The Dependency of Engineering Technology Student’s towards the Usage of Calculator in Mathematics

Abstract

Calculators are one of the important technology used to solve mathematical computations. It also can be the tool for learning mathematics if it is used appropriately. However, too much depends on calculator can be harmful to students ability to solve simple mathematical problem. The purpose of this study is to examine the dependency of students in Faculty of Engineering Technology (FTK), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, on the usage of calculator to solve the mathematical problems. A sample of 383 first year Engineering Technology (ET) students’ taking mathematics subject are selected from five different course. Students were examined based on the results of Mathematic Competency Test and the survey from a questionnaire that covers questions regarding the students’ enjoyment on the usage of calculator and the usefulness of calculator in mathematic activities. The investigation yield a result showing that the students has a high dependency on using calculator to solve mathematical problem.