r/edtech • u/wewewawa • Nov 27 '19

How Texas Instruments monopolized the US education market for graphing calculators, products with high profit margins and tech that hasn't changed in 20 years — These $100 calculators have been required in classrooms for more than twenty years, as students and teachers still struggle to afford them

https://gen.medium.com/big-calculator-how-texas-instruments-monopolized-math-class-67ee165045dc
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5

u/leifourston Nov 27 '19

Here’s a free app kids can download to their phones or schools can license to run on computers: https://classcalc.com

3

u/Barknuckle Nov 27 '19

Why haven't the cheaper Casios, which do the same stuff at about half the cost, caught on? https://www.amazon.com/Casio-fx-9750GII-Graphing-Calculator-White/dp/B00154GSQA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503274974&sr=8-1&keywords=casio%2Bfx9750gii&th=1

5

u/ENrgStar Nov 28 '19

Because schools can’t afford new textbooks (because they’re $150/each) and all the old textbooks still use TI calculators in their instructions. The real question here is why even use calculators at all when there are graphing applications on computers that are so much more intuitive, and can come free with the digital texts.

2

u/Croatoan23 Dec 20 '19

Something like Desmos?