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[Phys-L] Why Calculators? (Was: Calculators a Distraction?)



I have no problem with students using calculators, so long as they
understand what they are doing with them. Swapping out instruction in long
division for instruction on using a calculator sounds reasonable to me, just
as long as that instruction is meaningful.

One of my pet peeves right now is trying to show college students how to do
elementary arithmetic on a $100+ calculator. Apparently, somewhere along
the line, they were told to buy this thing, but were never shown how to
actually use it. Some students can't do any more with it than the sort of
calculator that comes free with a box of corn flakes!

Use of parentheses? Forget it.
Powers of 10 (scientific notation) - you have got to be joking. They first
write the number out on a piece of paper, then try typing it in - and don't
worry about the fact that they ran out of digits - just keep hitting the zero!
Trig functions? ROFL.
And the all time favorite, a student rummaging around in a backpack to pull
out a calculator in order to complete a division by g, with 1 significant digit!

Could someone explain to me what the big draw is to requiring HS students to
buy a small computer, when they haven't actually progressed beyond the
ability to use a Wal-Mart (no advertising intended, pick any box store)$5
special. Some of these calculators have the most basic functions hidden in
such an embedded series of menus, that I'm not surprised the students can't
find them - or know that they exist! I've started sending them to Wal-Mart
to get a "proper" calculator, one that they could actually use.

Overall, calculators can be a good thing, but it is being abused.