Many popular mathematical software products including Maple, Mathematica, Derive, Mathcad, Matlab, and some of the TI calculators produce incorrect graphs because they use complex arithmetic instead of "real" arithmetic. This article expounds on this issue, provides possible remedies for instructors to share with their students, and demonstrates…

This essay begins with a brief history of calculator development and presents some lessons learned about using calculators in work dating back to the 1970s. A position statement on the appropriate use of calculator technology is presented along with a discussion of some of the controversial issues that have arisen as a consequence of the use of…

This collection of activities is designed to show how graphics display calculators can be used to foster algebraic thinking in middle school students. The collection consists of five activities addressing such topics as functions, estimation and scatterplots, and patterns. Blackline masters for the activities are included. (MM)

This guide provides students with practice for all the major types of graphs they are likely to encounter. It includes information on graphs of various families of algebraic functions; bar, line, and circle graphs; the creation, reading, and interpretation of graphs; and the use of graphing calculators. (MVL)

Uses a graphing calculator to demonstrate that dividing by a fraction is the same as multiplying by the reciprocal. Students graph a division problem and an equivalent problem, multiplying by the reciprocal. They find that the graphs are the same. (SKS)

Documents the experiences of 25 first-year university students with regard to the kinds of tasks calculus instructors should design in order to engage students in mathematical practices that often require the use of a graphing calculator. (MM)

Discusses planetary motion and universal gravitation using a graphing calculator. Includes program and data. (MKR)

Introduces the Sharp EL-9600 graphing calculator and its capabilities, and discusses its possible uses in mathematics classrooms. (ASK)

Examines the relation between the sequence of approximations to the square root of a number and the harmonic, geometric, and arithmetic means using the TI-85 graphing calculator. (MKR)

Explores some ideas for the imaginative use of a graphics calculator in introductory statistics teaching. (Author/ASK)

An intuitive derivation of Stirling's formula is presented, together with a modification that greatly improves its accuracy. The derivation is based on the closed form evaluation of the gamma function at an integer plus one-half. The modification is easily implemented on a hand-held calculator and often triples the number of significant digits…

This article describes a solution, using CAS, to graph theory problem that was presented in the movie "Good Will Hunting."

This paper was developed with the goal of enhancing the mathematical preparation of secondary school teachers in the technological paradigm. It shows how two-variable inequalities can be utilized as models for the construction of geometric objects using the software Graphing Calculator 3.5 (produced by Pacific Tech) as a relation grapher. An…

This research examines students' use of graphics calculators and investigates the extent to which the students' use meets their teachers aim when using graphics calculators in the classroom. The teacher's use of her graphics calculator was analysed over a week using Key Record software. The teacher was questioned about her aims and expectations…

This paper provides an instrumental account of precalculus students' graphical process for solving polynomial inequalities. It is carried out in terms of the students' instrumental schemes as mediated by handheld graphing calculators and in cooperation with their classmates in a classroom setting. The ethnographic narrative relays an instrumental…