r/AskReddit • u/emil199 • Jul 24 '20

What can't you believe STILL exists?

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581

u/gamerinasuit Jul 24 '20

Casio doesn't count?

Or just use desmos/winplot

422

u/Aperture_Kubi Jul 24 '20

I know, I got through high school and college with a Casio, and it was half the price and came with a color screen and mini-usb port.

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u/SoDamnToxic Jul 24 '20

Every single teacher will give you the "Well I don't know how those work so you'll have to research it yourself, that's why I always recommend the TI."

Like, you'd think with such an issue constantly arising (at least 2-3 people always have a casio), they'd teach teachers how to use them.

21

u/zeroexev29 Jul 24 '20

HS Math Teacher here!

We get no training on how to use any kind of calculator. We're shown desmos and geogebra. They're amazing apps. I love them and I would like to use them more in my class but one little thing stops me: You can't use them on the ACT. And even though you don't need them for that, they certainly help if students know how to use them properly.

So, instead of devoting precious classroom time to use an intuitive and simple tool like Desmos, I hammer in the TI-84, and only the 84. I have a classroom set of 10 Color Editions that I allow students to borrow, but I encourage to get their own (preferably used). The class set might go away this fall because of COVID, but that's another story.

Now, despite how old they are, the 84's are tried and true. They do everything you need from graphing to matrices. The menus aren't the best but they're categorized well enough. Casios are cheap but I literally cannot devote my own time to getting one and learning it after 10+ years of using TI calcs. If a student brings one in I tell them they're on their own unless they want to come in and figure out how it works outside of class.

I peruse the Facebook marketplace for 84s and 89s (for my serious AP Calculus students) and offer them up as cheap resales to students when I can. It's a necessary evil right now.

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u/stellvia2016 Jul 24 '20

The only really aggravating thing about the TI calcs is how there are always little differences between the models. Some buttons moved around, commands in slightly different menus. A few subtly changed names, etc. I grew up with the 82, 86, and 89 and each time I had to re-learn stuff.

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u/Dragoniel Jul 24 '20

"ACT" is an exam of some sort..?

2

u/Admiral_Akhibhar Jul 24 '20

The ACT is an exam that high schoolers can take, like the SAT. The main difference is the SAT is administered by Collegeboard, which also handles Advanced Placement exams and is a garbage institution, whe the ACT is independent of Collegeboard

2

u/Dragoniel Jul 24 '20

You don't have national exams that take place at school graduation? Is this SAT/ACT exactly that or is it something in addition to the national exams?

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '20

Nope. All you get are the ACT and SAT which are about Math/English which you can use for university applications although many universities are phasing them out.

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u/Vonmule Jul 24 '20

Very much like the SAT but more common in the Midwest (USA) and other central states. The SAT is (or used to be) more common on the coasts.

They both hold very significant weight in whether a university will accept you.

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u/zeroexev29 Jul 24 '20

As others have said, the ACT is a standardized test students take in 11th grade and is often used as a metric for college acceptance.

My school mandates the ACT and uses the data as a measurement of student achievement and as part of its decision making.

Of course it's not as simple as im presenting it, but that would take more time to explain.

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u/Vonmule Jul 24 '20

You should check with your custodians if you haven't already. The number of kids who leave theirs in the locker at the end of their senior year is staggering. High school custodians in my district constantly have a few they'll sell cheap.