Dallas – Think about the calculator you had in school — basic functionality, right? Now think about a calculator on steroids, with a large display screen, cursors with directional buttons, even electronic upgrades and add-on software applications that allow you to view the periodic table or store school schedules and email addresses. It’s what students will be using this fall, and it’s certainly not your father’s calculator. In fact, it’s more like a handheld computer.
Texas Instruments, a long-time leader in educational technology, has transformed the calculator into a powerful handheld graphing device by combining the capability of a desktop computer, the functionality of math and science software and the portability of a paperback book. Add to that the ability to upgrade the unit’s operating system, add software applications through the Internet, and connect additional tools, and you have a powerful and flexible learning device essential to students not only in class, but even after the bell rings.
Flash-Based Handheld Technology
Much like digital cameras and MP3 players, TI Flash-based calculators offer handheld technology that is flexible and evolves as classroom curriculums change. Students may quickly become bored with simple, static tools that perform only basic calculations and analysis, but provide them with products that can be customized and upgraded like a computer as their learning advances, and they will take an entirely new interest in using the tools to help explore concepts in their classroom assignments.
Parents will also appreciate the benefits of TI Flash technology as they get more “bang for the buck” by not investing in a product that becomes obsolete the second their child graduates to the next grade level. Finally, these units are becoming more widespread as they are approved or required for standardized tests.
The TI Flash family includes the TI-83 Plus, TI-92 Plus, TI-89 and TI-73. Used in math and science classes from middle school to the university level, students can use these units both inside and outside the classroom to explore and reinforce the concepts they learn during class. For example, with a TI graphing unit, users can also connect it to the Calculator-Based Laboratory 2 (CBL 2) to collect real world data, such as the velocity of inline skaters, pH levels of lakes and the acceleration of a moving car.
Flash Applications
To leverage the capabilities of these Flash-based handheld products, TI offers a growing library of more than 30 Calculator Software Applications (Apps) available for users to download over the Internet to their units, much like downloading software onto a computer. Covering topics from algebra to science, the new Apps provide additional material, and in some cases, an actual curriculum, to complement classroom textbooks.
“The ability to customize TI’s Flash products with software applications has been helpful in our district,” said Allan Bellman, mathematics instructor at Blake High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, and one of many teachers involved in the development of the TI-83 Plus, TI’s most popular graphing calculator.
Montgomery County established a program to install a copy of the Interactive Graphing application on every TI-83 Plus owned by schools or students in the district.
“We felt this was an application that was going to aid our instructional methods and give us something to add to the current technology we’ve already mastered,” said Bellman.
TI’s family of Flash-based products are available at both retail and through educational dealers (student units not on the web store). The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for the TI-83 Plus is $99.99; reseller prices may vary. Apps can be downloaded from the TI website store. A number of titles are free, many others are priced at $7 US for single user versions, with a few priced under $50 US. Between Aug. 15 and Oct. 15, 2000, those who purchase a TI-83 Plus can get four popular Apps “free,” valued at $28 US. These Apps include the Organizer, Periodic Table, Interactive Graphing and Inequality Graphing. Applications will be available for downloading off TI’s website requiring the use of a TI-GRAPH LINK cable, available for under $20 US.
TI InterActive!
Released in June 2000, TI InterActive! PC software is TI’s first educational software product that enables students to explore and visualize data, and document findings directly into math and science homework and reports. TI InterActive! combines technologies for the classroom, linking much of the TI-83’s functionality with computers and the Internet. The result is an engaging, fun and visually stimulating learning experience.
Using TI InterActive!, students can visually investigate math or science concepts graphically, numerically or algebraically. For example, students might download several months of weather data, analyze the patterns, graph the results, then create impressive homework assignments, and share the findings with friends through email and the Internet — the world’s largest classroom.
“Being able to analyze temperatures graphically and describe those findings in writing can help students understand mathematical concepts, such as medians and means, more fully,” Bellman added.
TI InterActive! PC software is available in the U.S. and Canada by calling 1-800-TI-CARES (1-800-842-2737) or through educational dealers. The home edition is available from TI for $49.95 US, and the teacher edition is available for $64.95 US. Educational Dealer prices may vary. Available in English, TI InterActive! can be purchased as a 10-unit lab pack and in several site license configurations.
For more information on TI’s educational products, see http://www.ti.com/calc for details.
