I AGREE WITH THIS GUY. Ok, I play games in class. I only play if i get to class a little early, if I finish the assignment early, or maybe if the teacher is helping someone else individually.
What I think is NOT ACCEPTABLE is when your playing games and then the teacher looks right at you and you know that they want you to listen. This causes a disruption because then the people next to you will look over to see what you're doing. If the teacher has to come and reset your calc then you should not be allowed to bring your calc to class again.
Play games only when the teacher isn't trying to teach or when he's helping an individual.
REMEMBER you have the right to the pursuit of happiness however you please (playing games) as long as it doesn't infringe on someone else's rights. If the teacher deems the calc games as a distraction to him then you're infringing on the other students right to get the teaching that our taxes pay for.
*I know I sound like someone's mother, but I feel in a kind lecture givin mood tonight!*

You, sir, are probably one of the few people that realize the point of the article and I greatly appreciate that. Thank you.

GAMES 4EVER, TEACHERS NEVER!

" I AGREE WITH THIS GUY. Ok, I play games in class. I only play if i get to class a little early, if I finish
the assignment early, or maybe if the teacher is helping someone else individually. "

That's nice.

" What I think is NOT ACCEPTABLE is when your playing games and then the teacher looks right at you
and you know that they want you to listen. This causes a disruption because then the people next to
you will look over to see what you're doing. "

Care to explain /why/ you don't think it's acceptable? A disruption in class isn't the product of my action, it's the product of the teacher's reaction and thus not my responsiblity. There would be no disruption without the teacher's action.

" If the teacher has to come and reset your calc then you
should not be allowed to bring your calc to class again. "

Yeah, zero tolerance policies work so well, don't they?
Does this include math class?
Why do _you_ get to decide where _my_ calculator should be?

" Play games only when the teacher isn't trying to teach or when he's helping an individual. "

What about games started while such is the case, but not done before such is no longer the case?

" REMEMBER you have the right to the pursuit of happiness however you please (playing games) as long
as it doesn't infringe on someone else's rights."

Actually, I don't have that right specifically guaranteed me. The Declaration of Independence has no legal weight. I could also mention not everyone is necessarily from the U.S.

" If the teacher deems the calc games as a distraction to
him then you're infringing on the other students right to get the teaching that our taxes pay for. "

You're taxes don't pay for my education, those of other private school students, or those residing in countries other than the U.S. In addition, my infringement is not arbitrated by the teacher. they have no standing to make such a judgement, enforce it, or have any force behind it.

" *I know I sound like someone's mother, but I feel in a kind lecture givin mood tonight!* "
So did I.

well, No to the no game in school idea. First games wil live on forever. Two teachers will NOT remove graphing calc's. Three school sucks that's why the games were created. If we lived in a perfict world yes we would all have our nose in the book and a pocket protector. But for the real world there is games I don't know about you but if you are good enugh to keep a b in AP calcu-care-less and play games at the same time long live Tetris and all the other games that the goverment is letting me play under there roof.

Most of the people who program thoes games for you are the "geeks/nerds" that have their nose in a book ( i think the pocket protector is a bit overboard dont you? I don't know one of my "geek/nerd" friends with one)

Well, actually the geeks are the quite genuises that keep to themselves and blow everyone away at the end. And, they eventually end up going to MIT.

Acually the only one that blow everyone away are those ambitious enough to endure the daily stuggle of individuality in our extremely conformist school system. Right now I am failing three classes (spanish1, geometry idiotic pencil rule, world history) yet in my last I.Q. test i received a 167. Most of my learning happens outside of school (household electriticity, plumbing, rough carpentry, mechanics and my A+ certifacation) although not spelling or anything of the english nature as I am sure this is riddled with errors.

Yeah, I've learned more and used more math porgramming and playing games than I do in Algebra 2! I think that games on calcs are great and are the main thing thats kept this "TI Community" alive and thriving!

LONG LIVE CALC GAMES!!!

--Wingman

I can play galaxain and listen to class discussion at the same time. But games like "Fast Tunnel" do distract.

And, blaming calulators for all problems is just dumb.

Right in the TI82/83 manual the following text is stated:
"<B>getKey</B> returns a number corresponding to the last key presses.....Use <B>getKey</B> inside loops to transfer control, for example, when creating video games."

Video games are mentioned right in the manual.

The folks at TI had games in mind when designing the >=TI82 calculators.

If all we needed was math, we'd buy TI80's.

You are obviously not aquainted with the math features of TI calcs (too busy playing games to do all that 'boring stuff'...?) "If all we needed was math, we'd buy TI80's" There are many features included in even the relatively old 85 that are not included in 80, and thats not even mentioning 89 / 92 - try doing a 3d graph in 80. For elementry school, yes, 80 is good. For Calculus AP, an 80 won't suffice.

<snip>
"If all we needed was math, we'd buy TI80's"
</snip>

In junior high, an 80 will suffice, but for higher math classes, an 80 would be useful only as a paperweight.

For statistics, you need an 83. For calculus, you need an 86 (unless your teacher lets you use an 89).

If "all" we needed was math, we still wouldn't buy TI-80's.

In AP Calculus at my school, the 83+ is standard and maximum power allowed. It's what I'll use (in SE form).

I completely disagree with your article. Its things like the calculator that were made in class when people were so bored that they couldn't stand it. Same goes with the games. Before assembly came along, at least 90% of all games were made in class. Thats where we are trained to think the most and thats where we do are best.
As for playing games in class, it really isn't your responsibility or right to tell others what to do. They make their own choices. Next, your going to tell me to quit showing up to 8am Calculus drunk. And like ppl playing games in class, this will never stop. lol

Jimmy

That is exactly right. I do agree with the article in the fact that some people (i.e. people who NEED to listen) should pay attention, but if your professors and/or teachers don't care, you already understand the material, and you would rather play galaxian there's nothing preventing you. People such as Shane Burgess insist we need to put them away. They insist we must rid ourselves of this infamous evil. But do we? A couple of years ago when all I had was a TI-82 I wrote all kinds of basic games during spanish. I got an A in the class, and at the same time increased my ability to program. Though some people need to pay attention, others don't. It is our own responsibility to determine how much we can play games. One of my games, First Contact (which I am porting to Fargo) I wrote entirely during school hours. Such activities don't take away from what we can learn if we learned it the previous day.

Nice article Shane! Though undoubtedly your article will not change anything, it does succeed in showing just how immature and ignorant the majority of the people are on this board. Look people, you're at school to learn. You are required by law to attend classes. We the tax payers are not dishing out a pretty penny just so you lazy asses can sit and play your little calculator games throughout classes. Oh wow, big deal, you got a 4.0! Wow, we are really proud of you! It still is no excuse. Teachers spend many hours preparing for lectures, and have dedicated their lives to teaching. Show them some respect and pay attention. Christ, just imagine what you people could do if you put forth an effort. You are all obviously very smart kids, just lazy. Don't distract your teachers and the rest of the class just because you can't find enough power inside yourselves to make it through 1 hour without the stimulation of a cheap calculator game. I played calculator games upon getting my new ti85. I was one of the first people in my school to get the graphlink cable. But I realized it wasn't worth it. It may be tough to pull yourself away at first, but after a little while, the temptation to play games will be gone. Play during before classes and lunch. This was plenty enough stimulation for me. If you can't pay attention for more then one hour you're in for a lot of trouble in the future. And once you get to college kiss that calculator goodbye! You'll be lucky if you even have the time to play a game of z-cart before class.

I don't appreciate being called lazy and such. I disagree fully about the "kiss your calc goodbye in college" crap also. My bro's in college(UW MAD) and he programs 86 including asm.
I don't distract ppl playing games. I keep to myself and nobody should give a damn WHAT I'm doing. As you said, yes, we are forced to be in class. Not my fault taxpayers have to pay for it! I'm there by law, not by choice, and If you, other ppl, or teachers feel that games are evil, by God, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN? CRITICIZE OTHERS???

I mean in class, kiss your calculator goodbye in class. In all of my classes, calculators are not allowed, and you go so fast that you won't have time to play games in class. I am not against calculators!!!! I programmed some z80 assembly, and now after taking computer architecture, I am going to learn some assembly to program my ti89, and restart a game I started a year or 2 ago. I am entitled to my opinion. In high school, the people who played games all throughout class were some of the laziest people i have met. I think its just an indication of laziness if you can't pay attention for 1 hr. You are entitled to your own opinion, and I mine. If you want to piddle away your intelligence, hey, thats fine. No loss to me.

I think you are wrong about the taxpayers. If we get a 4.0 average then we should be allowed to play games in class. If our grades are that good, then the schools have suceeded in their goal and we should not be critisized about "wasting valuble tax dollars." Oh and another thing, I am TOTALLY against teachers taking away or clearing the memory of calculators. If you erase the memory it is vandalism. If you take away the calculator it is called theft. If you take away the calculator and it costs more than $200 then it is called grand theft and is a felony
-my $.02

I'm in the same boat as all the other smart kids. I do nothing but play my 89 in AP calc and by far have the highest grade and best understanding in the class. It's not a matter of being lazy or not applying one's self when playing the calc games. It's a problem with the slow pace that classes move at. If I had to sit in my classes and just try to pay attention, I would be asleep in no time. The games enhance my learning experience and allow me to apply myself. Until I get to NU where the classes are designed for people with half a brain, I'm going to play away. As far as applying myself goes, I'm valedcitorian, national merit schoalar, ect. If thats not applied, I don't know what is.

You guys are the biggest bunch of goobers. Why the hell would anyone buy a link cable if not to play games on the calc?

And what is wrong with playing games. You say: "It distracts from school work" ...pretty lame, guys.....

Really, when i think of the classic dork, the picture that comes to mind, is a pimpled face geek hunched over a calculator during math class.

I bought a link cord because I was into games at one point, until I realized it was a waste of time. I learned some assembly which required the link cable, and now after taking an assembly class, I might try out some z80 assembly again. The link cable is also good for inputting programs on the calculator.

You, Mr. Talking Fish, are the D.O.R.K. who has no clue what you are talking about. Link cables, both calc-to-calc link cables (which, Mr. Talking Fish, happen to come with the calculator when you buy it) and Graph-Link cables have other uses than games. The main use I have for my graph link cable is to back up the memory on my TI-89. That way, if it somehow is accidentally erased, I can restore it. It is also useful whenever I get the urge to attempt to write a program to be able to type it in on my computer, rather than the calculator's keyboard. I use my calc-to-calc cable to transfer files from my calc to friends calcs. I had a friend whose source code on his 89 got messed up and the factor feature wouldn't work. We had an algebra test that day. So, I used my link cable to send him the proper code. So, while both the graph-link and calc-to-calc cables CAN be used for gaming, they can also be used for many other constructive purposes.