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SALT LAKE CITY -- Type in any math or science question on www.wolframalpha.com and you get an answer back. Teachers are worried it could lead to cheating. Any student with a cell phone connected to the Internet could access the website and use it.
Dr. Hal Sanderson, the director of Institutional Research and Assessment for the Canyons School District, says he's more worried that it will make students skip past learning all the basic rules of geometry, calculus, etc.
Still Sanderson says the website is intriguing.
"I could see where this could be a tool if it's used appropriately, and teachers utilize it with students appropriately," he says. "But you still can't take shortcuts for shortcuts' sake. You are going to miss some things." E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
