New cell phone applications to solve math problems
By India Abroad News Service   |   Wednesday, 11 July 2007, 19:30 IST
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London: Scientists in Israel have developed new applications that they claimed will help students to learn mathematics through their cell phones. Scientist at the University of Haifa in Israel, who specifically developed the applications for the educational system, said the applications could be installed on most cellular phones available in the market today. When installed, the applications enable mobile phones to function like computers. The scientists claimed that the applications are able to perform mathematical functions at different levels - from elementary school geometry to high school level calculus, reported science portal EurekAlert. A pilot research project at the University of Haifa recently evaluated the use of the applications by students. As part of this research, participants recorded simple occurrences such as the speed of a dripping faucet, buses pulling away from a bus stop and a number of other events with the video cameras on their cell phones. Galit Botzer, who conducted the research, then instructed them to turn their video clip into a mathematical model using the applications available on their cell phone. "It was important for us to see whether or not the students actually do use their phone as a medium for communication to help solve the problem. We found that they did indeed use text messaging to send one another information, questions and comments at different times and from different places. "Our next step is to engage in more intensive research, and to develop additional, unique applications for cellular phones," said Botzer.

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