TI 84 help

[Tom Slick]

A tool is worthless if you don't know how to use it.

[Satex]

Many years ago I made the mistake of trying to use an HP48 in a class where the teacher used the TI82. You spend so much time trying figure out the calculator, you lose track of what you are supposed to be learning. This especially true when the teacher uses a projector with their calculator.

A tool is worthless if you don't know how to use it.

Absolutely, that's why there is a "User's Manual" to each and every calculator, RTFM. When you forgo teaching math and teach button pushing you end up with skill-less people.

[moulton]

I used an 89 when I took Stats a few years ago and ended up withdrawing because I was lagging behind so much, my teacher didn't know how to use it and neither did I. No I am taking Statistics again and this time I have a TI-84 plus Silver edition and its easy as Pi.

[Eddy's Shooting Sports]

I absolutely despise the new generation of "math" teachers that waste student's time by teaching them how to push buttons on a calculator. None of my teachers spent a minute on a calculator because they were too busy teaching us math. We were taught that a calculator is a tool - nothing more, nothing less.

You're right. We were there to learn math. Not to read a 300 page manual for a calculator that had 100 functions of which we utilized 2.

I don't think they were teaching button pushing, they were just making it easier to utilize our tools so we could spend more time understanding the theory.

Frankly, the only math classes for me that were worth a damn, were finite and financial. But then again I have a business degree and am not a rocket scientist.

[7.62x63mmUS]

Nothing wrong with "fancy" calculators as long as you understand the math thats being used. I'm graduate of Geomatics Engineering program (surveying) theres a lot of repetition in calculations I do. Programing and crunching numbers seems to come more naturally once you learn RPN. On the other hand, if you can't go RPN I'd choose a TI 89 or greater. By the way... love the HP 35s!

[Tom Slick]

"Wait, wait, stop teaching the class, I'm looking up the standard deviation function in my manual. I tried it last night with my homework but didn't make sense and now I'm falling behind."
That's much more productive than showing a few key strokes.
Maybe we should just throw the computers at the engineers instead of teaching AutoCad and SolidWorks since they are really only there to learn engineering and design theory. It's only a 500 page manual for the CAD software.

[7.62x63mmUS]

People shouldn't be taught how to use calculators in math class!

[joefreas]

I bought a Voyage 200 when I took calculus in college. I now work as a scientist and it is sitting on my desk in front of me.