Information technology and multiple representations: new opportunities – new problems

Computer environments that employ multiple representations have become commonplace in the classroom. This article reviews the arguments and evidence for the benefits of such software and describe what the associated learning demands are likely to be. By describing the results of two evaluation studies in primary mathematics, the authors show that children as young as six can, in the right circumstances, benefit from multi- representational software. The authors discuss the features of the learning environments that influenced performance and consider how teachers could support learning with these types of environments.