Scientific Calculator Apps As Alternative Tool in Solving
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (IJRTM) ISSN 2454-6240 www.ijrtm.com SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR APPS AS ALTERNATIVE TOOL IN SOLVING TRIGONOMETRY PROBLEMS Maria Isabel Lucas, EdD, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Manila, Philippines [email protected] ABSTRACT Mark Prensky (2001), the originator of the term digital The present 21st century students belong to the post- natives (Generation Y and Z) and digital immigrants, the millennial generation or Gen Z. They are considered predecessors of the millennials, cited that mathematics have to digital natives who have high penchant on ICT gadgets be reengineered to match the characteristics of the 21st century learners: particularly on smartphones which have already formed In math, for example, the debate must no longer be about part of their daily necessities. The teachers who are digital whether to use calculators and computers – they are a part of immigrants may capitalize this by integrating technology the Digital Natives‟ world – but rather how to use them to as a tool for teaching and learning to cater their learning instill the things that are useful to have internalized, from key needs and interests. Free applications are available both skills and concepts to the multiplication tables. We should be for android and iOS operating systems such as scientific focusing on “future math” – approximation, statistics, binary calculator apps. This study verifies whether the use of the thinking. (p.5) mobile application in computing Trigonometry problems is Practically, not all students in the local university where a good alternative to the commonly used handheld this study was conducted can afford to buy the commercial calculators using a quasi-experiment among 50 students of handheld calculator due to its relatively high cost. The school a local university in the Philippines. Results of the paired- caters to poor but deserving students who are mostly residents samples t-test showed that the mean rating of the students of the local government unit that subsidizes only their school in their summative tests is significantly higher with their tuition and matriculation fees. School materials and other ratings using the handheld calculators. The researcher expenses are still shouldered by their parents, relatives, recommends that teachers may allow their students to use benefactors or by the students themselves through acquiring the mobile calculator apps in solving math exercises and part-time and even full-time jobs. Given this scenario, students tests. Aside from being cost efficient, it will also bring more with very limited funds for schooling are less capable of convenience to students since they do not need to bring two purchasing the best scientific calculator and would result to gadgets in their bags or pockets. Its ergonomics is also students’ failure in the examinations and graded exercises. Hence, these students have likelihood of suffering more favorable as the smartphones size matches the hand ’ psychological inflexibities (PI) during class hours. These are dexterities of the users. With their daily usage of the “rigid attempts to control psychological reactions to discomfort gadgets, the digital natives have already developed in them at the expense of values-guided actions” (Tavakoli, Broyles, attachment and familiarity. The automaticity that they Reid, Sandoval, Correa-Fernández, 2019. p.1). Having no acquired over time facilitates easier navigations on the calculator to be used in solving math problems would result to touch screens which allow faster calculations as compared student’s discomfort brought by worries of failing the subject. to its handheld counterpart. As such, they may attempt to control this by copying answers of their seatmates and hence, they compromise the values of a Keywords- Mobile apps; ICT; smartphone; Generation Z; true scholar. So as to be relieved from this problem, some digital natives; digital immigrants; trigonometry teachers even purchase many units of calculators and lend them to their students. I. INTRODUCTION Another practical benefit on the use of Scientific Calculator Apps is its convenience. Students, as well as teachers, need not While most test problems in Mathematics can be solved bring two gadgets in their classes. Since smartphones have manually, many teachers prefer to employ the most appropriate become a necessity among the present generation of students, tools to help make student s life easier. Considering that ’ their potentials as an aid for learning could be maximized by mathematics, specifically Trigonometry, is not an easy subject teachers. Smartphones, as compared to its analogue for many students, teachers need to be innovative so that their predecessors, have gone extra miles by giving every user students will develop liking instead of aversion to the subject. tremendous benefits through applications from android or iOS Positive correlations between enjoyment of subjects and directory. These applications (native, web, or hybrid) are increased academic performance have already been established capable of performing tasks that made life easier ranging from in many researches. gaming, business, lifestyle, entertainment, utility, and One learning innovation that could be adopted by any math educational apps. Most importantly, many of these applications teacher is the use of Scientific Calculator Mobile Application often go for free only with some annoying advertisements or Apps in solving math problems as an alternative to the usual which are tolerable anyway. A variety of scientific calculators handheld commercial calculator. Some advantages of the are available for free both in android and iOS operating adoption of this innovation on the part of students are reduction systems. In fact, the leading brand of handheld calculator has a of expenses, convenience, and utility. On the other hand, free application in the android having equal capability and teachers will no longer experience the nuisances of performance. admonishing students who do not have calculators during class Current norms dictate the necessity of smart phones in times and reason out that they forgot to bring their handheld everyday life and this includes the students. While primary and calculators or they really do not own one. secondary schools have restrictions for the usage of phones, 1 Volume 5 Issue 6, DECEMBER 2019 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (IJRTM) ISSN 2454-6240 www.ijrtm.com tertiary levels are more lax with it, allowing students to bring While the modern learners’ characteristics may seem them to classrooms for various purposes. It is unlikely to harmful for the instructor, such as advance knowledge on the encounter a student without a smartphone and this has been a topic being discussed, this could also be advantageous like stepping point for the researcher’s study. minimization of time on explaining the concepts. Instead, Many educational applications which are available on the actual class hours could be used for inquiry, activities, and two operating systems (OS) are of great help for both teachers assessments. Teaching strategies, such as flipped classroom, and students when they are maximized for academic purposes. can be employed to maximize learning hours on the three In teaching the 21st century learners who belong to Generation aforementioned activities. Z (born 1995-2009), there is a need to integrate specialized In the Philippines, there have been numerous programs that learning tools in consonance to their learning needs and attempt to improve the delivery of teaching through the use of interests as digital natives. Although most educators now are instructional materials in the classroom setting. The digital immigrants, it is still necessary for them to integrate Department of Education (DepEd) has been consistently trying Information Communication Technology (ICT) and upgrade to ride on the technological wave by integrating ICT which is their teaching strategies by using technologies that provide defined as “basic information handling tools, a varied set of exchange of information through gadgets capable for academic goods, applications, and services that are used to produce, purposes. store, process, distribute, and exchange information” From a teacher’s standpoint, this also holds a way to (Nwokeafor, 2015, p. xix). Even with the attempts to integrate improve the delivery of information to their students through ICT to improve upon current learning paraphernalia, there is the advancement of instructional materials (IMs). It is an still a distinct lack of knowledge about the realm of umbrella term for two things: teaching aids, or anything that possibilities held by ICT. Technology is a broad spectrum and assists the information and message delivery to learners, and there are advancements that are found every day, which makes learning materials, or the things that learners directly learn the common instructor unable to keep up with the rising trends from (Forsyth, Jolliffe, Stevens, 2002). “With Generation Z as in practical knowledge. Agostinho, Oliver, Harper, Hedberg the present student population in colleges and universities, it is and Wills (2002, p.36) agreed that ICT foster high quality imperative that instructors meet their educational needs and learning “but there is also a pressing need to provide them with expectations with regard to learning with technology”, advise tools to assist them to assess whether their learning designs can Schnackenberg and