Multiplication Poll: * or · or something else?

[Wes Loewer]

(04-16-2014 02:37 PM)Wes Loewer Wrote:  

(03-07-2014 06:53 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote:  How about a poll: Would you prefer to see ·,* or something else for multiplication in 2D display mode? What about the program editor, notes/text, or non-2D mode?

I voted for · for 2D display as the intent of that mode is to display things as you would see them in a textbook

I voted for * for the program editor as this is what nearly every programming language uses. The 1D display should be consistent with the program editor.

(2 hours later)
On second thought...

I teach in Kenya at an American curriculum high school. American elementary school textbooks generally use × for multiplication till around grade 6 or 7. When the concept of variables are introduced, they switch to using a dot to avoid confusion with the variable x. We would definitely not use × in Algebra or beyond.

That said, one of my top students several years ago initially failed our math entrance exam because she didn't know what the multiplication dot meant. She was an 11th grader coming from a British curriculum school in Tanzania and had never seen it before. I've heard the same thing from other British/Kenyan students. I've seen some Kenyan textbooks use the center dot for the decimal place (3·14159).

I've always thought the * looked so out of place in the Prime's 2D display. To my American eyes, it ought to be a dot. I'm curious if the centered dot is still used as a decimal point in schools in the UK. If it is, then I would qualify my vote by saying that I'd prefer the dot, but for the sake of others, the dot should be used only if it's optional.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpunct#British_English

Calculator survey:
* TI-84+, HP-50g 1D
· TI-Nspire, HP-50g 2D
× Casio

-wes