A number of underlying principles for including technology in the mathematics classroom is provided by Way and Webb (2006). They see technology, if incorporated in a rich and meaningful way, as potentially providing: (1) a shift from "instructivist" to constructivist education philosophies; (2) a move from teacher-centred to student-centred learning activities; (3) a shift from a focus on local resources to global resources; and (4) an increased complexity of tasks and use of multi-modal information. In this article, the author describes how readily available software such as Microsoft Word may be used to help children develop better understanding of area. (Contains 4 figures.)