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I am surprised by the amount of calculator use in POM Book 1, which my sixth grader is doing. My eighth grader is in Module E of Videotext Algebra and has never used a calculator for math. She routinely does difficult arithmetic in Videotext on paper. I am concerned that my next child won't be able to do Videotext unless she uses a calculator. Do those of you who use Videotext allow a calculator? Has anyone made the transition from POM to Videotext?

We haven't used either program, but my daughter is doing Horizons 6. There are times it tells her to use her calculator. They're are other times she has to do just as complicated arithmetic by hand. On the calculator sections, it is because the skill worked on is not arithmetic. It is weird problems or averages normally.
So my question would be if there are times they work on the arithmetic without a calculator? If so, it is probably fine. Both are necessary skills. In the real world, you aren't going to multiply 124536*32457 by hand. Yes, it is important to know how, but it isn't worth doing page after page of that over and over again.

POM 2 does not use a calculator nearly as much. I was of the same philosophy as you....wow, they use a calculator a lot! But now that my oldest is using POM 2, she uses it way less and does a lot of math in her head or on paper. I think you child will be just fine going into VideoText with using POM2.

Thank you. That is reassuring!