6
Thursday, September 26, 1974
University Daily Kansan
Students measure value of calculators in time saved
The chemistry department recently banned the use of electronic calculators capable of performing the memory operations Clark E. Bricker, professor of chemistry.
ELECTRONIC CALCULATORS are becoming as common as alldriver in the field of electronics.
and function. Some simply add, subtract,
divide and multiply while others are
capable of performing trigonometric
logarithmic functions. The more expensive
models come with a memory bank
that can be programmed.
during a test because the student wouldn't have to set up the problem to obtain a solution—the calculator could do that for him.
Bricker said calculators with the memory program function were an unfair advantage
Bricker said the chemistry department had no foolproof plan to keep calculators with the memory program function out of tests. All that proctors can do at exams is
KU volunteers aid local projects
Bv MARK MITCHELL
By MARK MITCHELL Feature Reporter
Being an employee at the University of Kansas can be time consuming, but that does not mean you cannot volunteer administrators and other employees from volunteering their time to community projects.
More than half of all KU employees are participating in various community volunteer projects, according to John Conard, assistant to Cancellor Arch R.
Conard said yesterday that KU employees were unusually active compared to employees in other schools.
The KU faculty live in homes throughout the Lawrence area rather than being "segregated" in one particular area of town, he said.
THIS DIVERSITY permits the employees in their active neighborhood to work in the community.
The range of these volunteer activities is extensive. Faculty volunteers help in community government, aid to the hand-raising activities, fund raising and other activities.
"You can find KU faculty members from all over the community involved in almost any activity."
Most of the volunteer organizations in Lawrence draw heavily from the University to help needy people. The United Fund drive, which is organizing for this year has grown by more than with volunteer help and financial support from University employees, Conard said.
AMONG KU ADMINISTRATORS coordinating the drive are William M. Jones, budget officer; and Urban Design; Martin Jones, budget officer; and Henry L. Snyder, associate dean of research administration chairman for the KU United Fund drive.
According to Snyder, 50 to 60 KU faculty members and employees will actively participate in the KU drive, which has a goal of $36,000 from KU employees alone.
Each of these volunteers, Snyder said,
week and encourage contribution in his
dienna.
Snyder said the United Fund campaign was one of the most important areas of
volunteer service in the community because she umbrella that shells about 14 aboard
"The United Fund is far and away the most important voluntary community service," Snyder said. "It is largest in terms of money requests and it supports most of the major private agencies in the community."
Snyder praised the volunteer work of KU employees and said that "volunteer work helps build a better community that will benefit us all."
MANY KU ADMINISTRATORS are serving as leaders and chairmen for various Lawrence area organizations. Conard said, Conard and Robert L. Smith, professor of civil engineering, are members of the Citizens Advisory Council.
Chancellor Dykes, Martin Dickinson,
dean of the School of Law, and Richard
Wintermute, executive director of the
Alumni Association, are members of the
Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Board of
Directors.
In addition, David Dary, acting director of University Relations, and Dale Scannell, dean of the School of Education, were on the School Community Relations Advisory Council, which advises Carl Knox, Lawrence school superintendent.
Two KU faculty members who are often in the Lawrence spotlight are Mayor Jack Rose and City Commissioner Barkley Clark. Rose is the executive officer of the chemistry department and Clark is the associate dean of the School of Law.
Clark, who along with Rose is serving a four-year term as city commissioner, said yesterday that volunteer services played an important part in the activities of the KU
The duties of faculty members include teaching, research and service, he said, and volunteer activities are only one form of a faculty member's service to the community.
HIS WOEN POSITION of city commissioner has a salary of $100 a year, Clark said, and the job requires about 15 hours of work a week.
He recommended that more faculty members serve in voluntary positions because "city organizations and local businesses depend on them and best forms of community service."
BRUCKER SAID HE didn't know of a single student who had a calculator with a calculator on the desk.
watch who's using a calculator, he said, and to try recognize the type of calculators with which you work.
Few faculty volunteers have prominent jobs such as mayor or city commissioner, yet they form the grassroots of community service.
The Kansas Union sells a Hewlett-Packard calculator with the memory bank system
For example, a spokesman for the Parks and Recreation Department said several KU employees had volunteered to help organize and operate such community events as track meets and swimming meets.
Each Friday from noon until 1 p.m., he will read books, magazine articles and news of interest to blind persons over the radio. The program, called the "Kitchen Sink," is designed to help the blind obtain reading material in an informal atmosphere, she said.
Carol Zebas, assistant professor of physical education, said she was about to begin working for the Audio Reader Program at Sudler House.
LIKE MOST VOLUNTEER programs, the "Kitchen Sink" pays nothing and will give Zebas little recognition other than celebrity status with her listeners.
The calculators capable of performing trigonometric and logarithmical functions haven't been burned. The slideiter was a little bit damaged, and they weren't banned, Bricker said.
"With modern technology you can't rule out calculators." he said.
Calculators capable of the trigonometric and logarithmical functions are an addition, don't have to look up these values in a table and this saves him time. Calculators also are more accurate and there is less error in their calculations if they are used properly.
HOWEVER, BRICKER said that obtaining an answer that was correct up to seven significant figures wasn't that important. He said that the important aspect of solving problems was being able to set up a problem correctly in order to obtain a reasonably correct answer and that this couldn't be achieved unless it had a memory bank system.
In most courses the correct answer is only worth 20 per cent of the total points awarded for that problem, Bricker said. There is some leeway as to what would be accepted as a correct answer as long as it falls within a certain range.
Bricker said that 60 to 70 per cent of the students in his classes used calculators. These are either owned personally or borrowed from friends and roommates.
He said a good sliderule cost between $35 and $40, and a calculator capable of sliderule functions could be purchased for as little as $70.
BRICKER SAID SOME students shared calculators and this could cause a problem since answers could be left on the calculators as they were being used.
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Gordon Wiseman, professor of physics, said the physics department had no policy concerning the use of calculators and the need to establish their own policies in this area.
Wiseman said that he encouraged the use of calculators in his classes and that if a student had a calculator with a memory bank system, it wouldn't bother him at all.
"We allow our students to use crib sheets with equations, formulas and other data on them during exams," he said. "This is a reasonable substitute for a calculator and serves to keep all students in a comparable position."
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Wiseman said most of the problems on his
table were related to calculators. However, he said there
wasn't one.
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been a greater incidence of serious arithmetic mistakes with the advent of the computer.
THE STUDENT MIGHT push the wrong
bed or do too much of the problem in his
bed.
Wiseman said the important aspect of solving test problems was being able to manipulate the concepts involved. The calculator is an advantage in labs, he said, because the students have to work with both data and the calculator can save time.
By not writing down the immediate steps in solving a problem, the student who uses a calculator doesn't receive as much credit if he gets the wrong answer when compared to someone who has a calculator who gets the wrong answer but writes down the immediate steps.
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Wiseman said more than half the students in labs had calculators and the physics department provided an "old-fashioned" tool for students who didn't have their own.
"A year ago most of the faculty thought we should provide calculators but now think the money can be spent on more important things." "The problem really isn't that serious."
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