I vrought in SOS with 5 games, and gave them to 1 person 1st period. By 7th period, people were asking me if i wanted some games. THEY WERE MY GAMES! Now i will NOT bring in any games except for one or two that i can play after tests are over, i'm sick of people asking for games and explaining how to use SOS.

Woah, hehe, I think thats exactly what I've been going through, but I just havent gotten to the point of annoyance yet... Although, people sometimes tell me, "Hey, your dumb programs crashed my calc and I lost that Quadratic Formula that _I_ made!" and I'm like "Damn, be respectful of these programs on your calc, and how much hard work went into them..." Well, some people are, and I like when people get all excited and say "Woah, Mario on a Calculator!?" and are all impressed. I get that more often then complaints, and everyone knows Im the source for games, so its pretty cool for now... =P

Teachers have no right to take away calculators and make students pay attention. If a kid wants to spend the entire class playing games and not pay attention, then he'll fail. A bad grade is its own punishment.

My math teacher told me I should own an graphing cal. So I spent my money for it almost a hundred thats four playstation games 24 saturn games and 50+ game boy games I could have bought.

"""""""""Of Course I have games on my ti-85 I want my money worth."""""""""""

I've said it before, but since no one is listening, I'll say it again. Why not convert books to the 92+? I mean, do you think a teacher will take that away? And while we're on that subject: I have never heard of or seen a teacher (math or otherwise) take away a calculator because a student was playing games on it, regardless if the student was openly playing it or not. If you lost your poor little 85, it's because you have no skills at all. Plus, if a teacher takes your calc, that falls under the category of theft. Have them arrested; espically if your calc cost over $200, because then, it's grand theft.

Hey, that's a good comment, the teachers can't just take my TI-86 away, without asking me b4, and also (this is the best par) since I'm from Finland and I'm in the States as an exchange student, I have some kinda diplomatic protection, meaning it's insault agaist me and my country if somebody does something (2 me) that i don't like, 4 example take my calc away. But still, i have never seen anybody(=teacher) taking calcs away, wheter they r playing games or not. In Finland we can play as much as we want, but U'll get "not-so-nice grade" and that's just ur fault. I learned the lesson and now, well now i don't play any games since my TI-86 is in Texas, It didn't turn on after i changed the batteries. has this happened 2 naybody else??? any way, I don't play games, unless there is new, a good game like the mortal kombat, which I'm looking forward 2 play, but the main thing is that the cal owners can decide wheter play games or not, the teacher can't do anything except try his/her best 2 keep the attention of the students.

And like somebody already said, if there weren't TIs, there would be something else.period.

BTW, how much does a new TI-89 cost???

The points made in the article are good, but consider this:

1. TI did have games in mind when some of these calculators. Why else would they have included built-in ASM? Few assembly math/science programs have been made (at least for the 83).

Also, for the TI89: all that memory has to be for something. The 92 can do most of the same things with a lot less memory.

2. If you're not disrupting class, why is it a problem? Personally, I play games all the time in class, and most of my teachers don't care. The one who did made it very clear that if he caught me doing so he would take it away, so I stopped in that class. In Algebra 2, I do almost nothing but play games!!! Still, I get A's on tests and my report cards (which makes some people in my class pretty upset since they pay attention all the time and still do bad :D).

3. I AM AN HONOR STUDENT. PLAYING GAMES JUST GIVES ME SOMETHING TO DO IN CLASS. I have been in level 1 classes throughout my life. I am about as well-off in school now as I was before I got my calculators (maybe even better - I get to play with my friends and it is more fun to pass time playing games).

4. I am very well-known for introducing most of the [good] games in my school. EVEN TEACHERS HAVE COME TO ME FOR GAMES. Example: when my chem teacher saw someone playing Spaze Invaders on an 83, he asked me if I could get it for his 82, which I did :). My math teacher also asks for 82 and 83 games.

5. Games are a way of life. You can't expect to have a programmable calculator without games. Whatever you do, some people will make games. It's (usually) just more interesting to make games than other programs (except maybe cheat programs :).

6. What about all the games out there? A good deal of the programs available at ticalc, the Files, and Dimension TI are games. Many of the 6000+ programs available are games.

As long as there are programmable calculators, there will be games. Low grades wont' stop all of them. Neither will teachers. They'll just have to learn to accept it.

What teachers do you have?

Well I've read a few people's messages through this, I have seen people blaming teachers and others just saying that's straight BS; the truth is Its your own life, and everything you do you have a choice with, every choice has its consiquence, good or bad... If you know how to do something on a calculator and never pay attention to the lecture how to work something, when test comes around and the Teachers says "No Graphing Calculators" then most people will fail it.. Games are fun, but after awhile they all get boring.. Most people i have seen in the past don't even know how to do the basics on the calculator most people just buy it to play games.. Someone saw me with my Ti89 and saw a game i was playing, three weeks later he bought one, and doesn't even know how to use it.. People buy TI's and HP's for games anymore, I've had teachers who play the calcs when they take them away, i've had the ones who take the batteries out or clear the memory, In the end you have to make your own decisions about what you want to do with your life..

--
Master

I believe we're lucky enough to be able to BRING THEM IN TO other classes AND EXAMS!!! We need to stop misusing the things of these calculators and use them in school for school purposes only. I like to play games- one teacher noticed no one was playing them anymore and offered a deal- take good notes, do well in the class and you can play the calucator any time (as long as your grade keeps up). It is really a good deal. Actually, it is something I never heard of AND will never hear of again!

Well.... the ever constant dilemma.
First of all, at my school the teachers dont take your calculators, pull out the batteries, etc.
But, they will make a student put them away if they are playing on it during class. However, nothing is wrong with playing games. If students aren't paying attention because they are playing games, then they probalby wouldn't pay attention anyways. 3 months ago, at my school, nobody had asm games on their TI-83's or TI-82's (these are the most commonly used calculators at my school) 3 months ago, a bought a link (one of about 5 people in a school of 2000 who own one) .... got ash and gave some stuff to a friend. Now, EVERYONE has it. 2 and a half months ago, i bought an 83 and i gave a few people SOS. Now, everyone has it. I am responsible for corrupting my school.
Today in my precal class, 8 people in a class of about 20 were playing calulator games, 6 in my typing class, 9 in my history class, 4 in my English class, 13 in my Chemistry class, and 4 in my spanish class. Everyone is playing games. Its extremely humerous that no one understands what they are doing. All they no is they get a game from a friend, press a button and that is it. No one has anything other than games, and no one knows how to program. One person i know thinks i am god because i wrote a good text based game and frogger. Everyone is calculator illiterate. People's grades have begun to droop because all they care about is calculators. But, I do use it for other purposes, and don't play games a lot. Its OK to play during class if you can keep up and know the information. I play during chemistry, because that class is a joke but, i do not play during class in precal because i am usually taking notes.
Public Schools rule.....!
Burn the world.

I wanted to say that i amthe guru of ames at my school i have taken home as many as 6 different calcs in one day to get games (at one time i almost started to charge for games) some of my teachers care about games (all of them know about games) my geometry teacher will stare of my sholder watching me play plain jump (when im done with my work) my health teacher will let me play games before the tardy bell rings and ten min at the end of class before the bell rings. My adv. lit. teacher says (and i quote) "put that dohicky away OR get rid of your little game thing" so some teachers dont care and some do it doesnt really matter play games when you can and when you cant stare out the window.

p.s. thats my real e-mail

p.s.s. i dont care bout grammer, I may be in the adv. classes but i drop that shit when school lets out. and if you wanna make something of it e-mail me

Hey guys I think you are missing the point of the essay. He has a good point about putting up the calulators in other classes. But, who cares if a kid blows off a test to play a game his loss no reason to stop giving out games. I give out games to everyone I know. Finally, the TI-89 is not a tool to cheat. I know personally it has helped me thought many of tests.

Oh, come on. Stop whining about calculator games. That's the best part about graphing calculators, behing able to have your math and play with it too! Calculators are versatile instruments, and as such can be used in many ways. People can do what they want with the extra RAM. If they want games, fine. If they want scientific calculations and conversion charts, that's okay, too. The point is the calculator is the sole property of the BUYER, not the teacher, and he has every right to do whatever he wants to it. It's not up to you to dictate terms of what we can and cannot do with our calculators. Sure, they can detract from learning, but I wouldn't use mine during an important session of class, only when the action dies down. After all, not everything a teacher spews is mission-critical. There is a time for a little fun in life, where you're not plastered to the chalkboard. And don't forget, class is not the only place to play with a calculator. I'd like to play mine at home or in church. But if people want to play in class, then that is their discretion, their grades will reflect thusly, and perhaps the teacher will revoke the calculator. It's not fair that they should revise calculators and ruin it for the rest of us, who use our calculators responsibly. That's like equipping all cars with a shoulder cam to judge your every move and stop you when you do something wrong. We should have a little breathing room, you know. It's our calculator, and what we wanna put on it is our business, not the school system, not the manufacturer, and certainly not you.

If it weren't for the creativity of calculator games, I'd still be sitting there in boring classes examining series and sequences - for fun.

Blaming the vice gets you nowhere, you've got to face the problem. Unfortunately, the teachers aren't reading this, are they? You've got to control it then.

But anyway, it's not like suddenly the whole world will outlaw calcs. There might be a www.ticalc.org but there's no www.angryteachers.org. The title of the article alludes to some great teacher conspiracy, but it really comes down to me, because I know that I can't change your behaviour, but I CAN change mine if I want to. I don't think this is an issue which requires immediate attention. Bryan Rabeler's Apology, however, we can beat to death with a comment stick...

At my school, the teachers don't really care. I play all the games that I have and don't even get introuble for it. In fact one of our teachers required a TI calculator in her class because that is what she uses and is very aware of the capabilities. All the students have games on there calculator. And we also use them to cheat too by writing down equations for AP calculus or AP stat or AP chemistry. They have seen us play the games and don't even say anything because they just don't care I guess. I personally enjoy programming for the calc and occasionally a couple games of tetris or nibbles.

Well, I see that people like using there Ti-Calc in class for games or what not. I have to admit, when I first got my TI-92, I played games left and right in all my classes. I have slowed down because of the matter that those games get old. I have started on my own RPG game, Teachers at my High School actually like to see me doing what I do best, and that it to Program.

The teachers can't take away your calculator because you are playing games. But in a way, it isn't illegal for them to not take it from you. But you where stupid enough to get it taken away, that is your own fault.

As you can see from all this, most of you complain because you have:
1) Had your calculator taken from you
2) Feel that it is a waste of time in class or
3) You just don't appreciate the use of an
electronic device in class.

Most teachers shouldn't give a damn about weither or not you play games in class, just as long as you aren't disturbing the learning environment for the rest of the class.

There are many teachers that see that fact that programming a game or some useful tool for you calculator shows that you are smart. If you are doing that to skip a few steps on a math problem, more power to yah, but if you are making games to pass the "Free" time away, that is just another way for you to get bad grades. There are many and I mean many people that have over 4.0's at my school, and most of them have so many games that they like to play, that they have one or more calculators.

Like I said, it all depends on the teacher. If you want to help relieve yourself with getting good grades, play games. If you want to relieve yourself from boredom, play games. But, you can also help your grades by playing games... many games require thinking... and in a way, that helps your minds develope logically.

Dehell, I bring more than a TI to school for entertainment in class. I bring cards, magic, GB, and sometime also a palm. And my average 94.

I needed a calculator fro my at the begginging of the year, so of coarse I got the best one out; which was the TI-86. I bugged my parents for weeks to get me a graph link so I could get useful programs such as a element chrat, and math programs; obliviously to game s such as mario and shells like Rascall. Then I discovered ticalc.org and the gaming began. I now every only the best game on my calc and freely distributed them throughout the school. Now everyone has Rascall and Mario ect.. Everywhere I look people are playing games, but I have relized it's not the stupid people playing games. It the straight A students and those who are in Accel. classes. I figured the stupid wouldn't know the first step to use the calculator anyways so it's not really a problem. Also I have noticed that more and more people are becoming intrested in programing, I for one have program fairly good, all due to my calculator having games; which got me intrested in programing. So eventually many more people will know the basics of computer withou a class, which will benefit life, as well as society and the person as well.

I think those idiots who ruin it for all the others should be put on an island and then should be bombed with nukes!j/k but it reallly does stink that there are dumb people who care more about games instead of their future

over here they have begun to take the calculators
away from people for the rest of the day and threaten to keep them for a whole year.

That is theft. The calculator cannot be considered dangerous or distracting to others, unless you throw it at someone, which would hurt, so they have no real reason to take them away.

I know if I was in school (or if it happens in college, which I really doubt), I would refuse to give my calculator to them. There's not much they can do about that, except to call your parents.