3 ms·

It's a shame we've standardized on something so ancient and limited, but we'll be losing something when we give up on the standardization we've achieved. At lea

It's a shame we've standardized on something so ancient and limited, but we'll be losing something when we give up on the standardization we've achieved. At least if we accept that basic graphing capability is crucial to high school and undergrad maths. I'm picturing a high school math teacher trying to support 20-30 kids running 20-30 different BYOD'd devices... multiplied by 5-6 periods of teaching per day. Even if one app becomes dominant, teachers will still need to keep up with updates. We can complain that teachers are technology-resistant at times, but have you ever spoken to a teacher? They're typically quite overworked already. Generally they take a lot of work home with them. The thought of adding anything additional to their workload should really give us pause. I would hope some sort of de facto standardized replacement emerges. Like that free Desmos app mentioned in the article. That's not a perfect solution (students still need devices) but it certainly lowers the bar for entry. I'm sure a budget $50 (new) tablet would run it just fine. And there are plenty of older devices on the used market that can do it. Thing is, BYOD is still really problematic. Some students will have an advantage over others. And there's the non-trivial matter of making sure that students aren't accessing cellular data during tests. Ideally schools would purchase cheap tablets with no cellular modems and slap them into ruggedized cases. Then lend them to the kids or at least sell them to the kids at nominal cost.

derekp7 7y ago
That's why standards shouldn't focus on the device and model number, but on minimum capabilities and user interface. So even if a given calculator supports various other functionality and advanced programmability, as long as you can switch it into a "standard UI" mode (which defines what various buttons do, the programming language, screen output, etc) then there shouldn't be a problem For test taking, you can even add boot verification -- you can run whatever you want on it, but to get the green "Verified" light to come on it would have to boot into a signed image.
- JohnBooty 7y ago
  As other commenters have pointed out, it's as much about limiting the capabilities of these devices as it is about anything else. Teachers don't want students to have unlimited power to solve equations, etc. They want students to do some of these things manually, for learning purposes. You don't necessarily want your students using whatever top-of-the-line devices/software that can make some of the coursework utterly trivial. Is this solvable in software? Sure! Students could run tablets running approved calculator software, and teachers could disable/enable features at-will at test time. This would of course rely upon students running some sort of verified software/hardware combo. Has anybody solved this particular challenge yet? Not to my knowledge. I think they may need to think about this, if they want to unseat the TI (a worthy goal)
LukeShu 7y ago
> I'm picturing a high school math teacher trying to support 20-30 kids running 20-30 different BYOD'd devices I don't get this fear of BYOD. It should be fine to say "these are the devices I'll support, if you'd rather use something else, that's fine, but I won't be able to help you." (In testing situations, I do understand the fear of BYOD for devices that might provide too many capabilities.) When I was in high school, my teachers had no problem saying - Here is a list of the devices that are allowed on the standardized test. If you're planning on taking the test, I advise that you use one of these for the duration of the course, so that you will be comfortable with the device you use on the test. - Here is is a list of the devices that I am familiar with, and can support. I advise that you use one of these devices, so that if you have trouble with it, I can help you. You are free to use a different device if you like, but if you have trouble with it, finding the solution is your own responsibility.
- JohnBooty 7y ago
  Here is is a list of the devices that I am familiar with, and can support. I advise that you use one of these devices, so that if you have trouble with it, I can help you. You are free to use a different device if you like, but if you have trouble with it, finding the solution is your own responsibility. This is utterly reasonable, but here's the problem: a lot of kids have utterly unreasonable circumstances. Please think of the least-advantaged kids when we think of things like this. A lot of kids don't even have parents that are willing or able to help with their education at all. There are a lot of parents who can hardly feed their kids. Let's recognize our privilege here. There are a lot of parents who don't have an ability to buy something from a list of approved devices. They can't order things online, because they don't have credit cards or they can't safely have packages left on their doorsteps. They may be long bus rides away from someplace they can buy one of these blessed devices. And yeah, a lot of parents will jump through whatever hoops necessary to get their kids the $100 or $50 thing they need for math class. What's the plan for those who don't?

derekp7 7y ago

That's why standards shouldn't focus on the device and model number, but on minimum capabilities and user interface. So even if a given calculator supports various other functionality and advanced programmability, as long as you can switch it into a "standard UI" mode (which defines what various buttons do, the programming language, screen output, etc) then there shouldn't be a problem For test taking, you can even add boot verification -- you can run whatever you want on it, but to get the green "Verified" light to come on it would have to boot into a signed image.

JohnBooty 7y ago
As other commenters have pointed out, it's as much about limiting the capabilities of these devices as it is about anything else. Teachers don't want students to have unlimited power to solve equations, etc. They want students to do some of these things manually, for learning purposes. You don't necessarily want your students using whatever top-of-the-line devices/software that can make some of the coursework utterly trivial. Is this solvable in software? Sure! Students could run tablets running approved calculator software, and teachers could disable/enable features at-will at test time. This would of course rely upon students running some sort of verified software/hardware combo. Has anybody solved this particular challenge yet? Not to my knowledge. I think they may need to think about this, if they want to unseat the TI (a worthy goal)

LukeShu 7y ago

> I'm picturing a high school math teacher trying to support 20-30 kids running 20-30 different BYOD'd devices I don't get this fear of BYOD. It should be fine to say "these are the devices I'll support, if you'd rather use something else, that's fine, but I won't be able to help you." (In testing situations, I do understand the fear of BYOD for devices that might provide too many capabilities.) When I was in high school, my teachers had no problem saying - Here is a list of the devices that are allowed on the standardized test. If you're planning on taking the test, I advise that you use one of these for the duration of the course, so that you will be comfortable with the device you use on the test. - Here is is a list of the devices that I am familiar with, and can support. I advise that you use one of these devices, so that if you have trouble with it, I can help you. You are free to use a different device if you like, but if you have trouble with it, finding the solution is your own responsibility.

JohnBooty 7y ago
Here is is a list of the devices that I am familiar with, and can support. I advise that you use one of these devices, so that if you have trouble with it, I can help you. You are free to use a different device if you like, but if you have trouble with it, finding the solution is your own responsibility. This is utterly reasonable, but here's the problem: a lot of kids have utterly unreasonable circumstances. Please think of the least-advantaged kids when we think of things like this. A lot of kids don't even have parents that are willing or able to help with their education at all. There are a lot of parents who can hardly feed their kids. Let's recognize our privilege here. There are a lot of parents who don't have an ability to buy something from a list of approved devices. They can't order things online, because they don't have credit cards or they can't safely have packages left on their doorsteps. They may be long bus rides away from someplace they can buy one of these blessed devices. And yeah, a lot of parents will jump through whatever hoops necessary to get their kids the $100 or $50 thing they need for math class. What's the plan for those who don't?