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Graphing Calculators

Graphing Calculators. Using technology not as a crutch for basic calculations, but rather as a link to higher levels of understanding and to critical thinking skills. The Benefits of Using Graphing Calculators .

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Graphing Calculators

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  1. Graphing Calculators Using technology not as a crutch for basic calculations, but rather as a link to higher levels of understanding and to critical thinking skills

  2. The Benefits of Using Graphing Calculators • Minnesota state standards require 8th graders to be introduced to such topics as algebra and statistics. • Without bogging students down with complicated formulas and tedious construction of graphs by hand, the important mathematical concepts can be taught, rather than the potentially confusing computations. • In a world saturated in technology, it is good for students to work with high-tech devices.

  3. The “Dangers” of Using Calculators in the Classroom • Students may become calculator dependent; unable to do simple math without a calculator • Students may become “button pushing monkeys” • Not stimulated by the math problems presented • Trusting whatever the calculator states, which presents a problem if they cannot tell when they have entered information incorrectly. • Using, but not understanding, the foundations of the formulas they have been taught

  4. How to Avoid The Dangers and Enjoy the Benefits • Teacher’s should create math problems that go beyond basic computation. • Teachers should provide guided discovery of a rules and formulas, rather than giving students a jumble of letters and symbols to try to memorize. • Teachers should remind students that calculators are precision machines • you must type information in correctly to get the right answer. The order of operations becomes crucial. • Use estimation to guess what the answer will be. If the answer you get is far away from the guess, it’s a tip you typed something in wrong.

  5. A Few Specific Benefits of TI-84 • Graphing • TI-84 allows you to enter in a formula, or several formulas, and graph them quickly and accurately • Statistics • TI-84 allows you to enter lists of numbers and then find the mean, maximum, minimum, standard deviation, sum, and more all with a few presses of the button. In today’s media, it is very common to see a chart or to hear statistical figures used to support a claim. Why not help to students understand and be comfortable gaining knowledge from these common-place presentations of information and data?

  6. Graphing with the TI-84 • It is difficult to make an accurate graph by hand, especially if you’re not graphing straight lines. • With the TI-84, you can • make several graphs in a matter of seconds, change the equations to get a whole new set of graphs easily. • Zoom-in and zoom-out. • By a pressing of a few buttons, you can learn precisely where the intersections occur, rather than using algebra or (worse) eye-balling it. Finding the intersection of two equations (start at 0:32)

  7. 68/95/99 % rule: t: population standard deviation unknown, use sample standard deviation Statistics with the TI-84 • In statistics, we use many complex formulas. Some are almost impossible to do by hand. If the data list is long, they take a long time to do even with a scientific calculator. • The TI-84 does the tedious computations for you and lets you move on to interpreting the information – which is really the skill we want students practicing and mastering. YouTube - TI 84 Finding One Variable Statistics (start at 0:21)

  8. To Sum it all up (pardon the pun) • Calculators are an important technological tool to include in the math classroom • Teachers need to create scenarios where calculators will be used effectively and where critical thinking, not just basic computation is needed to find the answers. • The TI-84, with its graphing and stats features can help teach students to interpret charts and statistical figures that they frequently see in daily media. • The TI-84 can do a lot! Don’t treat it like a mere substitute for paper and pencil.

  9. Sources • National Council for Teachers of Mathematics. (2008). The technology principle. Principles and Standards of School Mathematics (pp. 24-27). NCTM. • Texas Instruments. (2009). Getting Started with the TI-84. (2009). TI-84 instruction manual. Appleton, WI: National Graphic Solutions. • Davis, R.W. (Producer). (2009). Ti 84 finding one variable statistics. [Web-based video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHpGzGGalx0 • TechPoweredMath. (Producer). (2010). Lesson: finding the intersection of two graphs on a TI-84. [Web-based video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u26O2uJ1uNg

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