MATHEMATICS TEACHING ON THE WEB FOR STUDENT TEACHERS: ACTION RESEARCH IN PRACTICE Helge Fredriksen University of Nordland The article summarises experiences gained through my practice as web-based pedagogue in mathematics at the University of Nordland (Norway)’s teacher-training institute. It has been my wish to make continuous improvements to my practice and I present two of the most important improvements that I investigated on the basis of practical action research. Data collected from student s’ feedback indicates that video lectures produced by filming whiteboard teaching yields a greater educational result than so-called screen video of a slideshow run on a PC. In addition, we present and discuss significant findings regarding the use of Skype in web-based teaching. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, I wish to describe some of my findings in respect of the new web-based maths teaching in the teacher education at the University of Nordland. I then wish to present some suggestions for possible initiatives against the background of empirical observations collected during my first term of web-based teaching. My professional background is as university lecturer in mathematics. During the spring term 2011 I taught the first class of student teachers at the University of Nordland in statistical analysis, basic geometry and probability calculation in a web- based version. In addition to the web-based classes, this teaching has been held in equivalent classes on campus. The goal of the web-based program is to enable a flexible form of tuition in which the bulk of the teaching per se is conducted over the internet instead of face to face, as was the case in the old general teacher-training program. One of the primary intentions is that the university to a greater extent should accommodate the students’ desire for freedom from a teaching form that entails constraints on time and place. Traditional campus-based tuition forces the student to be present at the time and place in which lectures and group seminars are held. By putting lectures out as video clips on an established web address, as well as arranging web-based meetings with voice and webcam, an attempt has been made to liberate participants from location-bound tuition. The video clips are accessible 24 hours a day so that the student in principle can view them whenever it is convenient and on any suitable medium that has a modern web browser installed. The idea is that this provides far more students with an opportunity to complete teacher training – primarily those who for one reason or another are unable to move to Bodø during the period of study. I believe that it may be of interest to others who are involved with web-based tuition in general, and web-based maths teaching in particular, that I share these experiences.