When the digital SAT was released, it came with an embedded Desmos calculator. Some educators welcome the tool—after all, in the age of technology, today’s students who will be most successful in their careers will know how to take best advantage of technology. Others disagree, though, citing the plethora of Desmos’ capabilities that enable students to solve problems without a conceptual understanding.
What specifically do I mean?
Students learn how to do systems of equations in algebra 2, which involves either eliminating one of 2 variables in two equations or isolating one and substituting in for the other to solve. With Desmos, students could just type each equation and hover over the intersection point. Desmos displays the solution.
If students must find the y-intercept given 2 coordinates, a by-hand solution would require y2-y1x2-x1 , then plugging the newfound slope, along with one of the coordinates into
y=mx+b to solve. This is time-consuming and allows much room for error. In Desmos, clicking the +, choosing the table, plugging in coordinates, and clicking on the / will allow students to solve without doing any math.
There are many other uses for Desmos:
If students are solving for a single variable, they need only to use the ~ instead of = to solve. Desmos will find the mean or median by just typing mean(1,8,3) or median(7,3,8), for example. In a single equation, the x intercept(s) is(are) the solution. Students can type percents directly into Desmos without knowing the conversion to decimals. Solving for coordinates given an equation only requires students to type in the equation, to click on the gear, and to choose the table. Students can solve for equivalent equations simply by graphing to see which answer choice overlaps. These are not all the uses for Desmos.
Whatever your view on Desmos, to maximize your score, it is important to know how to use it to best advantage. Wanna learn? Join me for our student workshop: https://www.ivymasters.com/services/free-student-workshops/