[nabs-l] scientific calculators

Mon Oct 18 18:35:30 UTC 2010

Hi, Joseph and all,
  You are right that Excel and other computer programs can do pretty
much anything a scientific calculator can do, but I have to say that
the stand-alone calculator can be useful for some purposes. I used a
Orion TI-36 throughout high school and my first two years of college,
and it served me very well. It is perfectly portable and has a long
battery life, so I could use it anywhere without needing to be near a
computer. This is particularly important for people who do not have
laptops, although most braille notetakers do have some form of
calculator with more limited functionality. In addition, while
scientific calculators are typically allowed on standardized tests
(such as SAT and GRE), it is unlikely that ETS will allow a blind
test-taker to utilize a computer with various math applications
because of test security, so a stand-alone device is a must in those
situations. And finally, I personally find it a lot easier to write
down the equations, crunch out the numbers on the calculator, and
write down the answers in my assignments rather than switching between
multiple computer programs!
Anyway, although computer programs can take care of the calculation
needs of many blind students, I think a scientific calculator can be
useful for those taking number-intensive classes and need to do quick
calculations on the go, and I would definitely recommend the Orion
TI-36 to those who decide to invest in one.
   Katie

On 10/18/10, Antonio Guimaraes <freethaught at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm glad you set us straight, since there are solutions other than dedicated
> stand alone devices.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Antonio
>
> On Oct 18, 2010, at 1:11 AM, Joseph C. Lininger wrote:
>
>> Howdy folks,
>> I've been wondering something. What do these dedicated scientific
>> calculators, which retail for a few hundred bucks for an accessible
>> model, do that I can't do with either the windows calculator in
>> scientific mode, Microsoft Excel, or a similar solution under another
>> operating system? Seems to me these do the same sorts of things, and
>> they don't cost extra. Plus you get the added benefit of being able to
>> paste the results of your calculation directly into something like an
>> exam paper or homework write-up. The dedicated devices also tend to have
>> precision issues if the numbers get too large, or arbitrarily too close
>> to 0. There are software programs, some of them free, which don't suffer
>> from this shortcoming. I can't see the benefit of spending $300 for
>> something like this, unless you just really want a dedicated device to
>> use as a calculator for some reason. Someone care to set me straight here?
>> --
>> They say god has always been. Linux and I will now disprove that:
>> $ ar m God
>> ar: creating God
>> There you have it. God was created by the ar program. Good news is, God
>> really does exist!
>> Joseph C. Lininger, <jbahm at pcdesk.net>
>> On 10/17/2010 9:05 PM, Antonio Guimaraes wrote:
>>> Hello Becky,
>>>
>>> I am responding on list since I hope the message is also useful to
>>> others.
>>>
>>> I am currently using an Orion t-36 talking scientific calculator. You get
>>> the functionality of the TI-86 Scientific calculator in a talking unit
>>> for about $300. I am not sure on the price, but a simple call to American
>>> Printing House for the Blind will reveal the correct cost of the thing.
>>>
>>> Hope this helps.
>>>
>>> Antonio
>>> On Oct 17, 2010, at 5:05 PM, becky sabo wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello All,
>>>> Where would I find a scientific calculator and how much does it go for?
>>>> If someone could let me know off list I would appreciate.  My email is
>>>> beckyasabo at gmail.com	
>>>> Sincerely
>>>> Becky sabo
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>> Behalf
>>>> Of Dezman Jackson
>>>> Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 10:30 AM
>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] graphing calculator
>>>>
>>>> Hi, List,
>>>>
>>>> I was recently asked about a graphing calculator for a high school
>>>> student.
>>>> I know that scientific calculators are pretty easy to come by these days
>>>> but
>>>> what about those that do graphing?  If anyone knows of such a device I
>>>> would
>>>> appreciate the info.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>>
>>>> Dezman Jackson, NOMC, NCLB
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>>>>
>>>>
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