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From: keho@quads.uchicago.edu (thomas david kehoe)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp,sci.math
Subject: Teaching math with HP calculators
Message-ID: <1990Dec11.012857.7861@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: 11 Dec 90 01:28:57 GMT
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator)
Organization: University of Chicago
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I'm trying to hustle up a summer job with Hewlett-Packard.
Do you think they'd go for the following ideas for marketing
the HP 48SX and 28S calculators?  (I'm working on a MBA at
the University of Chicago; the 48SX and 28S sell for about
$300 and $200 respectively and do calculus, graphing, algebra,
and about 2000 other things.)

The main idea is to develop textbooks for calculus, college
algrebra, trig, statistics, etc., using the HP 48SX and 28S.
The "slant" would be to spend less time on the mechanics of
the chain rule, Gauss-Jordan elimination, etc., and more
time setting up and solving word problems.  I assume that
people who use calculus in the "real world" use computer
applications or HP calculators instead of doing it by hand.
There would also be use of the graphing functions so that
students could get a picture of what they're doing.

The main point would be that math could be taught better
with computers/calculator applications, but teaching faster
could be another point.  Portland Community College
offers a 2-quarter calculus course with the 28S that replaces
the 3-quarter calculus course.

The 48SX doesn't do statistics as well as Minitab or other
statistics applications, so I won't push this.

Is this a good idea?  Would math instructors want to offer
such courses?  HP's calculator division has a reputation
for producing excellent manuals, so I'm sure the quality of
the textbook would be excellent.  Is HP already doing this?
Have other colleges offered such courses, and how did they work out?

My other idea for marketing the 48SX and 28S is to sell a
funny poster about calculus in college bookstores.
Maybe commision Gary Larsen to do a "Far Side" about 
calculus.  I remember that National Lampoon had a
fairly popular poster of a woman on a beach saying "I love
men who know calculus."  This would be too sexist for the
'90's, but something else could work.  The back of the
poster would have photos of the 48SX and 28S calculators
and copy describing how they do calculus.
--
"Why my thoughts are my own, when they are in, but when they are out
they are another's." - Susanna Martin, executed for witchcraft, 1681.
Dave Kehoe  keho@midway.uchicago.edu  (312) 753-0119