TI-Nspire 3.0

Last Friday saw the launch of the latest version of the TI-Nspire software - version 3.0. This has a few new features in addition to the already excellent version 2:

Adding images
You can now add images to Nspire pages, including as the background to a graphing or geometry page. This is a really powerful tool for relating mathematics to students' experiences outside the classroom.

Differential equations
You can also plot first order differential equations on version 3.0, where the derivative is a function of x and y. It plots a slope field indicating the shape of the general solution and particular solutions can be shown by entering initial conditions (as a single value or list).

3D Graphing
The 3D graphing will plot graphs of the form z=f(x,y). The graphs are displayed really nicely and the window is easy to move. I'm very hopeful that later iterations of version 3 will have the ability to add points and vectors to the 3D graphs so it could be used to for the vectors/3D geometry in A2 Core and A2 Further Pure.

Publish to web and new handhelds
A feature that isn't enabled yet but will be really useful is the ability to publish TI-Nspire files on webpages which can then be viewed (and interacted with!) in any browser. I'm hoping to have some on here as soon as this feature is live. The other major advance is the new handhelds featuring high-resolution colour screens - gone are the days when a pixelated screen meant you couldn't tell the difference between an asymptote and a vertical line and this really brings the technology into the 21st century.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maths GIFs: parabolas

Image
One of the fantastic features of dynamic graphing software is that you can animate how a graph changes as some aspect of it is varied. I'm particularly keen on making short GIFs of animated graphs that demonstrate interesting properties.  One advantage of animated GIFs is that they are really easy to distribute via Twitter. There are loads of them if you have a look at the hashtag #mathgif .  Parabolas I've been posting animated Maths GIFs to Twitter for quite a while now. Here are some of my favourites featuring parabolas: The midpoint of the points of intersection of y  =  x ² and y  = mx  + c lies on the line x = m /2. The tangent at point P to a parabola with vertex Q can be constructed by finding R, the point of intersection of the vertical through P and the horizontal through Q, finding the midpoint, M, of QR and then drawing the line through P and M. If the tangents at two points A and B on a parabola are perpendicular then the line AB goes through the focus and the tang
Read more

The problem with Powerpoint for teaching maths

There are a lot places on the internet where the are negative opinions about Powerpoint.  I don't want to repeat these arguments here, instead I wish highlight particular problems relating to the use of Powerpoint in the teaching and learning of mathematics.  These are that: It reinforces a view of mathematics that it is a series of algorithms to be rote-learned; It can reduce the amount of student-centred use of ICT in learning mathematics; It is usually a static form of mathematics and there are many easy tools for creating equivalent dynamic forms of mathematics. Reinforcing a limited perception of mathematics Many Powerpoint presentations for mathematics feature a question with the stages of a solution presented.  This can have a negative impact of students' perceptions of mathematics.  There is a link between students' perception of mathematics and how successful they are.  Students who perceive maths a series of unrelated recipes for solving problems are less
Read more

Desmos Classroom Activities: An ideal tool for remote/blended learning

Image
The past few months have been a very chaotic time for teachers and students. Many schools and colleges are now back to teaching full time but this year is likely to be very challenging and teachers want to know that they can provide opportunities for students to learn, even if the normal day-to-day routines are disrupted. For me, one tool stands out as particularly effective in ensuring that students have interesting and engaging activities that will develop their mathematical understanding: Desmos Classroom. Desmos Classroom Activities  Desmos Classroom activities are collections of screens that provide students with the opportunity to interact and respond to mathematical questions. They can feature text answers, mathematical answers, graphical features, multi-choice, card sorts and many other types of elements.  There is a large selection of pre-made activities and it's really easy to adapt these or create your own. These activities are great for supporting students in thinking d
Read more