We chose Derive over Mathematica and Maple and the others for several
reasons: primarily, it is easy to learn - much more so than the others, and
the Windows version is even better. We don't have the luxury of spending
time teaching software and Derive can be taught in small doses and students
pick it up quite readily. Also, it is less expensive (although not cheap)
and not a memory hog. Highly recommended.
Those would be my two picks for Calculus.
One other software package on your list deserves mention - MathType. This
is not a mathematics package, but a wonderful equation editor. It can be
integrated seamlessly into Microsoft Word and enables you to type all
manner of mathematics. MathType is the full-blown version of the equation
editor that comes with Word. I would highly recommend this for faculty.
However, for students, I think that using the equation editor in word is
quite sufficient. A button can be put on the Word toolbar to make using the
equation editor easier for them.
Hope this is helpful,
Virginia
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