I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew
Being part of the Homeschool Review Crew, I have had the opportunity to do a curriculum review of Mastering the TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator: Augmented Intelligence for all 21st Century Students by Triad Math, Inc.
This curriculum has three components.
- The most important being the TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator. This brand and model calculator is the only one allowed to be used while a student is taking the SAT or ACT test.
- Worktext
- Online Course
TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator
On Amazon this calculator sells for $8.94. It is very well made, durable, and will last many years. The buttons are easy to press and the display is easy to read. This calculator is incredibly easy to use, with just enough functionality to do even the most complex math problems. (As you will see.)
Worktext for Mastering the TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator
The worktext for Mastering the TI-30Xa is a soft cover workbook that contains a lesson page for each lesson, exercises to practice, and the answers to those exercises.
This is a picture of Lesson 4 on Negative Numbers.
The lessons in this text are not written in a conversational way, nor is there a lot of explanation for what is written on the page.
The lessons do not teach how to do the problems on paper; it only teaches how to plug the problem into the calculator to get the answer.
In my opinion, if a student is only using the worktext, they would have to already understand the math concepts. If not, they will have to remember the steps on how to enter the information into the calculator correctly to get the right answer.
The Online Course for Mastering the TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator
Once you purchase the worktext, the directions for getting access to the online course is available.
I would highly recommend getting your access to this.
The course is held on Moodle, an online learning management system. When you get your access link and password, Moodle has a “Get Started with Moodle” video that introduces you to the Moodle dashboard.
It teaches you how to access your courses, see your progress, badges, and grades. If you are unfamiliar with online learning systems, I would highly recommend you watching this introduction video.
When you are ready to begin the course, you just click on the lesson that you want. Each unit consists of :
- timed pre-test
- video lesson
- exercises (downloadable and printable)
- exercises with answers
- supplemental exercises
- supplemental exercise answers
- timed post-test
Dr. Del is your teacher and he does an excellent job explaining the processes to input the information into the calculator. He doesn’t always teach a math principle, but he does go into a topic deep enough so that you understand why you are entering the information into the calculator the way that you are supposed to.
He does use just a couple extra visualizations with scrap paper to help explain things. Unfortunately, these “extra explanations” are hard to see. They are either blurry or pixelated.
You can see a number line that he has drawn on a separate piece of paper. I was unable to make out the numbers. 
Lesson List for Mastering the TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator
The lessons start out very basic with learning how to turn the calculator on and off, and then they build and continually get more difficult with more complex math processes.
Lesson 1: Calculator Introduction
Lesson 2: On/Off FIX DEG M1 M2 M3
Lesson 3: Real Numbers: Add Subtract Equal
Lesson 4: Negative Numbers
Lesson 5: Multiply Divide
Lesson 6: Percentage
Lesson 7: M1 M2 M3 STO RCL ()
Lesson 8: X^2 Square
Lesson 9: Square Root
Lesson 10: Reciprocals
Lesson 11: Fractions
Lesson 12: Proper/Improper Fractions
Lesson 13: Fraction to Decimal Conversions
Lesson 14: Exponents
Lesson 15: FLO SCI ENG Formats
Lesson 16: Three Angle Measurements
Lesson 17: SIN SIN^-1
Lesson 18: COS COS^-1
Lesson 19: TAN TAN^-1
Lesson 20: Degrees Minutes Seconds
Lesson 21: Polar Rectangular Coordinates
Lesson 22: Units Conversion Wolfram Alpha
Lesson 23: Density = Weight/Volume
Lesson 24: Prefixes
Lesson 25: Technician’s Triangle
How we used the Mastering the TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator Curriculum
My daughter is currently enrolled in an Algebra 1 math class. She was able to follow the video lessons and learn the steps to help her with her Algebra 1 problems. Lessons 1-13 are for basic math to pre-algebra. Lessons 14-15 helps with math concepts in Algebra.
Of course, figuring out the answer with the calculator is fast, and as long as you enter your information into the calculator correctly, you will get a correct answer.
She enjoyed using the calculator. My kids always love techie stuff, so this was no different. She had no problem following Dr. Del with the first fifteen lessons, practicing some of the exercises, and then applying that to her math class.
She was done her math classes faster and with a lot less mistakes!
Would I Recommend Mastering the TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator Curriculum from Triad Math, Inc.?
Yes. If you have a child that is middle school age, high school age, or even college age that understands math, and needs to take timed math tests, this is the curriculum for you.
The TI-30Xa is easy to use, inexpensive and durable. The lessons and directions are easy to follow, with enough exercises to practice how to input the information.
Follow Triad Math, Inc. on Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnPlayConnect
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TriadMath
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/triadmathinc/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ2wNPnArm66nzIicv_QUiw
Read other Reviews
If you would like to read more reviews by the Homeschool Review Crew on this curriculum, Mastering the TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator: Augmented Intelligence for all 21st Century Students by Triad Math, Inc., then please click on the image below.
