Calculators
What a great invention by Texas Instruments (or whoever else made them first). These things are a life saver during math, econ, and some science courses. Obviously, it would look a bit odd if you are taking an English vocab test with your calculator, huh? These things are programmable in multiple ways. Advanced students know how to program on their own (or download from the web) actual programs which do the calculations for you. There are programs for EVERYTHING, from finding the area or volume of an object, to complex economic forecasting projections. All you gotta do is search for them. If you don't have access to get the actual program, your next best bet is to type in the formulas you will need (AND HOW TO USE THE FORMULAS) into your calculator. Also, a great place to store brief notes, even if your calculator doesn't allow for storing information in memory, or for stuff which sometimes cant be typed into the calculator memory (since the range of input is somewhat limited), is on the inside cover of your calculator.
On the left, formulas which were too difficult to accurately enter into calculator memory are taped to inside cover, on right, notes for using formulas on an economics test.
Advantages:
- Lifesaver on math, econ, and some science courses
- Few teachers walk around and inspect calculator memory
Disadvantages:
- Not useful for English, History or similar subjects
- Difficult to use for some people with limited knowledge of calculators
- Graphing calculators are costly
