Surface Area
4 of the 9 students and teachers that were attracted to this
shape were still concerned about the surface area, and how to
fit a large screen on the form, but still have space for all of
the functions.
A group of 5 male students solved that problem by thinking "How
can the screen fit on here with all the other buttons... it would
really be cool if the screen could just pop out!" They then
placed a screen in the crook of the form meant to slide out at
the press of a button. One teacher had a similar idea for giving
this form an external screen.
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Thumb use
9 of the 30 students and teachers tested found the idea of using
their thumbs to manipulate the calculator to be exciting.
6 of these participants used the thumb layout to organize the
calculator functions. they placed the menu functions on the left
side, screen in the center, with all of the basic calculator functions
on the right side.
4 teachers and students stated that using their thumbs would
take some time to get used to, but thought it was 'cool' while
another 3 teachers did not want to be forced to use their thumbs.
Reference to fun
7 of the 30 teachers and students tested liked that the form
felt game-like, and thought that it would make the calculator
more exciting to use.
One teacher said, "kids would really go crazy over this
shape, and anything that makes kids more enthusiastic about math
is fine with me."
Bulk
2 teachers and 4 students stated that they would not like this
form because of it's bulk. it is not a convenient shape to transport,
place in back packs, or fit into pencil cases, and for teachers
that have to store these calculator when not in use this form
could be a real problem.
2 teachers stated that the form didn't make any sense to them,
because it's big, and yet they have no idea where anything would
fit on the form.
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