Experiences in the Usage of Octave on Improving Learning Mathematics in an Engineering Faculty

This article displays initial experiences in the usage of GNU Octave for improving learning mathematics in the student population of the electronic engineering faculty. Mathematics is considered as a difficult topic due to the lack of knowledge and abstraction capacities obtained in high school. A first-year course was implemented on learning the use of GNU Octave, as it is an easy tool for the following courses throughout the career, especially in mathematics. The lessons taught were calculus, scalar, vector and matrix variables, 2D and 3D graphic display. Results show that there is a significant improvement in the learning of the following semester courses amongst these students, such as calculus, algebra and geometry, as this software was used as a calculator and for simulation purposes.