Slashdot Mirror
Texas Instruments Announces New Calculator
S. Kinney writes "TI recently announced the development of a new calculator, known as the Voyage 200, to replace the TI-92+. The software changes are rather minor, as the device is designed to be compatible with the 92, though the addition of a clock makes the Voyage more functional for some, and the case of the device enjoys a new design. Perhaps the most useful upgrade to the 92+ is the addition of more memory, for a sum of 2.7 MB of storage. No word on release date, but it'll be interesting to see how this comes out. It may be one more step towards releasing a modern-day Avigo, their failed PDA from a few years back. "
TI-92 is the -wrong- calculator for HS. Not only is there the theft bit you mentioned (Hey, it looks like it should play video games... NAB IT!) but it also automates nearly all the math you'd ever do in HS (algebra, trig & HS calculus are trivial on it, geometry is still good). Anything but proofs can be done by the TI, in such a way that it'll be acceptable to the average overworked, undermotivated HS teacher. Not to mention that it's QWERTY keyboard prevents it from being used on the SATs and other standardized tests.
Of course, when I got mine my freshman year of college, it sure made doing homework while learning to drink a lot more bearable.
my sig's at the bottom of the page.
It's a good shortcut when you acctually know the math, but getting a calculator that will integrate (2x+1)/(1+x^2) (ok, that's easy, but you get the point) for you doesn't exactly encourage thinking. The problem with the superficial learning that you get from using calculators (especially symbolhandling) is that you can't really solve any problems. As soon as you go outside the boundaries of the calculator you're lost.
An analogy is that calculators is a bit like using windows: sure it's easy and nice, but you never gain understanding. While doing it by hand is more like unices: it's hard in the beginning, but all that is rewarded when you *understand* how it all fits together.
I have a ti-89, but i use it as little as possible. In my university no calculators are allowed during exams, and if you're stupid enough to use them in class you don't have much chance of passing the exam (simply because you wont understand)
While calculators are obviously good, lets keep 'em out of school!