Calculators and Computer Software in Mathematics Courses
In all of our mathematics courses, calculators and computer software, when used, are used as tools to support the curriculum. None of our courses are particularly focused on teaching you to use these tools. We specifically use tools that you can learn very quickly, so that our classes and instruction are focused on teaching you the concepts and then on using the tools to do more interesting and more complex problems than you could do by hand.
The tools we use are scientific (or business) calculators, graphing calculators, and computer software. This document has information to help you to understand how these will be used in the various courses and how you can use them at school if you wish or acquire them to use at home.
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In almost all mathematics courses (except perhaps the most basic developmental courses), students are expected to use a scientific or business calculator to do messy computations. While some ACC campuses have these available for short-term loan in the LRS or the Testing Center, generally it will be best for you to have one of your own. Most students already have one. Also, they can be purchased for as little as $10. If you do purchase one, hold onto the manual that comes with it. You will probably find that useful.
In the scientific calculus courses, substantial use is made of graphing technology. At this level, most students find it inconvenient to only be able to use it at school and buy what is needed to be able to use it at home. However, most of the ACC campuses do have a some graphing calculators that students can check out of the LRS for two hours at a time and computer labs in which students can use graphing software, so it is not necessary for students to purchase anything.
In the algebra and trig courses instructors are encouraged to bring classroom sets of calculators to class occasionally and to help students become familiar with and comfortable using these as tools. Students should not be pressured to purchase anything, although students may be asked to use the calculators and computers available at ACC to do some work outside of class.
In the higher-level courses (past Calculus II), most instructors will use some computer software. There should be plenty of access to computer labs at ACC for all students in these courses. Also, we make efforts to identify public-domain or very low-cost software so that students who wish to use it at home can do so economically.
In MATH 1342 (MTH 1563), Elementary Statistics, we use statistical software. For more information, look at http://www.austincc.edu/mparker/1342/tf/software/
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top of this documentWhat kind of scientific or business calculator is best?
Notice that a scientific calculator is one that does more than just the basic four arithmetic functions. In particular, it must do exponential and logarithmic functions. Students who plan to take technical math, trigonometry, or scientific calculus should get a scientific calculator, with trig functions. Students who plan to take statistics will find that a calculator that does two-variable statistics is useful. About half of the scientific calculators on the market will do this, and they don't particularly cost more than the others. Most calculators work similarly enough for the basic functions that it doesn't much matter what brand you get.
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top of this documentHow can you use graphing technology at school?
At most of the ACC campuses, we have a couple of calculators on 2-hour reserve in the LRS. (These are almost all TI-82's.) Also, most of the LRS computer labs have some mathematics graphing software available. Ask your instructor for details about what he or she recommends.
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top of this documentWhat kind of graphing calculator should you buy if you want to buy one?
We can't afford (in either money or time) to provide and learn about all the types of calculators. Our instructors know how to help you with Texas Instruments 82's and 83's. These are similar except that the TI-83's are newer and have more features. The older TI-81's also work similarly, but have some drawbacks in terms of programming. (You can't download programs to it, but have to type in each program yourself.) Don't buy a TI-81, but if you already have one, ask your instructor whether you will need to input many programs and then decide whether that will be too much trouble. The TI-82/83 has some features that are very useful in physics courses as well. This is the calculator we recommend that you buy. At the current time, a new TI-83 Plus costs about $100.
However, if you have some other form of graphing calculator that you are able to do the required problems on, that is acceptable. Thus, I will describe a few of the other ones available.
TI-85's and 86's have some better features than the 82/83's, but also are missing some of the nice features of the 82/83/s, particularly those having to do with handling data which the physicists find so useful. Some of the instructors have TI-85's so you can probably find someone to input the programs you need for Calculus I and II directly into it. Many of our calculus students in the past few years have used these successfully. The TI-92 is an entirely different type of calculator - almost a computer. It has a QWERTY keyboard, like a computer, rather than the typical calculator keyboard. It has very exciting capabilities, but also costs twice as much as the TI-83 and your instructor probably won't be able to help you with it.
The TI-89 has a keyboard similar to the TI-81/82/83/85/86, but has functions more like the TI-92. It is a very powerful calculator.
Other companies, such as Casio and Sharp, have calculators with similar capabilities to those previously mentioned. If you use one of these, our instructors won't be able to help you very much. However, many ACC mathematics students have used these and been successful.
Hewlett-Packard calculators are mostly very powerful and are widely used by engineers. However, they work very differently from almost all other calculators. They use a different method of entering information, called Reverse Polish notation. You should not expect your instructor to be able to help you at all with an HP calculator. In the past, some students have purchased them and then have been disappointed unless they had a friend who was already successfully using that same calculator (and who could show them how).
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top of this documentWhat computer software is available?
Graphing software:
This is changing quite rapidly. Your instructor will tell you what software he or she finds useful and why. As our instructors develop materials to help students choose software and use it, we will make links available here.
Computer Algebra Systems:
While the graphing programs listed above are very nice, another type of mathematics software (more complex, requiring better computers, and more expensive) is generally available in the world. These include Mathematica, Maple, and Derive, as well as others. They are often called "Computer Algebra Systems". Some of the ACC campuses may have a few copies of some of these in the computer labs. One of our instructors, Marcus McGuff, maintains a list of software, with comments for students and teachers. I find it quite useful. It includes addresses from which you can download free demos on some quite powerful software.
Other:
Other software for special purposes is available. As the instructors of various courses identify and use software, we will mention it here.
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Last updated on January 15, 2000.
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