Graphing Calculators - Are They Useful Anymore?

[kjv1611]

Not sure whether this'd be the best place to mention this, but it is a handheld device, so thought it might fit here.

Can anyone offer any suggestions as to whether graphing calculators are worth owning/using anymore? What are they good for is what I want to know.

I vaguely remember borrowing someone elses, or maybe I had my own for a short time, back in grade/middle/high school years.

Well, now I don't remember a thing about how to use one.

I started a new job at work, different part of the same company, and there was left a graphing calculator (TI-83) at my desk, so I figured I'd pick it up and play with it to get a feel for it again. Batteries were dead, so I'd have to buy new ones, or get them through work.

So, that's got me to thinking - is it even worth messing with? Can a graphing calculator be any better help at figuring statistics and such as compared to using MS Access, Excel, and such?

Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions.

 

[GLComputing]

The TI-83 is more than 10 years old ... I'd assume that most smart phones would have apps that would emulate or out-perform it - as would a copy of Excel

If you want to play with a Graphing Calc, maybe try:

http://rentcalculators.org/stheli.html

Regards,
Mike Lazarus
ACT! Evangelist
GL Computing, Aust

http://www.GLComputing.com.au

http://blog.glcomputing.com.au

Join the LinkedIN ACT! Fanatics Group

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/49896

 

[ousoonerjoe]

They may make a small come back. The schools in my area are banning cells phones and all the apps that come with them. There is also a push to remove computers from upper (junior high/high school) classes and go back to graphing calculators and good old fashioned pencil and paper. The school board feels that the math classes have turned into nothing more than "How to use technology" classes rather than actually teaching the kids Math and when and what formula should be applied in a given situation.

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“Crash programs fail because they are based on the theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can get a baby a month.” --Wernher von Braun
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[GLComputing]

Good idea ... I'm old enough that we learned to use slide-rules and log tables when I was at school ;-)

Regards,
Mike Lazarus
ACT! Evangelist
GL Computing, Aust

http://www.GLComputing.com.au

http://blog.glcomputing.com.au

Join the LinkedIN ACT! Fanatics Group

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/49896

 

[kjv1611]

Thanks for the thoughts. I also asked a couple of accountant friends of mine, and both said they hadn't even SEEN one in a VERY long time.