I draft an email to seek advice from the local mathematics education community of what issues to bring up at the ATCM 2006 conference. I have not checked if anyone will respond. A calculator of simple operators (+, -, *, /) was all I had during my Form 7 (or grade 13, or one year after US high school) study. My own experience of technology in mathematics education was zero, nothing, null, or an empty set! From the technology standpoint, I can see technology could help the learning process in mathematics education. With this void, I start to read. Searching the web, I come across this article, not dated but most likely around 2000, "Technology Meets Math Education: Envisioning a Practical Future" by Andee Rubin at this website (http://www.air.org for American Institutes for Research). The sentence at the introduction page states "This paper insists that, rather than looking at math education from the perspective of the computer, we must look at computers from the perspective of mathematics education." I am INTERESTED in "look at computers from the perspective of mathematics education" and really like to see what will be said.

I, myself, may not be concise of "looking at mathematics education from the perspective of the computer." I am not sure what is 'the perspective' of a computer. Or, rather, is technology computer, or computer is technology? Would there be interests in 'Information Technology' when there did not exist such thing as a computer? The term 'technology' itself was of different interpretation ("East Meets West: What Americans and Hong Kong People Think About Technology," in Journal of Technology Education 17(1), Fall 2005 by Kenneth S. Volk and William E. Dugger Jr.) I would be more comfortable talking about mathematics education from the perspective of technology, than from that of the computer. There is another twist. A friend (once a colleague of different departments) was saying he knows how to integrate 'technology' into mathematics education and there are only a few in the WORLD that can rival his domain knowledge. He knows fair enough of mathematical software (maple, cabri, autograph, sketchpad, and some graphics calculator software) and no doubt, there is nothing wrong with the statement of knowing 'technology for mathematics education' if technology implies software.

Well, if technology is not software, then what is it you may ask. From Merriam-Webster Online, it gives a first definition as a noun as "the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area." Is there "technology" involved in enriching uranium (recent news on Iran)? Is 'artificial heart' a medical technology? I would say so by the definition. So, simply using the word 'technology' in mathematics education is not sufficient to convey the intention of studying, say, information technology (IT), in mathematics education? Then, why not 'information and communication technology (ICT)'? Nonetheless, we will sort it out later. Let us get back to the point: "look at computers from the perspective of mathematics education" and see what the author's view is.

To be continued...

If you don't feel good today, you may want to skip this posting. It is about death.

One of my friends in the States came back last Christmas to visit his father, living alone, of age late 70's. It was a short trip - less than a week and nothing accomplished. He was not successfully in getting his father to 'move' into an old folks' home. In the 'home,' someone will look after him, in case he falls, in case he is not eating. Knowing someone knows is better to not knowing? He left then. He was back here last month unexpectedly to take care of his father's funeral. Sadly, his father passed away in a hospital.

I went to the funeral. The ceremony was in the back of the district hospital, a small one-room single-storey brick building - as if someone forgot to take it down when some buildings it attached to were razed. A waffle-tin roof was put up next to the building like a car port to a trailer or a small ranch. And yes, it was under the tin roof that his father was laying in an open coffin for final viewing. Emotions were absent from my friend. He might not know what hit him yet, hopefully.

I went to another friend's father's funeral last Wednesday (3/29). No emotion - for all the sons that were there. Am I being sensitive? Am I just simply a person do not know how to handle my emotions? This friend found out his father had terminal cancel about 3 weeks ago. Then I was told the father passed away. Three days after that, we have a meeting with the friend and he was all ok.

Help me here. Some western culture will gather and eat after a death in the family (there was a term for this?). Acceptance versus denial. Whatever it is, where should one tuck his or her emotions of losing someone dear in the family? I don't know. I would be sad for awhile, acceptance or not. I have a story to tell for how my father passed away, or rahter how did I find out he was gone some 4 to 5 year later (yes, I don't remember exactly). Sad and I don't know if I know I have get that out of my system.