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Check out my presentation from the T3 conference in Atlanta this year by going to:
http://www.andykemp.org.uk/t3atlanta/

The Texas Instrument TI-84 calculator has been the dominant graphical calculator in schools for quite some time. But despite some tweaking here and there it has remained relatively unchanged for quite some time. So I was very pleasantly surprised to see a very significant free software upgrade to the TI-84 being offered this week in the form of version 2.53MP.

This upgrade brings some of the improvements we have become used to on the TI-Nspire over the last few years, specifically in the form of something they are calling MathPrint. MathPrint is the name that TI have given to the technology that enables users to enter mathematics the way it appears in the textbook. In particular this deals really well with some of the most frustrating elements of the TI-84, in making it much easier to work with fractions, logs of non-standard bases, summations, definite integrals, differentials at a point, and matrices.

The key new features are linked to a series of new menus associated with the shortcuts  , , etc…

The first of these , give you access to the fractions tools, with option 1 giving you a fraction template, option 2 a mixed number template, option 3 converts a top heavy fraction into a mixed number(or reverse), and option 4 converts a decimal to fraction (or reverse).

The second of these menus , gives you access to the main new templates including the modulus symbol | |, the summation template, derivative at a point, definite integral and finally logs to non-standard bases. Using these templates significantly simplifies the process for students, and eliminates the confusion of trying to remember the correct syntax for fnInt() etc. The final option logBASE() actually adds a completely new feature to the TI-84 in the ability to work with non-standard base logarithms.

The third menu , deals with one of areas of the TI-84 that I always found most frustrating; that is working with matrices. Previously on the TI-84 you had to define your matrices by going into the matrix section and defining matrix A and vector B etc and then you could calculate A^-1B to solve a set of simultaneous equations for example. With 2.53MP it is now possible to directly enter and work with matrices on the calculator screen, which greatly simplifies the steps involved in working with matrices.

Many of these features can also be accessed via the normal menu structure, however for those who are set in their ways and would rather work with the ‘classic view’ these new features can be turned off on the second page of the ‘Mode’ menu, notice this also now includes a handy option for turning on Stat Diagnostics, which is required for calculating regression coefficients.

Another very useful feature that is new to the TI-84 is the addition of a ‘history’. It is now possible to scroll back through previous calculations and answers and copy them down into a current calculation by pressing enter (this doesn’t work for outputs which are matrices or lists).

All in TI have done an excellent job bringing some of the excellent improvements of the TI-Nspire back to the classic TI-84. This will certainly breathe new life into the TI-84 platform, significantly reducing the complexity of using it for students. I suspect for some students this simplified and enhanced user interface will also result in less mistakes and as a result higher marks on their exams. Something I am sure my students will be grateful for!

It is great to see TI continuing to support their large customer base through development work on the TI-84, which is still widely used in schools across the country. However we should not pretend for a second that this puts the TI-84 on an equal footing with its bigger brother, the TI-Nspire, which has always aimed (and in my opinion, succeeded) at being more than a simple graphical calculator, but rather a full mathematical toolkit for the classroom. Therefore it is with great interest that I look forward to seeing what they manage to achieve next on the TI-Nspire!

You can download the upgrade from here.  Let me know in the comments your favourite new features…

Notes:

• Due to some of the changes in 2.53MP it also necessary to update the Catalogue Help App to v1.1
• To use 2.53MP with SmartView, simply download the OS file and install it by going to the ‘Load File’ option on the File Menu.

This post contains resources related to the talk I gave at the T3 Conference in Seattle during February 2009.

From this page you can download the presentation, associated TI-Nspire files and see the links to other relevant sites that you might like to visit.

Download: TI-Nspire Document Model & TNS Files Read the rest of this entry →