Tuesday, March 15, 2011

What does CX stand for?

In the effort to achieve success in the classroom through the appropriate use of technology the CX brings some exciting improvements. Just yesterday I had a student ask what does the CX stand for in TI-Nspire CX. So here is my response to this question.

C is for color or colour for those outside the U.S. And what might the X stand for? Well,
eXtra color obviously. Or perhaps it suggests that it is
eXciting and new. As you can see from picture, it is
eXtra thin. It is flatter than many cell phones. I put it on the table next to a blackberry and they were about the same thickness. It is
eXtra bright. With the backlit screen it makes it so much easier to read then its predecessor. The screen is so crisp and clear, students have commented that it is a better screen than their cell phone. Many teachers will especially enjoy that it has
eXtra battery life. No longer will teachers or students need to replace the AAA batteries. It doesn't use any. It can run for weeks without needing recharged. When it does need recharged, this can be done with the wall charger that comes with the purchase, or the mini USB can be connected via a wire to the USB of a computer, OR it can be docked into a CX docking station, OR it will be charged from the Navigator cradles. Another extra is
eXtra memory. When I turn on my TI-Nspire CAS Touchpad and look at the status it says it has 27.8MB; the TI-Nspire CX CAS has 115.2MB. Maybe the X stands for
eXpandable. There is a special CX TI-Navigator Wireless Network Adapter that is yellow and sits atop the CX. This plugs into the new port on the top and has little metal 'grips' that are secured in the groves on the side. Our school has purchased through a couple of distributors over the past years, including Bach Company and School Mart. The latter says the CX Navigator hardware will be ready to ship in May. Another way to expand the TI-Nspire CX is with the Vernier Lab Cradle. This tool which will be available in April will enable data collection in ways that were not previously possible. Finally, I suggest that the TI-Nspire CX is
eXtra nice, because it plays well with others. The Lab Cradles work on any TI-Nspire. If you already have the TI-Nspire Navigator, those cradles fit really well on the CX and you can have a mixed class of Clickpads, Touchpads and CX. However, I would recommend only having a class of Touchpads or CX because all the buttons are in essentially the same location. I've heard many teachers and students who first get their hands on the CX exclaim how much they like the button on the new CX. They also quickly notice the responsiveness of CX's touchpad. That's right, it still uses the touchpad and is not a touchscreen. This means that it is still allowed on all the major tests. The TI-Nspire CX CAS is permitted on the PSAT, SAT, AP exams like AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, etc. In addition to the above, the numeric TI-Nspire CX is permitted on the ACT and IB exams.


For those wondering, 'What is this information about a graphing calculator doing on a Godly Dominion blog?' I would answer both you and myself that technology, especially educational technology that seeks to "inspire all students to achieve to their potential and become innovators of tomorrow," is an integral part of the cultural mandate, or the dominion mandate, in Genesis 1:28.

And in the words of one of history's greatest mathematical physicists,
“Almighty God, who hast created man in Thine own image, and made him a living soul that he might seek after Thee and have dominion over Thy creatures, teach us to study the works of Thy hands that we may subdue the earth to our use, and strengthen our reason for Thy service; and so to receive Thy blessed Word, that we may believe on Him whom Thou has sent to give us the knowledge of salvation and the remission of sins. All which we ask in the name of the same Jesus Christ our Lord.” - James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)

8 comments:

Mr. Bird said...

The student who asked what CX stands for says I need to add 'eXtra fast' to the list. Files do open faster and respond better on the TI-Nspire CX.

Anonymous said...

Will os 3.0 be able to compute non interger factorials? For example entering (3/2)! gives an error saying "agument must be in a specified domain" but my ti 84 and ti 86 can compute it. Is this fixed in the new os?

Anonymous said...

Can the CX calculate (1/0)? My old TI-Nspire CAS is weak and is unable to perform this seemingly basic task.

Mr. Bird said...

Anonymous - good questions. It won't be too long now until we'll get to find out. 1.5! is interesting, but I've never seen it come up in high school mathematics. Thanks for mentioning it. If it doesn't make it for this OS, it seems likely that it will get in for the next release since you brought it up and from my experience TI listens. Regarding the second Anonymous questions. I'm not sure what undefined answer you are expecting to get for 1/0.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your answer Mr.Sean, and I do look forward to the new os.-first anonymous

Anonymous said...

i was wondering why they have a black back and a white back for the same models...do the colors have any differences?

Mr. Bird said...

The white back is the TI-Nspire CX. It does not have the CAS functionality. The black model is the TI-Nspire CX CAS. CAS stands for Computer Algebra System. The numeric (white) Nspire can do numeric solve, or for example, find the derivative at a point. The black TI-Nspire CAS can provide the algebraic derivative, and solve equations that mulitple solutions.

Mark Falina said...

Mr. Bird, I've been trying all day to learn what the "CX" stands for and before you nobody could even give me a clue. I thank you so very much. It's extremely sad that when I called TI to ask this question, the representative there did not know. Heck, she didn't even know what the CAS stood for. Worse than that, she didn't even know TI made an Nspire!!!! After that, I went to the chat. The person there couldn't answer those questions either. She just told me they weren't trained to answer TI questions. Since you provided me with an idea as to the meaning of "CX," I feel it is necessary to pay you back with a good laugh!