The graphics calculator as an investigative tool

Introduction The graphics calculator seems to be frequently misunderstood, especially by those who are unaccustomed to using it. (Kissane, 1997a) For example, it is sometimes regarded as a device to assist students to pass examinations, perhaps understandably in places where its use has become widespread because of changes to examination rules. Similarly, it is also interpreted sometimes as a device whose main significance is related to drawing graphs of functions, again not surprisingly in situations where it is described as a 'graphing' calculator. As a further example, it is sometimes dismissed as a form of technology because it is not commonly used by professional people such as industrial mathematicians, statisticians, scientists and engineers, most of whom routinely use desktop or laptop computers for mathematical work.