Graphing calculators - necessity or waste

In My Humble Opinion
1

In this thread about “stupid school supplies” - some folk mentioned graphing calculators. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=204056&perpage=50&highlight=school%20supplies&pagenumber=3

I recused myself from that discussion, as it had not yet reared its ugly head in our household. That is - until the first day of class when my HS soph comes home and says she needs a graphing calculator and the teacher would prefer that she get the $150 TI89 instead of the $90 TI83 and it would be really nice if she had it by the following day thankyouverymuch.

Now, I’m sure graphing calculators are really nifty tools for certain things. But I really question the process whereby a school requires parents to make such sizeable expenditures.

Pre-calculator, we spent approx $400 for that one kid (we have 2 others) in terms of fees, books, supplies, etc. IMO, that is not an insignificant amount. And an extra $90-150 on top of that makes it - IMO - nothing to sneeze at.

Plus - there was no warning. We’ve had book and supply lists for some time now. Why spring an $90-150 extra on us once school starts? We could have been researching and comparison shopping ahead of time, instead of adding another hassle right when school starts. Inconsiderate of the parents, if nothing else.

When considering what I require of a school, a $90 calculator certainly strikes me as a luxury, rather than a necessity. Why on earth does a sophomore level algebra class NEED such a tool? How on earth did I make it all the way through calc in college without one? Are they discovering new numbers or something? How many folk will EVER use this beyond math classes? Could less expensive software be substituted?

As I understand it, the TI83 ($80) is permitted on the SAT, etc., but the ($150) 89 is not. The teacher says he expects it to be permitted in the future. In the meantime, however, he says he is recommending the pricier model, and his transparencies and lectures will be geared to the TI89.

It really pisses me off that this teacher - or the school - or whoever makes these decisions can just decide to impose an additional $60 cost on the parents of all these kids. Shouldn’t schools be presumed to bear a fiduciary duty towards taxpayers such that they do not require unnecessary expenditures?

And who develops curricula that are taught in a manner that requires such expenditures?

And when my wife and I question this, my daughter gets all upset that we are going to rock the boat.

We figured with 3 kids, we’d just bite the bullet and buy a TI 83 which could be handed down. If we need the 89 at some time in the future, we’ll look into getting one.

2

Recently, while obtaining my teaching certification, I got to go back and take a bunch of math classes on the college level.

I was expected to obtain and learn to use the TI-83. I wasn’t happy about it, since the last time I had taken any algebra or geometry or calculus was in 1982, and we managed okay without graphing calculators… but now, had I NOT obtained the calculator, I never would have passed the class.

The upshot of it seemed to be that the calculator gave you the speed to figure out and graph certain functions very quickly, so they could stick more questions on the tests, thus (apparently) more efficiently determining what you’ve learned.

Precisely why I needed two years of math in order to teach special education was never explained.

3

I’m an entering college freshman, so I can probably help you out here. You don’t need a graphing calculator until calculus…i got through trig/pre-calc with a scientific, although a graphing calculator was allowed. You absolutely need a graphing calculator for Calculus class nowadays…it’s a good tool to check answers and, obviously, your graphs.

For algebra class, um, well, I guess it could be used if they are starting to learn functions of lines on a coordinate plane and all that. But I don’t see any reason for an algebra class to require a graphing calculator.

On a personal note, my calc teacher absolutely hated the Ti-89. It did too much for the student, and so a lot of times she had a “no calculator” section so students couldn’t rely too mcuh on the calculator. The Ti-83 can’t do everything that the 89 can, but i got through calc just fine with the 83. Hope this helps!

4

I am one of those people in the thread you mention. I was forced to buy one. It cost me $120. I got it at Walmart. My son is in AP Honors Math. The teacher claims he can use it for the remainder of his years in school.

I had bought one the year before for another son but he left it in his locker and it got stolen!

I don’t know who decides whether it is REALLY necessary for this item to be part of the curriculam but it is an outrageous expense for a single parent.

5

Get the TI-83 for your daughter if she plans on persuing a science career. I’ve had one since sophomore year and have used up through college and now it’s sitting in my desk drawer at work. Going back to school in a few months and I know it will definately be in my bag.

While I would love to splurge for a newer model, the TI-83 has proven infinately useful throughout all my ventures.

Chemistry: stores formulas.
Calculus: nuff said.
Computer Science: Tears up run-time calculations and holds run-time formulas.
Physics: a necessity for physics

Granted it’s a bit costly for a school supply but I’ve been using mine for almost 6 years and I plan on using it for years to come. It even helped me through the boredom of high school by providing a device to practice programming on. The TI-83’s language is pretty simple and easy to pick up.

I wrote a password protection program for my calculator, a text adventure, and eventually a game called “AsteRISK” in which you take control of an Asterisk and battle other symbols found on a calculator for control of a kingdom.

Maybe I’m too much of a geek and am delivering too much hype, but I live and die by this device.

6

Sheesh. I can’t think of any reason why any student would truly need a graphing calculator to be able to learn high school math, especially if it’s just algebra. Granted, it’s a nice tool, but not a necessity, and I certainly hope that these students are also being taught how to graph things themselves, and not just rely on the calculator.

I teach Computer Science at a university, BTW, and I have also taught college math classes (including algebra).

7

We used graphing calculators for my HS Algebra 2 course. They seemed to be use mainly to make graphs and we spent more time learning how to use them (Ti-82, at the time) than actually working with them. On the other hand, they made great tools for cheating and we had some pretty bitching games going on it by the end of that year. One of the geniuses even had a working “Doom” game. The frame rate was pretty bad, but for a caluclator…

8

No.

Not only is it not necessary, but I think it’s a detriment to the student if it’s introduced too early. High school students in an algebra class shouldn’t be using calculators for the same reason that second graders learning arithmetic shouldn’t. You come to rely on the calculator, and learn how to use a machine (that WILL be obsolete at some point) instead of learning the ins and outs of the methematical concepts.

[semi-rant only tangentially related to secondary education follows:]
I have a huge problem with engineering education for this reason. Many schools seem to focus more on equations and applications than understanding the concepts behind these applications. This produces an engineer who is proficient with the state of the art software being used during the year of his or her graduation, but who doesn’t necessarily understand the equations that the software uses and the limitations of the package. You also get someone who can’t do those calculations efficiently without access to that particular computer program.
[end of semi-rant]

I sound like an irascible old coot at the ripe old age of 28. I do believe that graphing calculators have a place in mathematical education, but that place is emphatically NOT a high school algebra class.

9

It really does depend on how much you are going to use it. I have a BA and a BAII Plus, which is a business calculator, and I couldn’t do without them. But since I never need to actually plot linear regression, I don’t need anything else. Not only that, but any gfx calculators couldn’t be used in my entrance exam, so it would be a big waste of money for me to have one. But if they will be using them in school, get the best one you can afford, because it’s a benefit to have good tools. So how’s that for a big “It’s up to you.”

10

Hmm. I have an older model (TI-82, it says), which sits in my backpack and gets dragged out once in a blue moon, normally to do something that a regular old calculator can use. Really, I never understood the need for these things. They’re convenient and nifty and all, but… eh.

11

The school I went to had a program where you could rent a Ti-83 for about 30 bucks for a semester, which was fine since I only used it in AP calc. Unless your daughter is already in calculus as a sophomore I think a graphing calculator is total overkill. I used a Ti-30 until halfway through calculus when we started doing actual graphs.

If I would have had a TI-83, let alone a TI-89, in high school, I am tempted to say I might not have learned a thing. The only reason I bought an 89 was because my sophomore year of EE courses required it for solving complex matrices. The 89 does pretty much damn near anything you can think of, and any high school kid who wants to sit down and read the manual for a few minutes can learn how to have the calculator do any derivative or integral (definite or indefinite) and spit out the answer. I think there might even be a way to have it display the steps taken to reach the answer, though I might be thinking of the HP calculators.

I would suggest checking with the school to see if they have any sort of rental programs, and if you absolutely need to buy a calculator, the 83 is more than acceptable for anything done in highschool.

12

I do think that graphing calculators are a necessity - but not a TI-89 and not at a moments notice.

I’ll be surprised if TI-89s are allowed on standardized tests in the near future. They’ve already been around for a good while (at least, their predecessor, the 92, has been). They’re excluded for reasons - not just because they haven’t been approved yet.

The current trends in math instruction (high school and college level, at least) focus on mathematical reasoning rather than computational skills. This is greatly facilitated with the graphing calculators. Noone is claiming that it’s impossible to do without (obviously many here made it through just fine) - but the calculator is a great tool for many. I’m most familiar with their use in pre-calc and calculus classes (which sophomore algebra may very well be pre-calc under a different name) and the use of calculators has resulted in a much greater fundamental understanding of the topics. In teaching physics, I see a huge difference between students with the two differing backgrounds. Calculator kids often have a better idea of what a derivative really means, or how functions change when you do different things to them.

Especially with the TI 82/83 and 85/86, it’s very much a ‘garbage in, garbage out’ thing - they rarely take the place of solid algebra skills.

None of this makes a hoot of difference if the calculators aren’t integrated into the class effectively. Take a look at her textbook and see how/if calculators are integrated into the lessons. I’ve seen books do it well, and I’ve seen books do it terribly. A lot will also depend on what the teacher does with them.

As for the financial aspect of it - I’m of absolutely no help there. I do know that my sister acquired a TI-82 for two years of high school, then I used it for two years of high school followed by 4 years of college before finally upgrading (and donating the still good, slightly worn TI-82 to a high school).

13

I know I couldn’t have made it through calculus or p-chem without mine, but there is a drawback to them. You’re not allowed to use one during most math tests, and people tend to get too dependant on them and then run into difficulties during the tests. Why bother learning how to graph, etc., when the calculator can do it for you? A TI 89, or even the cheaper version, will last your child all through their academic career, assuming it isn’t stolen like Isabelle reported.

14

My school bought quite a few graphing calculators for use by math classes(I’m pretty sure Ontario’s new curriculum required it). There was enough for at least two classes, and teachers had to sign them out(like TVs). To be honest, my classes would pull them out about once a month, relearn how to turn them on and clear the memory, and then do some menial task with them that was merely a repeat of what we had learned. They did come in handy when learning about transformations on functions, and when solving matrices, but that was about it. My calculus teacher had his own, with a display he could put on an overhead to show us functions and derivatives and such, and that was just as useful as doing it on our own(plus, it was much faster). If you end up buying one, I wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up wasting your money. I’m not saying that their not useful, but their usefulness is limited in high school.

15

I got a TI-86 as a junior in high school, and I’m still using it as a junior in college. I’ve always thought it’s a good compromise between the 83 and the 89; while it doesn’t have as much programmed as the other two do, it does have more functions that are useful to me than the 83 and the functions are more intuitive to use and get to than the 89.

I’m not sure I really buy the argument about using the calculator as a crutch. As someone else said, it’s really garbage in, garbage out. When I’m doing big long equations in math, chemistry, or physics, it’s really helpful to be able to input it all at once instead of having to do it step by step. I just did a problem in P. Chem tonight where I had to solve the van der Waals equation for volume, which is not easy to do without setting it up to solve a cubic equation. I just threw it in Maple and used the fsolve command after setting up the equation, with my professor’s blessing. I used my 86 a lot in high school, too, some in Algebra II/Trig and Precalc, but more in chemistry and physics.

As for software, a standard is Maple, which is about the same price as a graphing calculator. They’re up to Maple 9 now (we’re still at 8 here at school), which is $130 for the student edition. It’s even more powerful than a TI-89, but definitely takes some time to use. Excel is also a possibility, and gets a lot of use in the sciences with some work to make it useful as a scientific tool and not a business tool. (That’s why I’ve got a book called Excel for Chemists.) Of course, Excel is “free”, but not as powerful as Maple. I don’t remember if it can do derivatives and intergrals on the fly, but I would be surprised if it can’t, as calc is definitely used in business. Others are Mathematica, which we have here at school but doesn’t get as much use, and Minitab, which isn’t used as much as Excel. Of course, unless you have a laptop, none of these are portable.

16

What exactly does a graphing calculator do? When I was in grade school students simply did not use any calculators at all–you were supposed to work out math problems (even algebra) on your own. And in college a $15 “scientific” calculator got me through statistics, astronomy, accounting, algebra, and calculus. If we ever needed to draw a graph we used pencils and paper.

I’m starting to feel like an old fogey and I only graduated college last year. Why is it suddenly necessary for students to have these? Are kids being taught more complex math now than they were back in my day? (I’m not trying to be judgemental here, just curious.)

17

My high school insisted that we use TI-89s. The whole math program was based around it. Mine got stolen within a month of my buying it, and I tried to avoid buying a replacement by using a scientific calculator. Unfortunately, we graphed something in class nearly every day, and I had to fork out another $150.

Warning: Rant ahead.

I hated the TI-89. I couldn’t figure out what half the buttons did, couldn’t figure out how to correct the errors that occurred when I pressed the buttons whose functions I didn’t understand. I could do trig faster on my Casio scientific. It doesn’t improve your math skills. It just makes you lazy. There were kids in my class who would have been lost if you’d asked them to do long division.

I quit math right before calculus. I’m now in college, and I never have to take math again. I now have a somewhat scratched but perfectly functional TI-89 for which I have absolutely no use.

Time to look into opening a seller’s account on Ebay.

18

My word! Graphing calculators. What is the world coming to?

I was required to have a Log-Log Duplex Trig or Deci-Trig slide rule and know how to use it. Fortunately between the accompanying mfgrs. manual and a nifty little paper back written by one of the profs. with lots of short cuts and tricks life wasn’t too difficult. The price in 1941 was comparable with the T89 allowing for inflation.

I later acquired a copy of Bruhn’s 9? place table of logarithims and a Brunsvega “sausage mill” calculator which was all the rage in the scientific community pre WW-I Can’t find the book but have the mill.

19

My word! Graphing calculators. What is the world coming to?

For first year of Engineering I was required to have a Log-Log Duplex Trig or Deci-Trig slide rule and know how to use it. Fortunately between the accompanying mfgrs. manual and a nifty little paper back written by one of the profs. with lots of short cuts and tricks life wasn’t too difficult. The price in 1941 was comparable with the T89 allowing for inflation.

I later acquired a copy of Bruhn’s 9? place (or was it 15 places) table of logarithims and a Brunsvega “sausage mill” calculator which was all the rage in the scientific community pre WW-I. Can’t find the book but still have the mill.

20

All you kids with your TI-82s and above… hell, you have it easy.

Me? I had to tough it through Calc with my TI-81 back in the day. You should be glad you never lived my life. :wink: