“Photomath:” uma análise crítica à luz do método de Pólya

Abstract

The research, "Photomath:" a critical analysis in the light of Pólya's method, aims to know the methodology developed by the Hungarian mathematician George Pólya in problem solving, as an active method of teaching and learning in Mathematics; and from there, to analyze the Photomath application as a tool to solve mathematical problems to finally present some advantages and disadvantages of its use. The motivation to analyze this tool was due to its great use in remote teaching during the pandemic of COVID 19, where we also got to know it and used it to help in our learning during the Mathematics Degree Course, but since then I felt the need to know more about the application and the possibility of its use as a teaching and learning tool. The research was bibliographic, where we sought to understand the specifications of the Photomath application in articles and journal publications, as well as on the application's own website, its features, applications, and limitations. To understand how Pólya's method works, we analyzed some articles and books such as: "The art of solving problems: a new aspect of the mathematical method" by Georges Pólya (1995) where we understood how the methodology works, which is divided into 4 phases or stages. With the knowledge of the methodologies we will analyze problem situations applied in basic education and also in higher education using Pólya's method and the Photmath application in order to understand the best tool to solve the proposed problems. Finally we arrived at some considerations about the analyzed situations that showed the limitations of the use of the Photomath application for certain situations, but it proved useful in others, and it is up to the student to know the best way to use it.