Free Technology for Schools

Yes, I just said that in the title. I am very obviously well into my 30s now that I would even consider saying that a calculator is fun but I just can't help it. A few days ago, one of my students, after going through the usual ritual of being told off for not bringing his calculator to a Physics lesson, asked if he could use  the calculator on his iphone. Assuming that he would use the iphone for non-learning related means, I lingered nearby. I soon noticed that he appeared to be drawing on the screen and I pounced in, ready to give him a good telling off mid-way through his status update or non-school related use of free tech  that us grown ups have yet to discover.

Myscript lets you do calculations by writing the numbers with your hand. It then converts the numbers into print like shown above with remarkable accuracy and speed. So fast in fact that I wasn't able to capture the handwriting aspect with a screen shot on my Sony Xperia P . It also lets you solve simple algebraic expressions. In the photo above, I actually traced with my finger, ? +2 =5. In the photo, the question mark has disappeared soon to be replaced with a 3, solving the equation.

I really need to ask my students what apps they are using more often. This was a great discovery and is available on both apple and android. I hope you enjoy this incredibly fun calculator. I'm off to water my tomato plants and contemplate my 30s whilst listening to some techno and house from my mis-spent 20s.

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