TI Graphing Calculator Strategies Middle School Math: (TI Graphing Calculator Strategies) Review

Integrate TI graphing calculator technology into math instruction. Includes lessons, problem-solving practice, and step-by-step instructions.







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Texas Instrument TI-73TP Graphing Calculator (10-pack) Review

Texas Instruments Inc. TI-73TP Teacher 10 PackTexas Instruments, Inc.TI-73TP Teacher 10 Pack is a graphing calculator with 32 KB memory, with unit to unit link cable formiddle grades mathematics and science.-BLUE







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Casio fx-9860G Slim Graphing Calculator Review

I have owned top of the line graphing and scientific calculators from TI, HP, Casio, Sharp, etc. This machine, the Casio FX-9860g Slim version, continues the Casio quality tradition and is definitely put together very well. It is also a very good improvement over its predecessor, the Casio FX-9860g, with a very fine pocketable clamshell portable design with a much improved keyboard layout except for the location of the Navigation keypad itself, etc. At $69.99 right now from one of the quality suppliers in NJ on the Amazon website, it is indeed a very great deal!

The pros and cons as I see it are:

PROS:

1) It has all the standard features that we have come to expect on such a machine, plus the inclusion of an electronic OS upgrade capability from the Casio educational website. This is done using a USB interface with a PC computer and is also quite fast and easy to set up. The current OS production version is 1.10, but it can be upgraded to the OS version 2.0 (which is almost entirely compatible with the current system hardware) at Casio's educational website.

2) The machine itself is quite fast with a nice graphical interface and resultant plotting system. The resultant plots are high quality and with the many added features available for enhancement are very intuitive for the learning process.

3) It has a nice and quite modern, folding clamshell body design that sits very nicely both on a desk or a table as well as in your hand. It even has two feet for great stability that are constructed on the bottom at the back of the very well made unit.

4) It has a very large amount of onboard main memory, plus additional Flash memory for tackling quite memory intensive problems.

5) Although it is called a calculator, it is really a small and very fast handheld computer system which can tackle problems from the most simple to almost the most complex.

6) It has a very useful user interface system with multiple icons. The calculator functions are all controlled using an Algebraic Operating System (AOS).

7) It has a very high quality backlight system that makes the display screen much easier to read at very low, prevailing light levels.

8) It also has a very fine stored Help system with both syntax and an onboard Manual of Explanations for every command in the FX-9860 System Catalog. Both the Help function and the System Catalog function are available at the touch of a key (or a shifted key for the System Catalog).

CONS:

1) Some functions that you would readily expect to be available with a single key press on the main keyboard (such as the common hyperbolic functions for example) require instead multiple key presses (hyperbolics are embedded in the OPTN menu softkeys which is much more inconvenient), but usually with only a single shift key press first.

2) This machine is limited to graphing functions in two-dimensions (2-D) and NOT in 3-D as can be performed on the Casio Classpad330 (or the HP50g or the TI-89 Titanium or on the TI-89 or on the TI Voyage 200).

3) There is no CAS (Computer Algebra System) at all which these days is a very BIG limitation. Casio CAS systems are now only available on the Classpad 330 pen-based system or on the older FX-2.0Plus which is much harder to find at all or even at a good price these days, since it was first introduced about 2000.

4) The FX-9860g Slim does not require a backup coin cell battery, but is powered only by two AAA batteries for over 150 hrs with no backlight and for 50 hrs with the backlight on continuously. This is a significant battery life improvement over the comparable HP and TI models.

5) The navigation keypad is located on the bottom left of the front face of the keyboard. This is just fine for left-handers, but for primarily right handed individuals, it should be located on the right hand bottom side in my opinion for much easier and far more natural key stroke motions.


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HP39GS Graphing Calculator Review

This calculator is just what I wanted and needed. I have owned top of the line graphing calculators from HP, Casio, Sharp, TI, etc., but overall I like this one almost the best due primarily to its simplicity and ease of use. I like it especially for trips and outside activities when I can do quite useful mathematical explorations that I don't normally have time for at home or in the office with my busy schedule. It was designed by HP and teachers, first and foremost however, as an aid in teaching HIGH SCHOOL students mathematics in a very user-friendly manner.

PROS:

1) It is simple, fairly light and quite fast (75 MHz clock speed), algebraic equation operating system (EOS), but not with HP RPN, but not bad for the money since the hp 39gs units are now on sale for $63.99 compared with $59.99 for the new HP 35s for example which is a great machine, but which is totally outclassed by this much more versatile unit. The hp 39 gs is now about one year in production having replaced the 39G+ with a much better designed keyboard, etc. as described below and has evolved through 3-4 flavors from the original HP 38 of about a decade ago).

2) Very well organized analysis activities using special Aplets with about a dozen available with the unit and many many more on the world wide web (or you can write your own since programming is also available on the 39 gs). These specialized Aplets include analysis of functions, parametric equations, the famous HP solver system, statistics, etc. (with least squares curve fits available for about a dozen types, such as cubic, exponential, power law, logistic or even a user defined type, etc.!). The unit also has about 200 kb of available RAM and about 1 Mb of ROM for the operating system which is a lot more than the more powerful hp 48gII for example.

3) It will supply three types of analysis for every problem, namely a numerical table of values, a graphic plot (only two-dimensional types however) and a symbolic analysis which is only completely possible for the simplest Calculus cases (polynomials and basic trig, logarithmic and hyperbolic functions). Nevertheless, it also does numerical differential and integral Calculus and it can even supply a Taylor series approximation for your functions. It can also display a fine split-screen view (side by side) supplying a table of values as well a plot which is also very useful (with many useful zoom options).

4) It also handles some advanced mathematical functions (including hyperbolics, etc.) and of course can be used to analyze complex numbers, lists and matrices and can even take the square root of negative numbers directly in a very straight forward manner (unlike the HP 35s)!

5) It also allows the user to make detailed notes and sketches and also interfaces very nicely with a PC using the USB cable supplied with the unit for exchanging information. It also has an RS-232 (serial) as well as an infrared transfer option available as well.

6) It comes with a well written and well organized 314 page users manual and with an even more advanced manual available on the supplied CD.

7) It has a new Flash ROM so that the calculator can be electronically updated if new EOS software ROM's are produced by HP without changing out the hardware.

8) Date and time is always available with the on-board clock (using the DISPTIME command)

9) The unit has a totally redesigned keyboard that has quite an excellent feel to it (unlike the fiasco's connected with the HP 49g series for example and even better in my humble opinion than the revered HP 50g now in production for over a year too which I also own). The overall unit seems to be very well made and should last a very long time too. As always, the calculator special self tests are excellent and are triggered by simple keystroke commands. Also, Typing RULES or AMIGOS in "Home" produces two "HP easter eggs" of people who were involved in the design and production of this great system.

10) It has a completely scrollable operations history in HOME (unlimited within the available RAM memory and also easy to erase when extra memory is needed) that is very easy to manipulate by using the Copy command to recall previously evaluated expressions in order to perform quick "what-if" analysis, etc.

11) It is also very intuitive to operate in my opinion even without HP RPN. It is a great start to get students and teachers interested in doing more math and science too which is a very good thing considering recent trends in North America.

CONS

1) The batteries only last 65 hours according to HP. I can't confirm this fact as of yet, but it uses 4 AAA batteries as well as a common Lithium battery to be used as a backup while changing the main batteries.

2) It is quite thick in comparison to other such calculators and in spite of the supplied high quality slide-on cover (a maximum total 1.22 inches thick with the cover on for protection), HP should have supplied a good case for further protection as has been its standard for many other of its calculators (including the HP 35s). Why just imitate the other manufacturers with a slide-on cover for its only protection? HP has always gone its own way in this field considering how few people really understand or actively use RPN logic every day (which I have previously always preferred for many years now). Most of us now have easily accessible computers and compilers to do most computing tasks. I usually use a calculator at work only to carefully check intricate computer calculations, but when I do I want it to be simple and easy to use, especially since I don't use it every day.

3) It will not analyze ordinary differential equations as the more advanced calculators can now readily do. Also, the statistical applet correlation coefficient provided is only for a linear curve fit (regardless of the fit assumed). The relative error is provided instead for both the linear as well as for any of the other curve fit options.

4) Hopefully its sister calculator, the HP 40gs (with a full HP Computer Algebra System-CAS) for UNIVERSITY LEVEL will also be released in North America soon. HP has recently combined efforts (as of early May, 2007) with a company in Oregon to use the 39GS and 40GS for routine laboratory measurements at high schools and at universities in the very near future.

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Graphing Calculator Review

With a large, 21-character x 8 line display with dual screen capability, the FX-9750G-APlus features an on-screen, icon-driven menu that provides easy access to advanced functions. Function keys are used to select from on-screen menus, keeping the keyboard free from clutter. With this advanced graphic calculator, you can create tables of values from given functions and generate plots and graphs from tables. A CONIC feature draws and analyzes standard conic Sections (Ellipses, Circles, Hyperbolas, and Parabolas). There is also a communications port for linking to a personal computer, another FX-9750GPlus, or the Casio EA-200 Data Analyzer. Graphic and numerical solver key provides instant solutions for root, maximum, Y intercept, and intersect for any graph. Also has list-based statistics with up to 36 lists and has complex number calculations. Communications port Suggested Courses for the FX-9750GPlus Graphing Calculator include Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and II, Middle School Math, Geometry, Trigonometry Physics, Calculus, AP Calculus, Statistics and Engineering The FX-9750GPlus is allowed on all major exams like SAT, ACT, Texas TAK and New York Regents Exams







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Texas Instruments TI-89 Titanium Graphing Calculator Review

Very bad keyboard design, because is not like the ti-83, where you can press once to calculate sine, cosine, or tangent. On this calculator, they replace those three MAIN buttons for y,z,t. As a result if someone wants to calculate or graph sin (x), he must press the key "2nd" "Y", ridiculous pain in the neck.

But graphing, taking the derivatives, and integrating is way much faster than the TI Voyage 200. Also it has better documentation, the rest is the same operating system.

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Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator Review

I have bought two calculators already. One for my son and another one for myself. The product is excellent and I will recommend it for someone who takes maths seriously.

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Texas Instruments TI-NSpire Math and Science Handheld Graphing Calculator Review

My school loaned these to us for a year, so I had the opportunity of using the nspire alongside my ti-84+ silver edition. TI had some great ideas with the nspire, such as being able to multitask by keeping multiple things open at once with the tab based window management system and the nice big screen. However, in my experience it still takes me much longer to do actual math on this calculator than on my ti-84 once you get past pretty workbooks and things the teacher can distribute.

Pros:
Awesome data and statistics and Lists and spreadsheet programs. (Though their interface is a little confusing too.)
Cool file management system.
Tab based window management.

Cons:
Keyboard:
The number of buttons in the same amount (actually less) space has basically doubled with the addition of separate keys for each letter and symbol. At first, this seems like it might be a nice thing for typing, but in my experience it 1: causes a lot of mistakes when trying to type in numbers and consequently makes me type them much slower, and 2: actually causes me to type LETTERS slower. That's right, I was really bored in class and timed myself :-). Of course, I am something of a ti-84 touch typist, so that might have influenced that.

Graphs and Geometry:
Graphs and Geometry is by far the worse designed application on the inspire IMHO. Everything that is extremely straightforward and usually requires one or two button presses on the 83/84 takes travel through multiple menus etc... to figure out. For example, to change window settings on the nspire you have to press MENU, then WINDOW, then WINDOW SETTINGS. This may not seem that annoying, but, at least to me, it is. I wish they had a few more hard buttons that could accelerate these kinds of tasks. Another thing that doesn't work very well in Graphs and Geometry is trace. Accessing tracing is three key clicks, it is painfully slow, and it is also, as far as I know, the only way to find things like maximum and minimum values of a function. The y= window has been merged into the graphs and geometry window, which takes up space and obscures the graph, not to mention the confusing interface to switch between it and the graph. The labels for stuff on the graph which are always coming up often appear on top of one another and you have to drag them around to read them. But the most annoying thing about graphs and geometry for me is having to use the incredibly slow and cumbersome cursor/pointing device so much.

Lack of programmability and hackability:
On my Ti-84 I have tons of third party software, as well as some I've written myself. This includes interfaces to run assembly applications which are light years faster than Ti-BASIC, an awesome program called Omnicalc which adds a lot of features and another program called Symbolic which actually adds some symbolic math capability such as crude symbolic derivation and simplification of expressions to the calculator (like the ti-89.) I believe that the nspire, however, has DRM built in to prevent assembly programs from running and has practically no third party ti-BASIC software. I have not been able to run anything on my inspire- I typed in a prime number calculation program and couldn't make it run even after looking through the terrible documentation.

Conclusion:
Spare yourself a lot of hassle and get a ti-84. (Or I guess you could get an inspire and use the ti-84 keyboard, which I don't have.) You won't be sorry. Here's hoping for an nspire 2 with function keys just like the ti-89 and 84, a usable keyboard, and a more open and malleable software design.

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HP 50g Graphing Calculator (F2229AA#ABA) Review

I have owned top of the line graphing and scientific calculators from TI, HP, Casio, Sharp, etc. Back when I was a student, TI's were very cheaply made and often broke quite easily and similar HP products lasted almost forever. This machine, the HP50g, continues that HP tradition and is definitely put together very well. It is also a very good improvement over its predecessor, the HP49g+ with more memory and with a much improved keyboard and improved keyboard "feel" and a much better feature set overall, including the full library of solutions from Physics and Engineering that was available from the HP48 series of machines, etc. The pros and cons as I see it are:

PROS:

1) The Hp50g has all the standard and CAS (Computer Algebra System) features that we have come to expect on such a machine, plus many nice very detailed and very mathematically advanced topic as well as course specific APPS that are already preloaded or can be added in electronically and quite simply from the HP or HPcalc or other websites. These include the ability to even perform a digital FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) as well as many many other advanced functions of a similar nature. The USB interface works with a computer and is also quite fast and easy to set up.

2) It works quite naturally with complex number solutions of equations. It can be switched in the Mode setup from a Real to a Complex number operating stance and even back again as desired or it will even prompt you to make a mode change if you are in Real mode and the answer is in fact a Complex number. If it can't perform an operation which is fairly rare it will simply repeat the proposed operation back again below the original one on the display screen as the answer. This machine is so versatile however that it will even evaluate symbolic matrices or even matrices with imaginary numbers (an Electrical engineering nightmare otherwise!).

3) This machine itself is quite fast with a nice graphical interface and resultant plotting system. The resultant plots are high quality and with the many added features available for enhancement are very intuitive for the learning process.

4) It has a nice and quite modern, curved body design that sits very nicely both on a desk or a table as well as in your hand.

5) It has a very large amount of onboard main memory, plus additional Flash memory for tackling quite memory intensive problems.

6) Although it is called a calculator, it is really a small and very fast (75 MHz) handheld computer system which can tackle problems from the most simple to almost the most complex.

7) The famous RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) and an Algebraic Operating System (AOS) as well as a so-called textbook mode are all available to be chosen depending on the wishes of the user and on the problem to be tackled.

8) The complete set of the predicted units of the solution of a complicated equation (or set of equations) can be determined independently of and simultaneously with its numerical answer(s). This is a very fine feature that I do not know of on any other calculator system.

9) As on all such HP RPN models, a very fine self-test system is available to make sure your machine is fully functional all the time and a clock (now without seconds) complete with the date, is also continuously available.

10) Finally, this machine also has a fine, onboard Help system for some, but not all of the CAS commands, if these commands are at all confusing (and there are many many commands available on this machine). It is a good HP system with multiple references (up to 3) between different , but similar commands (for example with the soft-key designations: SEE1, SEE2, SEE3, etc.), but the Help system on the newer Casio FX-9860 Slim calculator is even better in my opinion, i.e., it includes ALL the commands in the calculator (but with no CAS present on the Casio unit) with complete operational syntax details for every command. The latter Help system is even advertised as being sufficiently detailed so that the manual doesn't need to be carried around to efficiently work with this Slim Casio.

CONS:

1) Some functions that you would readily expect to be available with a single key press require instead at least two key presses, but usually with only a single shift key press first.

2) The learning curve is quite steep, although very well worth the considerable effort, but this will heavily deter some good students from learning the RPN skills that can be effectively used for your entire lifetime once they are successfully mastered.

3) The HP50g requires multiple batteries plus a backup coin cell battery in order to save everything briefly when changing the main batteries.

4) It really needs a large ENTER key (and also it should be located in the center-left location) just like on the HP machines of the distant past (and as recently included on the HP35s for example).

5) HP should also add a backlight system for viewing the screen in the dark as implemented very nicely in the new clam-shell design on the Casio FX-9860g Slim version.


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Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Graphing Calculator Review

I ordered this calculator for an algebra class. It has worked well so far. Some of the functions are difficult to find unless you have instructions, for example it is difficult to figure out how to input "absolute value" on your own unless you have experience with a smiliar calculator or the instruction manual. But once you do know how to access what you want, it is usually fairly simple.
In the month or so that I have been using this calculator, it has served me well.

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Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus Graphing Calculator Review

The calculator was everything I was promised. New, carefully packed, and affordable. As a teacher, replacing equipment stolen while in my possession, I was thrilled to get such a reasonable offer. Thank you.

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