> I forgot to mention in my first post that I am equally concerned about a
> student who pulls out a piece of paper and pencil to compute 10*321.75. and
> on the first line put a row of zeros and on the second, put 32175 off-set,
> of course, add the columns and count back the number of decimals to arrive
> at the answer. I have also had that happen rom a student who chooses not
> to use a calculator. A person can memorize the process--whether it be
> pencil and paper or button pushing on a calculator and still miss the
> concept of numbers, arithmetic and reasonable answers.
This is an important remark. The student described here is doing essentially
the same thing as the student who pulls out a calculator to compute 10*321.75.
The tools are different but the (alleged) thinking is the same.
--Lou Talman