Use of mathematic program packages for improving and modernizing teaching mathematics in the faculty of computer science and information technologies in Riga technical university

Abstract

Questions about the quality improvement of the school system are topical at the moment. Universities must be prepared to offer the young person an education that prepares him/her to be competitive in these new work conditions, which is why the main goal of the university in this changing time is development of the of mental skills, cognitive research attitudes and IT skills. That is why mathematics study programmes and didactics must be improved, based on IT, creating more modern learning materials based on modern technologies and offering access to them via the Internet. During the period 2005 to 2014, students from the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technologies, parallel to the regular teaching of mathematics, were taught a program package MATHEMATICA. In the last two years it was changed to a program package MATLAB. For two semesters the first course students have had laboratory work at computers, where students are acquiring the ability to solve tasks that are similar to those in their practical work with the help of a mathematical program. This year's first course students were questioned about MATLAB classes. 172 students took part in a survey, and the majority of them believe that MATLAB classes are useful and necessary for students and that they help them understand mathematical algorithms to solve tasks.