Calculators in the Classroom- Online and Otherwise

In today’s society we expect everything to be instant, and math calculations is no exception to this. Students deserve to use calculators because they are available and they are accurate. Without getting into a pro/con calculator use argument, I’d like to discuss the pros and cons of online calculators (such as Desmos.com) and handheld calculators such as ones on our phones, or graphing calculators. Calculators have a strong hold in today’s classrooms and will not be going away in the foreseeable future. Teachers and parents alike must learn to embrace these test-score-boosting machines that students have access to almost everywhere they go. So let’s talk about some options:

1. Handheld 10 key calculators: These are the calculators that my generation and older started with. They could add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers typically no larger than billion. I remember my mom balancing her checkbook with a larger version of this calculator that could also do percents (like tax) and printed each input after she hit “equals” Kids today have access to a 10 key calculator by simply swiping up on their iPhones and selecting the calculator app. Teachers need to be teaching students how to effectively use this tool!
2. Graphing Calculators: When I entered middle school my math teacher showed me her TI-83 black graphing calculator and said “after you know how to use this, you will never want another calculator again.” Boy, was she right! Around my math classroom you will see 6 of my personal TI-84 (new and improved TI-83) calculators that I use on a regular basis. One of my favorite things about them is that they keep a record of all actions done. This is currently the highest-functioning type of calculator that students can use while taking standardized tests. It can do all the regular things (add, subtract, etc.) plus it has applications for probability and statistics, graphing, solving equations, and much, much more. One of the only bad things about these calculators is that they’re expensive. Really expensive. Some of the newest ones can run about $150! As I teach my Algebra 1 class, I try and expose the kids to these calculators as often as I can. But, without a class set it’s hard to do. Only about 2 of my 30 Algebra kids have one of their own.
3. Online Calculators such as Desmos.com: These websites are AWESOME! They can provide all the typical graphing calculator positives without costing an arm and a leg. Desmos is pretty user friendly and gives the students a great way to interact with graphs in a way they can’t do on paper. They can zoom in and out to see how the graph “changes” when it gets bigger or smaller. They can graph multiple functions at once. Desmos even has math games to play to help reinforce concepts. I love using Desmos in my classroom because it’s so easily accessible. However, I’m careful to explain how to do whatever we’re doing on Desmos on a graphing calculator too, so they have experience with the calculator they can use on standardized tests.

Calculators aren’t going anywhere. In my opinion, as long as students understand what they’re doing when they’re telling the calculator to perform an operation, we should use them!

Graphing calculator graph

Desmos interactive graphing tool