Reasons to hate the GC May 25, 2009

I HATE the GC.

I don’t even know how to use it properly, much less plot a proper graph. Yeah sure, instructions are so helpful. If you suck at getting used to new electronic equipment, completely FAIL at understanding the relevance of graphs in mathematics and hate the GC like I do, then join the club.

 

This is the one I’m using, except mine’s the light blue version.

 

Why I hate the GC and think that its so unnecesary:

 

1. It’s so expensive.

 

2. It’s so heavy. SO much heavier than the good ‘ol scientific calculator(I miss those times).

 

3. It’s completely not user friendly at all. But then again I fail in this area so you may want to take this with a pinch of salt.

 

4. What exam are we taking? THE A LEVELS. My cousin took the A Levels 7 years ago with a SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR and did PERFECTLY FINE.

 

5. We paid so much for it and all the functions we need aren’t even inside. We still have to install our own applications into the computer and transfer it inside.

 

6. You can play games on it.

Games in a GC = distracting = students playing with it during lectures = not paying attention

 

7. THe instructions aren’t clear. I would have no idea what they meant if I read it myself.

 

8. The instructions don’t always correspond to what you see in the GC. I tried to plot a graph and it always ended up higher/lower then the screen I’m supposed to get, if not its magnified/diminished.

 

9. The buttons for the NUMBERS are so puny. They’re NUMBERS for goodness sake! They should be the most important part of the calculator yet its almost the same size as all the other buttons. You need to make them bigger because SOME PEOPLE have deft fingers.

 

10. We have to get used to the new functions and new way of computing our numbers into the calculator, yet we don’t have any time to have a good idea of its basic functions. We jump straight into the nitty gritty where we use complicated applications to plot graphs pressing numerous buttons just to reach a certain window. I was left so confused that I paid more attention to learning how to use the GC than learning the concepts of the chapter. Do you think my mind can handle it? NO IT CAN’T.

 

 

But I guess you can argue that I am just incompetent and technically challenged(is that the term?), but I’m not changing my stand. I want the scientific calculator back.

 

 

Last but not least…

11. The battery life is pathetic. I don’t even do much math homeworkthis year(way less than secondary school) yet my GC battery only lasted me at most 3 and a half months and died on me last night. The battery life of the scientific calculator I used so regularly for secondary school lasted 3 years!