Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Calculator Review

I have written a review here of the previous model, the TI-83 Plus, which contains the essentials that single this calculator out. The TI series starting from the TI-82, then the TI-83, has always been my prefered model and is recommended throughout MathsNet, particularly as the calculator of choice for A-Level studies. I have had a TI-84 Plus and TI-84 Plus Silver Edition in my possession for some time now and never experienced any problems with them.One other issue that may be relevant to some schools is the the calculator, with all its "special powers" does rival some software that schools may already have. A school equipped with interactive whiteboards, and suitable open-ended software for graphing, geometry and statistics, may feel this calculator is superfluous. However, even then, the calculator has the unique property of being individual to the student using it: the student can do some maths themselves independently of the classroom or teacher.The main barrier to their developed use among my Sixth Form students is fundamentally cost and then, secondly, the scepticism on their part that the calculator will really improve their grades (which again comes down to cost). There is no barrier in terms of the technical capabilities of the calculator. I suppose a partial solution is for TI to make VERY generous offers to schools for buying class sets. So what does the TI-84 bring to the table?

• a USB port for direct communication with your PC
• mproved and faster display (2.5 times the speed of the TI-83)
• an impressive list of "APPS": finance, algebra, CBL, Cabri, conics, inequalities
• probability simulations, transformations
• memory increase from 160K (TI83) to 1.5 MB
• no symbolic algebra or calculus

Note how Cabri has crept in there: interactive geometry on your calculator! The significance of the last mentioned (non) attribute is it means these calculators are still eligible for use in public A-Level and GCSE exams.

http://www.mathsnet.net/articles/ti84pluss.html

Product Description

Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Graphic Scientific Calculator - Fully loaded with a built-in USB port, an improved display, many preloaded Apps, and much more, the maximum performance TI-84 Plus Silver Edition is 100% compatible, keystroke-for-keystroke with the TI-83 Plus family. Integrating it into your classroom couldn't be easier! With the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition, all students can now share their work by connecting their handheld to any TI presentation tools for the whole class to see, fostering a collaborative learning environment. Plus, a built-in USB port makes data transfer to your computer and between handhelds easier than ever. The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition handheld is fully loaded with convenient features including compatibility with TI presentation tools on every unit. Now you can personalize your handheld with new optional accessories, including a kickstand slide case and changeable faceplates. I/O port for communication with other TI products Internal Clock with date and time display TI Connectivity Cable included TI Connectivity Cable and TI Connect software allow information to be transferred to and from a computer and printed or stored on disk 8-line by 16-character display Advanced functions accessed through pull-down display menus Real and complex numbers calculated to 14-digit accuracy and displayed with 10 digits plus a 2-digit exponent. Assorted graph capabilities

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