I just spent 30 minutes with my Casio and I got it!!!!! It is not that hard. In fact, it is easier than the TI 83. I feel accomplished. I am as good or better than any teenie bopper who grew up with technology! (I still doubt its value in the classroom and I still think it should not replace real working knowledge of math.)
1 comment:
Oh I totally agree with you about calculators in the classroom. I was flabbergasted when I found out they could use them on the state tests, and that I was supposed to teach the kids how to use them. At first I refused, but now I show them how to use a calculator to check their work. (Which is nice because it can do fractions, the big new concept in fifth grade.) We have a whole routine: do the work, check on calculator; if the answers are different, do the calculator again (because the buttons don't always register); if it's still different, analyze your work for errors. It mostly works, especially since I am such a witch about collecting the scratch paper. (Heaven help you if you don't have any, and you did everything on the calculator!) They just don't have the number sense to trust the calculator.
I don't mind it as a tool, but I will not allow it to become a crutch.
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