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Episode 11: TI-84 killer

By SchoolStatus • 1 min

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The Overpriced Calculator

In a world where Apple and Samsung are expected to innovate and manufacture amazing new products every 12 months, the graphing calculator remains an anomaly.

For decades Texas Instruments has controlled the market with their line of “TI” graphing calculators. Since the 1990s the technological advancements of the TI calculators have been limited; with little advancement in the low resolution screens and minimal onboard memory.

Meanwhile, the cost of the calculators remains inflated. As of this writing, the price of a new TI-84 calculator hovers just over $100 on Amazon.

A software company named Desmos is trying to disrupt the Texas Instruments monopoly. The San Francisco based start-up has created a web-based calculator that is free for teachers and students.

Learn more about the Desmos disruption in Episode 11 of Class Dismissed.

Teaching with dyslexia

In our Bright Idea segment this episode we have Dr. Jim Gentry. Dr. Gentry is a college education professor in Texas who is dyslexic and he’s dedicated his life to teaching future educators how to help kids like him learn.

SchoolStatus

SchoolStatus is a unified K-12 platform that enables districts and schools to engage more families and improve attendance with our easy-to-use communications hub and data-driven attendance solutions. We support an integrated and impactful educational experience, from district leadership to families at home. With more than two hundred million successful school-home interactions, and millions of users, SchoolStatus drives meaningful results for districts and schools across the US.