Computers (and graphing calculators) are indispensable in the real world nowadays and allow us to solve problems that have never been solved before. However, when used early on in the education process, it seems that students quickly become too dependent on them and fail to learn the basics. This is why they are not allowed on exams in Math 221. My advice: a basic scientific calculator will be useful for homeworks and the rest of your life. Don't spend too many $$'s on a fancy calculator. Take advantage of the computers that UW puts at your disposal (e.g. Van Vleck 101 computer lab, CAE labs, DoIT Labs,...). Your years at UW are a unique opportunity for you to try out different computers, lots of different software and get plenty of help and intro to all this (often from your fellow students). --- FW

The following message was sent by someone from industry to the Chairman of the Engineering Physics dept here at UW.

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 10:59:36 -0600 (CST)

I thought this short message might be of interest. Please don't let UW students come out with this reputation. I have seen this same syndrome with some new hires here.

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Subject: Computers in the Classroom
Author: rombo@worldnet.att.net
Date: 3/3/99 3:16 PM
This is for serious reflection:

PRAGMATISM by Noah Rhys

I teach at the University of Alabama in Huntsville as a GTA. I've been here a while (middle of my 6th year) and have moved up to the point where I am teaching a regular senior level design class (Design of Thermal Systems). In general, the focus at UAH is extremely pragmatic.

I welcomed this 5 years ago as a refreshing change from the classicism (not sure if this is the correct term) of Princeton, but I have come to see the wisdom in the old fashioned method.

Simply put, my students can't think. They can't see a problem and solve it from basic principles. They can only solve problems by looking for previously solved examples and then mocking the method and cranking, but they can't see how the solution works. I question whether they can generate a graph using graph paper, pencil and ruler -- Excel does all that for them. They can't read graphs as a result of this. They can't work a problem analytically, preferring to set up some Excel spreadsheet and using a massively numerical method. Typically, 95% of the Excel based solutions are wrong -- sometimes frighteningly. For example, for a problem involving a fairly typical pump working to fill a tank on a hill, I have received answers determining the velocity in the pipe as 11,000 meters per second. The fact that this is an orbital velocity doesn't get noticed.

I say:

Ban computers (or at least mostly get rid of them) in the classroom.
Require charts and graphs to be made by hand.
Require rigorous algebraic solutions before numbers go in.
Require handwritten text on problem solutions.
And, require juniors to grade freshman problem sets, and seniors to grade
sophomore problem sets. By grading, one sees many errors in presentation
and has an excellent opportunity for personal development.

Getting Crusty while I'm still young enough to enjoy it,
Noah O. Rhys '93
Sent from UAH Propulsion Research Center