Suggestion for the "Explorer" apps

[eried]

Wouldn't be nice to be able to add background images to the Explorer apps? plus Touch support sounds like a winner. In this moment for me the Explorer apps are totally worthless apps. Opinions?



Vote:
http://www.tricider.com/brainstorming/2eKfifdjarx

[Jean-Michel]

Hello Eried

Would you mind telling you that I do not share your opinion about "useless Explorer apps"?
I was about to have the same feeling when first getting my Prime, but since, one of my kids is now at the age to learn about Y=Ax+B functions, (among others) and I remembered that my calc could be helpful in the task to help him understanding the role of A and B coefficients.
Both function explorer app and by-finger function drawing were helpful in the way that they offer additional "live" visual effects to the usual paper and pencil method.

Nevertheless, I can understand that adults and or professional users may find these apps useless, and in this way, I second the request of some users to have the ability to sort the apps and store them in user-created folders.

Let us be patient and confident, perhaps aren't we that far from this!

Kind regards.

[Tugdual]

(06-23-2015 08:46 PM)Jean-Michel Wrote:  Hello Eried

Would you mind telling you that I do not share your opinion about "useless Explorer apps"?
I was about to have the same feeling when first getting my Prime, but since, one of my kids is now at the age to learn about Y=Ax+B functions, (among others) and I remembered that my calc could be helpful in the task to help him understanding the role of A and B coefficients.
Both function explorer app and by-finger function drawing were helpful in the way that they offer additional "live" visual effects to the usual paper and pencil method.

Nevertheless, I can understand that adults and or professional users may find these apps useless, and in this way, I second the request of some users to have the ability to sort the apps and store them in user-created folders.

Let us be patient and confident, perhaps aren't we that far from this!

Kind regards.

So... A 150€ calc to do y=ax+b on a touch screen. Are we talking about Apple or Hp?
Seriously I also find this app useless and a big marketing mistake.

[Joe Horn]

(06-23-2015 08:46 PM)Jean-Michel Wrote:  ... I second the request of some users to have the ability to sort the apps ...

For those who don't know, Prime lets you arrange the "Fixed" order of the icons in the Apps Library. When the icons are in Fixed order, you can drag and drop them into whatever order you prefer. The only "secret" is that you have to press and hold an icon for 1 second first, just like some smart phone operating systems. This lets you put your favorite apps in the top 12 (always visible). Cool, huh? I don't think that this feature is mentioned in the documentation.

[cyrille de brébisson]

Hello,

The 3 explorer apps have one and only one aim: help kids that are learning linear, quadratic and trig function to understand the symbolic/graphical link specific to this function form. Trig explorer is also great to teach how extra parameters around an existing function of X affects the graphical representation of the function.

This means that for about 1h in the life of someone they are incredibly useful and that they are then worth nothing (or useless as you put it).

Place a quad explorer app in the hand of a math teacher that teaches at that level and see their eyes pop out as they immediately see the value of it.

Cyrille

[Arno K]

(06-24-2015 05:51 AM)cyrille de brébisson Wrote:  Hello,

The 3 explorer apps have one and only one aim: help kids that are learning linear, quadratic and trig function to understand the symbolic/graphical link specific to this function form. Trig explorer is also great to teach how extra parameters around an existing function of X affects the graphical representation of the function.

This means that for about 1h in the life of someone they are incredibly useful and that they are then worth nothing (or useless as you put it).

Place a quad explorer app in the hand of a math teacher that teaches at that level and see their eyes pop out as they immediately see the value of it.

Cyrille

I must strongly underline that point. Some years ago I wrote something similar for my mobile where I had (and still have) a program now called MathStudio, very powerful but with restricted usefulness because of missing commands for entering data. I have linear, quadratic und trigonomic functions with sliders to alter parameters that directly influence the plot. Each time one of my pupils had to learn these functions I first explain a bit about them, then manually sketch some examples and then let them "play" with the sliders, some little tasks (what happens if you alter..., how do we make this function have a frequency of...) and usually they understand. Now I use the Prime-apps for this.
Arno

[Tugdual]

(06-24-2015 05:51 AM)cyrille de brébisson Wrote:  Hello,

The 3 explorer apps have one and only one aim: help kids that are learning linear, quadratic and trig function to understand the symbolic/graphical link specific to this function form. Trig explorer is also great to teach how extra parameters around an existing function of X affects the graphical representation of the function.

This means that for about 1h in the life of someone they are incredibly useful and that they are then worth nothing (or useless as you put it).

Place a quad explorer app in the hand of a math teacher that teaches at that level and see their eyes pop out as they immediately see the value of it.

Cyrille

Cyrille, there is something that escapes me and I think this discussion has two levels.
One level is the feature itself and I'm not going to question it.
Another aspect is that young children learning quadratic functions generally have a 20€ Casio at school; it is enough for their need, suited to family budgets and not a big loss when it is broken or lost. Parents and students consider the acquisition of 150€ calculators much later during their cursus, basically when they go to university or other preparatory schools. So I struggle to understand why you should find first grader tools on a calculator that, budget wise, seems to be targeting higher education levels. What is the positioning of the Prime on the market? Does Hp now only consider teachers as the primary customers for the Prime? I'm lost.

[Tim Wessman]

And how many of those "higher students" still don't understand the relationship between a quadratic formula and a plot? How many might use it to teach a "lower student" a concept in a new way?

Why would the act of having a feature that most people won't use somehow make the product less? Why would its inclusion mean that there is any confusion as to the "target" of the product?

[Jean-Michel]

So... A 150€ calc to do y=ax+b on a touch screen. Are we talking about Apple or Hp?
Seriously I also find this app useless and a big marketing mistake.
[/quote]
This is not fair to say that. Your 50G costed the same price and did not do that. That's all. Reducing the Prime to these learning apps is not serious. If one does need them, it is easy to ignore them and move their icons to the bottom.
I guess there are also some "serious scientific" functions that you also might not use at all, aren't you?

On a more general point of view, I'm somewhat disappointed by the too common "Prime bashing". We are not at the age of the 41C and never will be again. Times change.

[cyrille de brébisson]

Hello,

"Prime is too expensive for entry level Explorer apps"...
This comment has some merit.
But please remember that the explorer are also a "hand me down" from the HP39g which was much cheaper and that Prime replaces...
They are also parents/places in the word that WILL pay 150€ for their junior high kid...

Cyrille

[eried]

In any case, I was talking from my POV. Adding the background image capability does add some value to these apps for me and maybe for others.

I was not philosofically bashing all scenarios these explorer app can be useful... the issue is why aren't those removable. Imagine they decide to add 10 more explorer apps, for basic operations like add and substract. And then, identify the shape apps for toddlers... even the fart soundbox apps have their objective public but they don't came bundled&unremovable with your phone.