Re: TI-89 virtue email needed
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Re: TI-89 virtue email needed
Ray Kremer wrote in message ...
>That was the point of the original question I asked. Where do we draw
>the line? Is change good, or should education stay the same?
>From my perspective education or more to this point, technology and teaching
methods, has continued to change and for the good. After all you could
still be using a slide rule and an abacus. :-) I wouldn't want to go back
to doing things that way (I didn't really use an abacus) but at the same
time there really is little difference what kind of technology you're using
since math class will always be the same for those who don't know math,
something new, stange, and completely alien.
All change is good if it is thought out ahead of time and determined to be
good. I am sure you understand the responsiblity that is associated with
any freedom (which is what technology is supposed to provide us), therefore
it is prudent to consider the consequences beforehand. And of course this
discussion and others like it are part of that process. In the end a
conclusion or solution is reached that is correct and good.
>Can we allow calculators and new technology while still teaching the
concepts? . . .
>There is no doubt that
>we should somehow instill these students with the skills and concepts, but
>CAN we? As hard as it was ten years ago, will it even be possible ten
years
>from now?
I shouldn't worry about that. Students aren't any different today in
regards to math as they were 30 years ago and will continue to be no matter
what technology is allowed or not allowed. Some will just never truly get
it because they are destined for other things.
>how do we influence calculator policies towards better
>educations? Is that even an attainable goal?
After my last post I asked myself what guidelines should be used for the use
of technology in education and while I don't have any specific guidlines I
might offer a general criteria for setting them. In determining guidelines
I am of the opinion that for educational purposes any use of the calcuclator
should be an aid to learning. If some function of the calc (finding roots
for example) exceeds the ability of the student's present reasoning capacity
then that function should be off limits until the student is capable of
doing problem himself. When the student can demonstate his or her
profeciency in the fundamentals then there is no reason to make life more
difficult by arbitrarily deciding that the pencil and paper are better than
a calculator. Obviously they are not at that point since the student has
demonstrated he now understands math, which *is* the whole point.
>I'm not all for the banishment of math education, in fact I dislike the
idea.
>But I also try to be a realist, even if that reality paints an unpleasant
>picture. And so I again ask: Is it good? Is it bad?
>Will we ever have a happy ending to this topic? :)
It isn't a case of good or bad I don't think but more a case of what is in
the best interest of the student, and I think by and large the student has
benefited by the decisions made in regards to this topic even though it may
not seem like it to the student at the time. You know, hard work being a
virtue and all that. ;-)
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