Discussion page
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//Please write your thoughts by editing this page. Please don't forget your name underneath your thoughts.
After we write our thoughts, lets vote which idea is the best. We can probably use that idea as our final answer.
I hope everyone posts something on here before Sunday midnight, so that we can vote on Monday and hopefully submit the hw by Tuesday noon.
By the way, anyone knows how long the hw should be like? If no one knows, I will try to write in a reasonable length by Monday night.
Myung
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Edited by Andrew Hepler,
I'm not too sure on how long the work should be but, here is my opinion.
When it comes to calculators in the classroom, I think that we need to avoid the use of the device until the student is successful at arithmetic without any help. If the student were to completely ignore the device, math problems that are more complex can be done without a lot of strain. Ignoring advances in technology at this current stage of human development seems like it would cause a major disadvantage in that person’s life. In this case, causing a student to avoid a helpful tool like a calculator would make things more difficult when the student is enrolled in advanced science and math classes.
The second option to keep the curriculum the same, then after the student learns the basic skills of arithmetic they should then be able to use their calculator. In the case of a certain math teacher’s blog, “Is Your Child Calculator Dependent,” (http://www1.epinions.com/content_1350410372), we are told that student’s ability to do simple math in their heads is lacking, due to the ease of punching a few buttons on the calculator. In this case the student’s goal in math should be to use the calculator as a last resort.
The third choice to become independent of the device after it has been used as a teaching tool would be the best choice. If a person can become independent of the device after using it to help them with the work, rather than do the work for them, people will have the advantage that those who haven’t reached this advanced point in technology. In the fourth option, humans and computers work together to make a better educational experience for the student. The problem with this is that there are so many different learning styles that it would be hard to determine how to enroll which students in which classes. This might work only if we find teachers that can teach in the various learning styles, to accommodate each individual student.
All in all, I think that restricting the use of calculators in the classroom is still a good idea, until the student is good enough at math to do daily mathematics alone. Being dependent of calculators is important to daily life, but if a person has more need for mathematics a calculator is a necessity.
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Edited by Myung Kim
I believe the most of college kids learn how to drive during the highschool year, many of them happen to stop driving for a while after living in dorms or near by school. But after certain period, they go back and start to drive again. I think learning the arithmetic is like learning how to drive. In other words, doing the arithmetic is like riding a bicycle; you will never forget. So I highly recommend students to master the arithmetic skills before they use hand-held calculators. But, once they master the arithmetic skills, there should not be any restriction on using hand-held calculators.
Some people may ask "why don't you prohibit hand-held calculators in schools at all?" Then, I will say "why don't you want the easier life?" We all can walk, and may be able to go anywhere that we want. But, it is just matter of how fast you can get to the place you want. That is why people developed transportations. Hand-held calculators are also built in some what sense of the transportations to arithmetic problems.
In addition, Inventing or creating new educative calculators or finding new ways to distribute responsibilities between humans and computers sound good too. However, I question myself that if those new technology would be any worth of spending lots of money or time. people in this world have raised with this current system, and are still survived from the arithmetics. I do not see there should be any problem with current arithmetic learning system.
So, basically I agree with Andrew that using calculators are allowed as long as they mastered the arithmetic skills manually.
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Jason Cockerham
I think choice two is the best. I agree that the students need to learn the math first without the calculator, but then be able to use it later on. Since the technology exists, we should use it, but we shouldn't be helpless without it. Choice one sets students up for failure in later classes where it saves hours of time, because someone whose never used a calculator won't be able to in the higher classes. Choice three sounds like a student would use the calculator or new invention right off the bat and become too dependent on the devise. True, in theory students become independent of the devise later on. I don't think this will be the case in practice. If the students get comfortable using the devise, they will want to continue using it, because it's easier. Choice 3 mentioned making learning the concepts more fun. I agree mostly with choice 2 having the students learn the math and then allow the use of the calculator, however, tweaking the curriculum to make it more fun would be good. Learning when you want to is so much easier than learning when you dont want to.
