Integrating Math and Technology- Entrepreneurial Business Plans

Christye Johnson, Towers High School-Dekalb Co. Schools, Atlanta, GA

During the GAETC conference, I attended the Math+Technology=Learning workshop presented by Tammy Worcester.  In this session, we were taught how to use Microsoft Office products to integrate Math with Technology.  The computer can be an excellent tool in the teaching of Math concepts especially due to the variety of technology options available to students in this rapidly changing technology revolution.

There are many ways to incorporate technology into the study of math and numbers. Whether you decide to use your word processing program for story problems or use a spreadsheet to calculate problems, technology allows for easier ways to show students math relationships.  Ms. Worcester also gave examples of how shapes and patterns can be created using the Autoshape feature in MS word.  Pictographs created in the Microsoft Excel program also show mathematical relationships.  The various examples that can be shown in the Microsoft Office Suite allow students to demonstrate understanding of math concepts.

As a Business and Computer Science instructor that is currently teaching Entrepreneurial Ventures course, I found many ways that Math can be integrated with technology.  As part of project-based instruction, my Entrepreneurial Ventures students created their own businesses for a major semester project.  A major aspect of starting a business is to create a business plan.  One of the major elements in the business plan is financial management.  This portion requires the business owner to estimate projected costs and expenses related to the operation of the business and create a Financial Statement.  In a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, students were required to list items needed for the startup of their business.  Using the internet, they researched the costs of the items needed and they entered the costs and formulas that calculated the total costs/expenses associated with the startup.  The graphs they created in MS Excel showed comparisons and breakdowns to potential investors and provided an overall financial outlook of the individual student companies.  The mathematical basis of the graphs and formulas were a great example of how math and technology work together.

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