[Edu-sig] Observations from the Northwest Science Expo

[Timothy Wilson]

On Thu, 19 Apr 2001, Dethe Elza wrote:

> Let me use the metaphor of a calculator.  A calculator can easily help you
> add, subtract, multiply, and divide, and helps to reduces errors with these
> operations.  But when you try to do anything more advanced, such as algebra,
> the calculator doesn't really help unless you actually understand what you
> are doing.

Educator's must be vigilant against using technology as a substitute for
hard thinking. I've seen too many high school students use their calculators
to divide a number by 10. Don't even get me started on proportional
reasoning...

-Tim

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