Computer Algebra Systems

After doing one of my field experiences last spring at Price Lab, I was introduced to "the new thing" in the world of math, the TI-Nspire CAS. Everyone seemed to be so excited to have these new calculators, but they were completely foreign to me. I had never actually used one, seen one, or even heard of one. In that case, it was a frustrating process to me because, in order to teach something to the students in class which involved graphing calculator, I had to try to figure out how to do everything I already knew how to do on my own calculators, a TI-83 or TI-86.

Image from http://www.calculators.com/

Then, after attending the Iowa Council of Teachers of Mathematics annual conference a couple of weeks ago, I attended a session that was supposed to teach you how to use the new computer algebra system. In that case, I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me. I would finally be able to learn how to use the TI-Nspire CAS, since I will probably have to use it in my future classroom. To my surprise, there was another kind of CAS that I, once again, had never used, seen, or heard about. It was called the Casio ClassPad. While it is similar to the TI CAS, it was supposed to be better, or so said the man giving the presentation, because it was less intimidating due to the simpler interface. Instead of having all of the keys and functions right on the keypad, this calculator had the basic keys on the keypad. Any of those "missing" keys were able to be accessed by pressing the "keyboard" button, and since it was a touch screen, you could just use the pen to type.

Image from http://www.amazon.com/

Either way, I am not completely sure which computer algebra system of the two I prefer, but it I am sure I will eventually develop an opinion about it in time. As of now, I am just trying to familiarize myself with either of the two in order to better prepare myself for my future teaching experiences. When it comes down to it, though, I am going to guess that, of the two, the school at which I will eventually teach will probably have the TI-Nspire CAS, Texas Instruments is the leading brand when it comes to calculators and have always seemed to have the upper hand on things.