Understanding the HP Prime Graphing Calculator for Math Learning –
Kid Spaces brought in Laura Harich, Marketing Manager for the Calculator Division of Hewlett-Packard, to meet with a group of students to look at a new tool to help them break through barriers with math and science concepts. The new tool is the HP Prime Graphing Calculator by Hewlett-Packard. Any college bound student would likely need a graphing calculator in High School. It is imperative for a student to pass calculus to go to college to become an engineer or a doctor.
Laura explains and demonstrates some of the functions of the graphing calculator, including spread sheet apps for students studying statistics or AP Calculus. Throughout the demonstrations, Laura fields questions from the students. Who needs algebra and calculus in real life? People working in the STEM fields: scientists, creators of software and computer systems, engineers designing buildings and vehicles. If you have a child interested in science, technology, engineering or math, this is a must see episode of Kid Spaces.
Math — for many students, it’s an intimidating subject! And for parents with memories of getting through boring or difficult geometry or algebra classes, math is not a subject they would encourage their kids to take.
Did you know that careers for IT professionals, computer engineers, doctors, finance professionals and researchers will be in high demand as the Healthcare and Energy industries boom between now and 2020?
With the right tools to help students visualize and understand the concepts, anyone can become a “math person” in class, and build the skills needed for these all-important STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) for their futures.
And that’s where HP steps in to inspire students everywhere with their new HP Prime graphing calculator:
– Has an intuitive, app-based interface and color touch-screen, which makes it more familiar and appealing to today’s tech savvy students.
– Build-in apps make it really easy for Geometry and Algebra students to visualize and explore course concepts. For example, using the Dynamic Geometry apps, you can create geometric shapes, then touch and drag to change the shapes and see how their areas, angles, and other properties change concurrently. Using the Triangle solver app, you enter in several angles and/or side lengths to a picture of a triangle, and the calculator can solve for the missing Angle.
– In advanced high school math courses like Statistics or AP Calculus, Prime’s spread sheet apps come in very handy. You can get summary statistics and perform regression analysis very easily, and you can even do CAS computations on a spreadsheet, which is something that has historically required complex and expensive computer programs.
– Using the Advanced graphing app, we can intuitively graph anything in the XY Plane. All you have to do is enter a mathematically valid expression into the app and press “Plot.” Complex graphics will appear on the screen
If we want our kids to be competitive on a global level, and get great jobs, we all need to do more to prepare them to succeed in math intensive courses.
To learn more, please visit: www.hp.com/calculators
