# Use of Digital Technology in Integrated Mathematics Education
## 2 Theoretical Framework  
The use of digital technology can enhance integrated mathematics education by providing interactive and engaging tools for learning and practice. Digital technology can be integrated into mathematics education with the aid of the following:  
* Online resources: Students can access a variety of online resources, such as video tutorials, interactive simulations, and practice exercises, to supplement their classroom learning [14]. * Educational apps: There are numerous applications available that allow students to gain mathematical skills in a fun and engaging way [15]. Applications like Khan Academy offer instant feedback and help students monitor their progress platforms [16]. Digital technology can also support constructivist approaches to learning [17]. The constructivist approach emphasises that individuals construct their understanding and knowledge through experiences and interactions with their environment. In this sense, digital tools not only allow but also encourage students to engage in interactive learning experiences to construct their knowledge by providing students access to various resources and information. For example, interactive simulations and online experiments can allow students to actively explore concepts hands-on, enabling them to build their understanding through direct experience. Additionally, digital tools can provide students with access to diverse perspectives and sources of information, empowering them to construct their knowledge based on multiple viewpoints. Further, from the technology acceptance model (TAM) perspective [18], a series of factors that can influence the students' acceptance and use of digital technologies can be identified. According to TAM, two key factors influence users' acceptance of technology:  
* Perceived Ease of Use: This refers to the degree to which users believe using a particular technology will be easy and convenient. * Perceived Usefulness: This refers to the extent to which users believe that a particular technology will help them achieve their goals or tasks. Students' satisfaction with digital technologies is likely to be higher if they perceive them as valuable and beneficial for their academic and personal needs. Starting from the technology acceptance model (TAM), a series of surveys were conducted to analyse students' digital competencies in learning mathematics for technical systems within the defence and security fields before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was carried out on the territory of the European Union in several research centres and universities. The survey involved 1047 students in the security and defence fields, subdivided by age and gender, as presented in Figure 1. Most of the students had different countries of residence than the countries of study. Additionally, a few students were from France, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovakia as countries of residence and study. Furthermore, some students were originally from countries outside the European Union, such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Moldova, Montenegro, and Senegal. The majority of the students studied in the institutions were taking part in the project Digital Competences for Improving Security and Defence Education (DIGICODE) [12] but with some exceptions and variability, especially for Romanian students. While most students were pursuing military and/or engineering studies, others were enrolled in diverse fields such as economics, information technology, health, humanities, languages, law, or social sciences. Their distribution concerning the course year shows that many students attended from the third year of their bachelor's, thus ensuring the capability to confront the pre-pandemic situation with those during and after COVID-19 for most of the sample. The ratio between military students (cadets) and civilian students was about 4:1 (Figure 2). According to the analysed surveys, the majority of students had a positive perception of their digital skills.