Historical Numerical Systems using ICT to students

This paper presents a software for the value of a digit position in four ancient numerical systems. The software, designed with the scratch application, was granted to twenty-one undergraduate students of Pedagogical Department of Primary Education of the University of Western Macedonia. In this qualitative field research the aim is to describe and interpret the students’ answers to the software tests, as well as the answers to open-ended questions that were called upon to respond after the software exercises. In particular, it is investigated whether the students understood the value or position of a non-digit and how to create a number in the ancient numbering systems. The questions that are encountered relate to the performance of students in each system separately but also globally and the effect of gender on them. Data analysis did not show any differenced in gender performance. Also of interest are the findings from the analysis of data in open-ended responses.