This paper illustrates this concept using two concrete examples, (both in 2D and 3D), the tools available within MathDisk to achieve progressive discovery, and how to effectively apply this as a teaching aid. Before we embark on our main goal, we give a brief introduction of MathDisk.