rremark on plotting from a paedagogical point of view

[ThomasA]

The Prime ist an amazing graphing machine - definitely the best I have seen among its competitors on the market. Exploring functions is a joy using a touch screen.
As a math teacher I want to add a point to the wish list:
At the moment the calculator puts numbers at the edges of the plotting window indicating the maximum and the minumum values - I would prefer to bind the numbers to the last tick mark on the axis. Reading off the values would be simplified. For more precise values one can go with the Trace feature. But students should learn to read a graph without the help of a cursor! Perhaps one could make the feature switchable (a flag)?

[Tim Wessman]

Yeah, I agree. Basically, the behavior is just left over from smaller screened devices with less resolution. That is on the list of enhancements/changes for future consideration.

I suspect it will automatically place the numbers at specific intervals appropriate to what you have zoomed at and use shading for major/minor grouping. e.g. Dark grey fror multiples of 10, light grey for multiples of 5 in between.

[Tugdual]

(09-01-2014 01:55 PM)ThomasA Wrote:  The Prime ist an amazing graphing machine - definitely the best I have seen among its competitors on the market. Exploring functions is a joy using a touch screen.
As a math teacher I want to add a point to the wish list:
At the moment the calculator puts numbers at the edges of the plotting window indicating the maximum and the minumum values - I would prefer to bind the numbers to the last tick mark on the axis. Reading off the values would be simplified. For more precise values one can go with the Trace feature. But students should learn to read a graph without the help of a cursor! Perhaps one could make the feature switchable (a flag)?

Sorry for the off topic question but can I ask you the age of your students?

[walter b]

(09-03-2014 03:13 AM)Tugdual Wrote:  

(09-01-2014 01:55 PM)ThomasA Wrote:  But students should learn to read a graph without the help of a cursor! Perhaps one could make the feature switchable (a flag)?

Sorry for the off topic question but can I ask you the age of your students?

I bet he was talking about students, not students (other languages are more precise here ).

SCNR

[Don Shepherd]

(09-03-2014 06:48 AM)walter b Wrote:  

(09-03-2014 03:13 AM)Tugdual Wrote:  Sorry for the off topic question but can I ask you the age of your students?

I bet he was talking about students, not students (other languages are more precise here ).

SCNR

Walter, please look at your post and tell me in what possible way is it helpful or useful for this discussion?

[walter b]

(09-03-2014 10:48 AM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  

(09-03-2014 06:48 AM)walter b Wrote:  I bet he was talking about students, not students (other languages are more precise here ).

SCNR

Walter, please look at your post and tell me in what possible way is it helpful or useful for this discussion?

Don, you know the precision of 'students' is one of my favorite pet peeves. BTW, you didn't answer the post here yet. TIA.

[Don Shepherd]

(09-03-2014 11:08 AM)walter b Wrote:  

(09-03-2014 10:48 AM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Walter, please look at your post and tell me in what possible way is it helpful or useful for this discussion?

Don, you know the precision of 'students' is one of my favorite pet peeves. BTW, you didn't answer the post here yet. TIA.

I didn't answer your question regarding pupils because, for those who speak and understand English, it doesn't require an answer: pupil and student mean the same thing, namely, those who attend schools.

[Angus]

Obviously there is different teaching content, too. My personal opinion is that it is worth being discussed if students need (or to be more precise: should use) a calculator like the prime at all if they fail at reading simple graphs...
But it is a totally different topic. I think everyone is aware that the students ThomasA has in mind are like 6th graders or so and not at a university level ;-)

[walter b]

(09-03-2014 11:48 AM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  

(09-03-2014 11:08 AM)walter b Wrote:  Don, you know the precision of 'students' is one of my favorite pet peeves. BTW, you didn't answer the post here yet. TIA.

I didn't answer your question regarding pupils because, for those who speak and understand English, it doesn't require an answer: pupil and student mean the same thing, namely, those who attend schools.

It's always nice to be informed so politely about a foreign language by a native speaker of it, since e.g. dict.cc translates 'pupil' as someone who attends schools while a 'student' may as well attend a university (a pupil doesn't). I learn something new about (American) English here every once and a while.

d;-)

[Joe Horn]

(09-03-2014 12:32 PM)walter b Wrote:  

(09-03-2014 11:48 AM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  I didn't answer your question regarding pupils because, for those who speak and understand English, it doesn't require an answer: pupil and student mean the same thing, namely, those who attend schools.

It's always nice to be informed so politely about a foreign language by a native speaker of it, since e.g. dict.cc translates 'pupil' as someone who attends schools while a 'student' may as well attend a university (a pupil doesn't). I learn something new about (American) English here every once and a while.

Whenever you want to be sure what a word really means in American English, I suggest checking http://dictionary.com which is based on the excellent Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. Check out their definition of "student" and notice that it's a synonym for "pupil".