Actually I agree with you Nelson, in that computers are unusable for
(some) testing for at least a few years. This is because there are
breauocrats on the national and state level in some countries (the
U.S. included) who declare that they will allow the student to use
math technology on their tests, but only the second rate technology
that they choose. The question Nelson is, are we going to allow the
decisions of these petty dictators, who determine what equipment can
and can not be used for a couple of hours out of the entire year, to
spill over into our students (and our) daily lives the rest of the
year? Actually, the immediate solution to this problem is already in
use. There are plenty of ti-83 and 84 calculators available through
schools as loaners for use on the annual government tests, and that
frees schools to upgrade to the best available technology for daily
use, and avoid the inferior technology that the testing breauocrats
dictate. So there really is no good reason to use clunky unipurpose
B&W hand helds when there are better options.
Although I advocate teaching math as opposed to calculator operation
(which students can pick up on their own), I admit that exposure to
technology can be an important part of a good education, however it
must be exposure to up to date technology and not some clunker devices
that havn't kept pace with technological change. We should not be
using devices that students will never see in the work place.
As for class room tests and the potential for cheating if computers
are allowed, gimmics like "push to test" do not eliminate cheating,
and are not an adequate substitute for the teacher who circulates
around the room and makes himself or herself aware of what the student
is doing and how. So it really doesn't matter what technology is
used. It is up to the teacher to prevent cheating by knowing what is
going on in his or her classroom.