Calculators

Technology has provided us with many different learning tools that assist in presenting new information to students.  The calculator is one of the pieces of technology that assist in the students’ learning and education in mathematics.  Not only is this important and used during school, but many people rely on a calculator in their everyday lives.  The tasks a calculator can perform vary depending on the type of calculator.  There are some that only operate simple algebraic expressions where others can find the derivative of a function.  The calculator plays a very important role in learning mathematics and can assist in completing a task that is too difficult, tedious, or complex for someone to do on their own.  A calculator is also a good way for students to check if their work done without a calculator was completed correctly.  The simplest form of a calculator is one that is capable of calculating the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of numbers.  This is also the foundation of our mathematical knowledge.  When we first learned math we started by learning these four operations that were then expanded into more complex concepts and topics.  As our mathematical knowledge expands, there are calculators that are also capable of doing more complex math.  For example, a graphing calculator is able to graph a function on an x-y coordinate plane.  For a student that is just learning about functions and how to graph them, a visual of a graph will be helpful in the initial lesson of graphing functions.  Another benefit of using a calculator is the time that is being conserved during a class.  By using a calculator, a result is given to you almost instantaneously, which could have taken ten minutes if it was done by a person.  Time is restricted in a classroom each day by the length of the period, and calculators are able to help speed the process of understanding a lesson.   

Not only is a calculator helpful in a classroom, but calculators are used every day outside of the classroom. There are many tasks that are understood how to be completed but take too long or too much effort to complete them so many people rely on a calculator.  While paying a bill at a restaurant many people use their calculators on their phones to find the amount of tip and then the total bill they will be paying.  Calculators are also used very frequently while shopping.  If there is a discount on a certain item it is more convenient for some people to calculate the new price through calculations on a calculator rather than in their head or on paper.  Finally, many jobs, such as accountants and architects, require a calculator to perform tasks in their work assignments. 

The main purpose of technology is to make a situation be more convenient for the user.  Math is everywhere and used for so many different everyday activities.  Such a small form of technology that is used to teach mathematics in schools is also used throughout almost everyone’s lives daily.  There is some kind of impact a calculator has on each person and without it there would have been a different route taken to arrive at an answer.  The calculator is very convenient for the user when trying to reach the solution.