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Are Graphical Calculators Pointless?

Posted by Soulskill on from the is-it-pointless-to-play-drug-wars-while-looking-productive dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Texas Instruments and Casio have recently released new flagship graphical calculators but what, exactly, is the point of using them? They are slow, with limited memory and a 'high-resolution' display that is no such thing. For $100 more than the NSpire CX CAS you could buy a netbook and fill it with cutting edge mathematical software such as Octave, Scilab, SAGE and so on. You could also use it for web browsing, email and a thousand other things. One argument heard for using these calculators is: 'They are limited enough to use in exams.' Sounds sensible, but it raises the question: 'Why are we teaching a generation of students to use crippled technology?'"

4 of 636 comments (clear)

  1. Because by Charliemopps · · Score: 2, Funny

    Teachers are lazy. They expect students to come up with original un-plagiarized answers to test questions the teacher/professor hasn't updated in 20 years and probably copied wholesale from a textbook somewhere. If you really want original answers, come up with some original questions.

  2. Re:Yes and No by IQgryn · · Score: 3, Funny

    You made your point about the keyboard being difficult to use quite eloquently.

  3. Re:Obvious by metamatic · · Score: 4, Funny

    Personally, I think as far as math education should go, the more crippled, the better.

    Well, that's why they're using TI calculators rather than RPN...

    --
    GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
  4. Re:Obvious by SpasticWeasel · · Score: 3, Funny

    After yesterday, the only way I can write a sort routine requires lots and lots of folk dancing

    --
    No sooner do I get over one, then you put a better one right next to me. Bastards.