I'm currently a sophomore in college. I am tired of sitting in class, waiting for some other lackey in class to punch in the simple 3 digit multiplication into his calculator while the teacher paces back and forth carrying an eraser waiting for an answer to (3.74*8.21).
I propose a whiteboard eraser with a small scientific calculator built into the back side to allow for quick calculations.-- bleh, Jun 06 2007 Watchdog http://flare.ucf.ed...tom%20tollbooth.gif [Jinbish, Jun 07 2007] Estimation_20Skills [hippo, Jun 08 2007] A little epoxy should create this simple useful thing.-- awesomest, Jun 06 2007 agreed, but thats not quite as marketable as i had envisioned. I'm thinking it would be recessed into the foam on the back or the eraser. Why the [-]?-- bleh, Jun 06 2007 I think possibly because it's just two widely available items stuck together, despite its possible usefulness. Similar ideas that might not attract buns could include a t-shirt with a clock in it, a mouse-mat with a clock in it, or perhaps a dog, with a clock in it.-- theleopard, Jun 07 2007 //perhaps a dog, with a clock in it//
Baked. It's called a watchdog.
[bleh]: Is it that the teacher doesn't have a calculator and he has to ask someone in the class to provide him with the answer? Lazy bugger!-- Jinbish, Jun 07 2007 Heh, fair enough.-- theleopard, Jun 07 2007 I'd have a lot more respect for the teacher if they just gave an approximate answer. This would convey the messages that: a) the correct approach to solving a problem is more impotant than the answer itself; and b) being able to approximate the answer before you punch it into a calculator is an important skill.-- xaviergisz, Jun 07 2007 Ah, but asking a student to do a calculation is a form of audience interaction - rather than genuinely needing a student to do the maths. Admittedly, it might miss the mark as mode of class engagement...-- Jinbish, Jun 07 2007 ...nice name for a band.-- xandram, Jun 07 2007 30.7054 - sorry, I've been in a meeting-- coprocephalous, Jun 07 2007 //I'd have a lot more respect for the teacher if they just gave an approximate answer. This would convey the messages that: a) the correct approach to solving a problem is more impotant than the answer itself; and b) being able to approximate the answer before you punch it into a calculator is an important skill.//
Agreed on both counts, but as i will not be attending a *real* college until fall, i'm stuck with the lazy fools. I've had a few good teachers who either have worked the problem out in advance so they dont have to wait, or will give approximations. Those are my favorite teachers. Alas, I am now stuck with a fool in charge of a chemistry class.
//Ah, but asking a student to do a calculation is a form of audience interaction - rather than genuinely needing a student to do the maths. Admittedly, it might miss the mark as mode of class engagement...//
also agreed, but I think a more valuable form of engagement is having the class provide the formula, not the answer to the maths.-- bleh, Jun 07 2007 //valuable form of engagement is is having the class provide the formula//
Absolutely, as long as the teacher/lecturer doesn't use, what I call, "The Assassination" method. One lecturer I used to have would pick on someone to answer a question and then just move to the next person etc. until someone got it.
It would be really embarrassing when he got to the 10th-plus person. He would get incredulous and accuse the class of being lazy and/or idiots. He didn't think for a second it could be because of his crap teaching!-- Jinbish, Jun 07 2007 //I'd have a lot more respect for the teacher if they just gave an approximate answer //
This is useful only if it's followed by the abbreviation "o.w." - something I use constantly and stands for "or whatever."-- phundug, Jun 07 2007 We have those digital whiteboards in a lot of the rooms. Most of the teachers just write on them with regular markers. I'm telling you I'm being taught by fools.-- bleh, Jun 08 2007 //I'd have a lot more respect for the teacher if they just gave an approximate answer ... being able to approximate the answer before you punch it into a calculator is an important skill// - see link-- hippo, Jun 08 2007 I think of that link often, as I practice my estimation skills all the time while others rely on calculators. Its a great idea.-- bleh, Jun 08 2007 random, halfbakery