http://www.mapleprimes.com/posts/41965-Are-Calculators-Still-Useful en-us 2026 Maplesoft, A Division of Waterloo Maple Inc. Maplesoft Document System Sun, 14 Jun 2026 05:04:52 GMT Sun, 14 Jun 2026 05:04:52 GMT The latest comments added to the Post, Are Calculators Still Useful? http://www.mapleprimes.com/images/mapleprimeswhite.jpg http://www.mapleprimes.com/posts/41965-Are-Calculators-Still-Useful http://www.mapleprimes.com/posts/41965-Are-Calculators-Still-Useful?ref=Feed:MaplePrimes:Are Calculators Still Useful?:Comments#comment78423 A GC (Graphics Calculator) still has the advantage of portability. The TI89 has a lot of advanced features but, nowhere close to a package such as Maple. If Maple came in a version for the PDA (hint…hint) then, a GC would be out the window. But, for now GC still has a place, in my opinion. Side note disadvantage is learning / maintaining two calculation methods. The latest comments added to the Post, Are Calculators Still Useful? 78423 Sat, 27 Jan 2007 03:14:04 Z Todd Wayman Todd Wayman http://www.mapleprimes.com/posts/41965-Are-Calculators-Still-Useful?ref=Feed:MaplePrimes:Are Calculators Still Useful?:Comments#comment78399 Calculators serve a very different purpose than a full-on computer. I have already touched upon this topic in <a href="http://www.mapleprimes.com/forum/maple-for-pda#comment-3267">this comment</a> on Maple for PDAs. Basically, the issue boils down to one of screen real estate. On a calculator, you have very little. And if your user interface does not respect that, your product ends up being awful. Take a good look at the difference in user interfaces between your iPod and iTunes. They are well-adapted to their respective sizes. So a calculator is still useful for those computations where both the question and the answer fit on a very small screen. The latest comments added to the Post, Are Calculators Still Useful? 78399 Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:06:42 Z JacquesC JacquesC http://www.mapleprimes.com/posts/41965-Are-Calculators-Still-Useful?ref=Feed:MaplePrimes:Are Calculators Still Useful?:Comments#comment78383 The best tool is one which the student can "live with". Maple is hugely powerful, but suffers from a lack of portability - you have to be near a computer when you use it. Whereas a CAS calculator is something the student can take anywhere, throw into a backpack, uses very little power, and can be always available. Such a tool can have huge pedagogical value, if used well. The latest comments added to the Post, Are Calculators Still Useful? 78383 Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:12:45 Z Alasdair Alasdair http://www.mapleprimes.com/posts/41965-Are-Calculators-Still-Useful?ref=Feed:MaplePrimes:Are Calculators Still Useful?:Comments#comment78359 Calculators have so many advantages over computers that I don't see them dying out anytime soon. In addition to the portability issue, a GC offers much greater speed and convenience. The major functions students want to use are right on the 'surface' of the interface. For 99% of the problems in the high school physics classes I teach, I can calculate the answers much faster on my HP calculator than I can type-in and solve the problem in Maple. Sure, Maple can do symbolic math. But for so much of what my students need to do, Maple is overkill. In the world I live in, students have access to computers when needed but don't carry one around all day. For computers, the large footprint, battery life, inconvenient keyboard entry, cost, portability and others issues mean that my students will continue to use calculators for the forseeable future. I'm not bashing Maple because I think it is a very useful program. But it's a different product and serves a different purpose than a hand-held calculator. They will both be with us for a long time. The latest comments added to the Post, Are Calculators Still Useful? 78359 Tue, 30 Jan 2007 22:33:25 Z jwa jwa http://www.mapleprimes.com/posts/41965-Are-Calculators-Still-Useful?ref=Feed:MaplePrimes:Are Calculators Still Useful?:Comments#comment78353 Developments in electronic chips will probably mean that within a decade, we will be carrying extremely powerful computers around in our pockets, unfolding them when required for use. My guess is that something like Maple will be available to run on these pocket computers of the future, together with custom calculators, spreadsheets and word processors. Just now I am wondering what the graphics will look like on an unrolled sheet of plastic... J. Tarr The latest comments added to the Post, Are Calculators Still Useful? 78353 Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:30:42 Z Mariner Mariner http://www.mapleprimes.com/posts/41965-Are-Calculators-Still-Useful?ref=Feed:MaplePrimes:Are Calculators Still Useful?:Comments#comment78347 As i go through higher and higher math i see calculators diminish, i guess, due to the fact you really dont need it, and at my school more interest is placed on computer based math systems. I would say from Differential Equations I and down Calculators have a strong hold. For one, that is all engineering students have to take math wise. Second, from cal I down i think its a little much to ask for some students to learn mapple because most of those people will never use it again. Granted that is a bad reason. I cant tell you how much i have learned that i will not use again. So, now that i have beat around the bush, calculators are here to stay. The latest comments added to the Post, Are Calculators Still Useful? 78347 Wed, 31 Jan 2007 11:19:45 Z weseldrdge weseldrdge