The second edition of this book has been updated for the 2016-17 school year. Never has there been a family of graphing calculators that has dominated the math education landscape like the TI-84 Plus family has. Throughout the 2000's, it has been the single most popular graphing calculator in math classrooms around the world. It's easy to understand why. It's powerful, recommended by teachers, and accepted on virtually every standardized test that allows graphing calculators.
The latest edition, the TI-84 Plus CE Silver Edition, brings a high resolution, full color, backlit display to an already wildly popular device. This new feature allows students to graph each function in a different color, graph on photographs, and more.
In Lucas Allen's new book, TI-84 Plus Tutorials, he breaks down the TI-84 Plus family in a non-intimidating way, setting beginning users up for success on the TI-84 Plus in their math classes. Step by step directions are given with detailed explanations of button presses and lots of screen captures so readers can follow along. There is no assumption that the user has ever used a graphing calculator before, whether they are a student or a teacher. The book is a comfortable reading length, designed so that you can go through it with your calculator in just a couple of hours and feel confident about getting started with your TI-84 Plus in class this year, whether you have a classic black and white TI-84 Plus or a TI-84 Plus CE color.
Among the many features covered in depth are how to use fractions, change modes, perform trigonometric calculations, numerous graphing features, how to use tables, perform basic statistics calculations, use apps, solve equations, polar equations, parametric equations, calculus features, and much, much more.
Lucas Allen high school math teacher in a small town in downstate Illinois. He's also the coach of his school's highly successful math team, a team which won the 2012 Illinois math team state championship over some of Chicago's most elite private schools. Allen is a long time user of the TI-84 Plus, and he blogs about math education technologies at Tech Powered Math. He's written several books about graphing calculators.
FAQ:
Q: Is this book appropriate for me if I own the new color TI-84 Plus CE (or TI-84 Plus C) graphing calculator?
A: Absolutely, yes! Throughout the book, all examples are displayed with with full color, high resolution screen shots from the TI-84 Plus CE. TI-84 Plus CE capabilities such as the ability to change colors of functions, graph on pictures, and upload images to the TI-84 Plus CE are all explained.
Q: Is this book appropriate for me if I own an older TI-84 Plus with a black and white screen such as a Silver Edition or "black edition"?
A: Again, yes! The TI-84 Plus CE has some features such as changing colors and graphing on pictures that the older black and white display models don't have, but probably 95% of the features covered in this book are common to all models of the TI-84 Plus. However, if the operating system from your black and white TI-84 Plus is not up to date, you will need to update it with free software from the Texas Instruments website in order to take advantage of the tutorials in this book.
Q: How do I know if my black and white TI-84 Plus operating system is up to date?
A: I suggest reading the book. You will learn about how to identify which version of the operating system you are using and what the features of the latest operating system are. If you are not up to date, the book includes a link to a video tutorial on how to update your calculator so you can get the latest features.
Q: I have a TI-83 or TI-83 Plus graphing calculator. Is this book right for me?
A: No. The TI-84 Plus tutorials in this book rely heavily on updates made to the TI-84 Plus operating system over the last few years. Those changes were never issued to the TI-83 models.
The latest edition, the TI-84 Plus CE Silver Edition, brings a high resolution, full color, backlit display to an already wildly popular device. This new feature allows students to graph each function in a different color, graph on photographs, and more.
In Lucas Allen's new book, TI-84 Plus Tutorials, he breaks down the TI-84 Plus family in a non-intimidating way, setting beginning users up for success on the TI-84 Plus in their math classes. Step by step directions are given with detailed explanations of button presses and lots of screen captures so readers can follow along. There is no assumption that the user has ever used a graphing calculator before, whether they are a student or a teacher. The book is a comfortable reading length, designed so that you can go through it with your calculator in just a couple of hours and feel confident about getting started with your TI-84 Plus in class this year, whether you have a classic black and white TI-84 Plus or a TI-84 Plus CE color.
Among the many features covered in depth are how to use fractions, change modes, perform trigonometric calculations, numerous graphing features, how to use tables, perform basic statistics calculations, use apps, solve equations, polar equations, parametric equations, calculus features, and much, much more.
Lucas Allen high school math teacher in a small town in downstate Illinois. He's also the coach of his school's highly successful math team, a team which won the 2012 Illinois math team state championship over some of Chicago's most elite private schools. Allen is a long time user of the TI-84 Plus, and he blogs about math education technologies at Tech Powered Math. He's written several books about graphing calculators.
FAQ:
Q: Is this book appropriate for me if I own the new color TI-84 Plus CE (or TI-84 Plus C) graphing calculator?
A: Absolutely, yes! Throughout the book, all examples are displayed with with full color, high resolution screen shots from the TI-84 Plus CE. TI-84 Plus CE capabilities such as the ability to change colors of functions, graph on pictures, and upload images to the TI-84 Plus CE are all explained.
Q: Is this book appropriate for me if I own an older TI-84 Plus with a black and white screen such as a Silver Edition or "black edition"?
A: Again, yes! The TI-84 Plus CE has some features such as changing colors and graphing on pictures that the older black and white display models don't have, but probably 95% of the features covered in this book are common to all models of the TI-84 Plus. However, if the operating system from your black and white TI-84 Plus is not up to date, you will need to update it with free software from the Texas Instruments website in order to take advantage of the tutorials in this book.
Q: How do I know if my black and white TI-84 Plus operating system is up to date?
A: I suggest reading the book. You will learn about how to identify which version of the operating system you are using and what the features of the latest operating system are. If you are not up to date, the book includes a link to a video tutorial on how to update your calculator so you can get the latest features.
Q: I have a TI-83 or TI-83 Plus graphing calculator. Is this book right for me?
A: No. The TI-84 Plus tutorials in this book rely heavily on updates made to the TI-84 Plus operating system over the last few years. Those changes were never issued to the TI-83 models.
