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Roadrunner

Roadrunner

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We were gifted TI-84 Plus Sliver Edition graphing calculator. It has to be really old (at least 7-8 years old). So my kid tried to use it for something basic and hated it. Now we are going to have to learn how to operate this clunky machine, but I am wondering if there is a benefit in going and getting him a new version when it comes on back to school sale? If so, which one? Or should I just save my money and use what we got? 

Also, does anybody recommend a particular tutorial for this calculator? My kid was turning it in his hand as if it landed on earth from a different solar system. It's going to be a steep learning curve here. 

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Arcadia

Arcadia

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I would keep it as a spare and get the TI 84 Plus CE during back to school sale. I think the main difference between the two models is color and speed. A blogger wrote a post on all the different TI84 models here https://mathclasscalculator.com/index.php/blog/whats-the-difference-between-all-ti-84-models/

Lanny recommended the Dummies book as it was helpful for his daughter.

https://www.amazon.com/Ti-84-Plus-Graphing-Calculator-Dummies/dp/1118592158

My kids used this book from the Palo Alto library so you can Link+ if yours don’t have a copy. 

Using the TI-84 Plus: Also Covers the TI-84 Plus CE and TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition https://www.amazon.com/Using-TI-84-Plus-Covers-Silver/dp/1617293156/

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Roadrunner

Roadrunner

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1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

I would keep it as a spare and get the TI 84 Plus CE during back to school sale. I think the main difference between the two models is color and speed. A blogger wrote a post on all the different TI84 models here https://mathclasscalculator.com/index.php/blog/whats-the-difference-between-all-ti-84-models/

Lanny recommended the Dummies book as it was helpful for his daughter.

https://www.amazon.com/Ti-84-Plus-Graphing-Calculator-Dummies/dp/1118592158

My kids used this book from the Palo Alto library so you can Link+ if yours don’t have a copy. 

Using the TI-84 Plus: Also Covers the TI-84 Plus CE and TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition https://www.amazon.com/Using-TI-84-Plus-Covers-Silver/dp/1617293156/

 

Is this the one you recommend?

https://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-TI-84-Graphing-Calculator/dp/B00TFYYWQA/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=TI+84+Plus+CE&qid=1559863888&s=gateway&sr=8-1

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Arcadia

Arcadia

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3 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Is this the one you recommend?

https://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-TI-84-Graphing-Calculator/dp/B00TFYYWQA/

 

Yes. Both my kids use it for calculus and statistics. Wait for the back to school sale when it drops to $79 at Target and Walmart. There are many colors to choose from. You can play Pac-Man on the TI 84 series, including the one you currently have.

I think Spycar prefers the TI NSpire CAS but since you have a hand me down TI84, it would be easier to buy the same model newer edition and use the older model as a backup. Your children can take two calculators for AP exams. 

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Arcadia

Arcadia

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2 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

Also, does anybody recommend a particular tutorial for this calculator? 

 

He can try this TI education link while you borrow the books https://education.ti.com/html/t3_free_courses/calculus84_online/index.html

For ACT the TI84 is allowed but not the TI NSpire CAS model http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/ACT-calculator-policy.pdf

“The following types of calculators are prohibited:
 Calculators with built-in or downloaded computer algebra system functionality, including:
  
Texas Instruments:

All model numbers that begin with TI-89 or TI-92
TI-Nspire CAS
Note: The TI-Nspire (non-CAS) is permitted.”

18 minutes ago, chocolate-chip chooky said:

I need to get my daughter a graphing calculator for her senior maths exam. I'm now searching specifically for the TI 84 Plus CE. 

 

Double check the calculator policy for her senior maths exam. I think the TI84 Plus CE would be allowed but it is always safer to know for sure before purchasing.

This is the only link I could find so far for Australia on approved graphing calculators https://www.sace.sa.edu.au/coordinating/admin/information-sheets/49

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Roadrunner

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I will keep trying my luck here 🙂

In an old, old thread, I believe Kathy linked a page that outlined 4 procedures that one needs to know how to perform on a calculator for calculus exam. The link doesn’t work anymore. Does anybody know what those are?

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flor

flor

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Speaking of calculators and standardized tests, the daughter of a friend (in another school district) was asked to clear her SAT approved calculator before going into the SAT Math 2 test. I checked the SAT 2 calculator policy and didn’t find anything about having to clear the calculator https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/taking-the-test/calculator-policy.

Anyone has heard of this?

Also for AP tests my dc couldn’t even take a sound free timer that was allowed in years past. This change bothered me because often the clocks in the test rooms are not functioning. Some other districts in our area project timers on the smart board, ours mainly relies on the teachers giving the 5 or so minutes warning.

My dc was allowed to bring a basic digital clock with no alarm for a later AP test in which timing was of essence.

Thoughts? Should my dc bring a printout of the calculator and timer policy in case there is ever an issue in our district? 

 

 

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Lanny

Lanny

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Roadrunner: Your son is correct in that there are some very odd things about how one uses a TI-84 series calculator, to do certain operations. Those things are not intuitively obvious. I don't remember what those things are. However, those are the calculators used in the vast majority of High Schools in the USA, so most people get with the program and learn how to use them.  The TI-84 Plus CE that we bought for my DD was one of the first available for sale in the USA.  The original (OEM) battery died, after less than one year as I recall, and I wasn't pleased about that and bought a battery that is not OEM, from an eBay Seller in New York and that battery is still working properly. She will take the calculator with her to university in August.

Someone asked about "clearing" a calculator and yes, I do remember that DD was required to do that, before one examination. I don't remember if it was a Final Examination, or an EOC (End of Course) exam for the state, or one of the examinations from the College Board or ACT.

The calculator DD has had a "stroke" several years ago.  I found the latest TI Software/Firmware for it on the TI web site, downloaded that, installed it and it has been running fine since then.  Possibly that was about the same time as the battery issue?

I would keep the old TI-84 that you have and take that along so he has a "spare" when he is taking critical examinations. That would be comforting...

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gstharr

gstharr

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2 hours ago, flor said:

my dc was allowed to bring a basic digital clock with no alarm for a later AP test in which timing was of essence.

Thoughts? Should my dc bring a printout of the calculator and timer policy in case there is ever an issue in our district? 

 

 

I have my testers wear a plain analog watch.  Digital will work too, since so many kids cannot read time. But a fancy digital watch can lead to scrutiny if the kid fidgets with it.

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Roadrunner

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2 hours ago, flor said:

Speaking of calculators and standardized tests, the daughter of a friend (in another school district) was asked to clear her SAT approved calculator before going into the SAT Math 2 test. I checked the SAT 2 calculator policy and didn’t find anything about having to clear the calculator https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/taking-the-test/calculator-policy.

Anyone has heard of this?

Also for AP tests my dc couldn’t even take a sound free timer that was allowed in years past. This change bothered me because often the clocks in the test rooms are not functioning. Some other districts in our area project timers on the smart board, ours mainly relies on the teachers giving the 5 or so minutes warning.

My dc was allowed to bring a basic digital clock with no alarm for a later AP test in which timing was of essence.

Thoughts? Should my dc bring a printout of the calculator and timer policy in case there is ever an issue in our district? 

 

 

 

Mine had to clear the watch (it was an old analog one), but they had no time to clear it, so they brought in a clock for the wall and wouldn’t let him use his watch. No big deal though since time was visible. 

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Arcadia

Arcadia

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3 hours ago, flor said:

Speaking of calculators and standardized tests, the daughter of a friend (in another school district) was asked to clear her SAT approved calculator before going into the SAT Math 2 test. I checked the SAT 2 calculator policy and didn’t find anything about having to clear the calculator 

Thoughts? Should my dc bring a printout of the calculator and timer policy in case there is ever an issue in our district? 

 

Whether your child wants to argue on the calculator and timer policy is up to your child. My kids just want to be done and couldn’t care less, so they won’t even think to tell me if they had to clear their calculator. I doubt so though because both my kids took the SAT Math 2 at the end of 7th grade using their scientific calculator.  If you are asking regarding the SAT Math 2, the calculator isn’t use much and I don’t see a need to have anything in the calculator memory so that’s an argument that I won’t bother to have.

If you are asking about the AP exams, I know some students were told by their teachers to key in formulas into their graphing calculators e.g. 

https://www.prosper-isd.net/cms/lib5/TX01918217/Centricity/Domain/255/How to Enter more than 10 Equations.pdf

https://supertutortv.com/sat/sat-calculator-hacks/

So it’s really up to your child whether your child wants to argue with the AP exam proctor. My kids didn’t have to clear their TI84 calculators but they did the night before because they don’t like “mess” especially the history. 

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Caroline

Caroline

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On 6/7/2019 at 7:03 AM, flor said:

Speaking of calculators and standardized tests, the daughter of a friend (in another school district) was asked to clear her SAT approved calculator before going into the SAT Math 2 test. I checked the SAT 2 calculator policy and didn’t find anything about having to clear the calculator https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/taking-the-test/calculator-policy.

Anyone has heard of this?

Also for AP tests my dc couldn’t even take a sound free timer that was allowed in years past. This change bothered me because often the clocks in the test rooms are not functioning. Some other districts in our area project timers on the smart board, ours mainly relies on the teachers giving the 5 or so minutes warning.

My dc was allowed to bring a basic digital clock with no alarm for a later AP test in which timing was of essence.

Thoughts? Should my dc bring a printout of the calculator and timer policy in case there is ever an issue in our district? 

 

 

You are not allowed to bring any outside timing device into an AP exam except a watch. It’s in the proctoring instructions. 

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Arcadia

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21 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

Actually math 2 had two questions that needed graphing calculator. 

 

It’s not required to get a 800 (which ends up being 80th percentile for my kid).  The exams that do require a graphing calculator are the AP Calculus AB & BC exams. A graphing calculator for the AP Statistics exam is expected unless the student has a scientific calculator that can do the required statistical functions (https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/exam-policies-guidelines/calculator-policies)

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RootAnn

RootAnn

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DD had a friend who was required to clear his calculator prior to the AP Calc AB exam. I believe he was the only one on the room the proctor required to clear his calculator. He filed some sort of complaint with the CB after the test.

I am not a fan of regular graphing calculator use, but both online classes (Pre-Calc & Calc) required a graphing calculator. DD ended up with some sort of NSpire although almost everyone else had a TI 84 something.

All three of her top pick colleges said they do not allow calculator usage in Calc 1 & 2 on tests and encourage the students to do homework by hand since they will not have calculators on the tests. According to the professors she spoke to on visits, the kids who rely on their calculators the most have the most trouble adjusting to college Calc. At a college that requires a 4 or higher to get out of Calc 1, a professor said they occasionally have a kid who scored a 3 on the AP Calc AB exam fail Calc 1 due to not understanding the math (but who obviously was able to get by with a graphing calc on the AP exam).

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chiguirre

chiguirre

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I'd just stick with the calculator you got for free. Like RootAnn's dd, mine is going to take Calc at a school that bans calculator use on tests. We never bothered to buy a graphing calculator at all because she could use the graphing apps for the precalc problems that needed graphing and she won't be taking the AP Calculus test or the SAT 2 math exam. Of course, the testing requirements depend on the universities you're looking at so ymmv.

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Roadrunner

Roadrunner

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2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

 

It’s not required to get a 800 (which ends up being 80th percentile for my kid).  The exams that do require a graphing calculator are the AP Calculus AB & BC exams. A graphing calculator for the AP Statistics exam is expected unless the student has a scientific calculator that can do the required statistical functions (https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/exam-policies-guidelines/calculator-policies)

 

Well, that’s not what my boy said. Two questions were impossible to graph out by hand and would have been an easy answer with a graphing one. 

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Arcadia

Arcadia

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1 minute ago, Roadrunner said:

Well, that’s not what my boy said. Two questions were impossible to graph out by hand and would have been an easy answer with a graphing one. 

 

My guess is that those are choose the answer by elimination based on what DS13 said. He took on June 2018 and DS14 took on June 2017.

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Roadrunner

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Just now, Arcadia said:

 

My guess is that those are choose the answer by elimination based on what DS13 said. He took on June 2018 and DS14 took on June 2017.

 

Well, had he known how to use it and had one, those questions would have been a piece of cake. So those reading hopefully will learn from our mistake. 

 

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Garga

Garga

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Won’t work for tests, but when my son took a precalc class the teacher had recommended a graphic calc and they were all expensive, so we asked if we could just use a free graphing calculator app and she said we could.  Turned out that they never used the graphing calculators at all, so I’m glad we didn’t buy one.    

Apps won’t work for tests of course, and maybe later we’ll need to buy one.  

But for the OP—if you don’t need it for a test, will a free graphing calculator work?  

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Roadrunner

Roadrunner

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1 minute ago, Arcadia said:

 

I’ll wait for Target or Walmart to start their back to school sales in their seasonal shelves. That’s when it drops below $100.

 

Do you know when they start those sales?

I am hoping to have him do some sort of tutorial before the school starts since we have time now.

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Roadrunner

Roadrunner

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16 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Target $99.99 for next week’s ad https://weeklyad.target.com/promotions?code=Target-20190721&page=8

Past years trends have tend to go lower than this price.

Thank you!

How much lower do you think this can get? I am just wondering if it’s worth the wait. I worry they will run out of them. They had. I thing in the shelves when I went there not even a week ago.

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Arcadia

Arcadia

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Just now, Roadrunner said:

How much lower do you think this can get? I am just wondering if it’s worth the wait. 

 

My guess is that the lowest would be $80 at Target, Walmart or Staples. 

If you are worried about stock running out, I would buy next week but not use yet since Target has a 90 days return policy. The Cupertino Targets do have them in store.

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MamaSprout

MamaSprout

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Zombie thread!

We have a 8-9 year old TI-84 Dd used for precalculus. She doesn't love it and I think it would be a good time for her to upgrade. I found she was more likely to make errors in calculator use than in the math itself this year. We're considering moving her to a CAS. She doesn't plan to take the ACT again.

Are there any drawbacks to switching to the N-Spire CAS? How do you know if she'll be able to use it in a college course? I know one of her potential colleges uses Maple instead of calculators, but I would just be guessing on the others. She'll probably be through the calculus sequence before she graduates high school.

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kiana

kiana

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1 hour ago, MamaSprout said:

Are there any drawbacks to switching to the N-Spire CAS? How do you know if she'll be able to use it in a college course? I know one of her potential colleges uses Maple instead of calculators, but I would just be guessing on the others. She'll probably be through the calculus sequence before she graduates high school.

 

It is VERY common to ban Nspire on tests due to the algebraic manipulation capabilities. 

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Lanny

Lanny

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The CAS calculators probably cannot be used for the SAT and ACT and associated exams.  DD has been using her TI 84 Plus CE since Algebra 1 as I recall. (I don't think she had it when she took  Pre Algebra).   Recently, she completed her first semester of Calculus with it. Despite the premature failure of the original OEM battery, which I was not happy about, and a Software glitch that I solved by Downloading the latest OS for it from the TI web site, and   installing the new OS into it, it has worked really well for DD. There are a bunch of things about using TI-84 series calculators that are not intuitively obvious (to say the least, that's an understatement) and the "Dummies" book really helped my DD a few times, when she was trying to figure out how to do something with it and she told me that I was smart, when I bought the "Dummies" book for her. 

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