Texas Instruments STEAMs Ahead With The TI-Innovator Hub

Introducing the next gen for the next gen. Texas Instruments have developed a classroom tool to teach future engineers the foundations of coding.

However, as opposed to isolating the teaching of coding and programming in one class, this palm-sized box with built-in microcontroller plugs into the graphing calculator many secondary students already own (a TI-84 Plus CET or a TI-Nspire CC and TI-Nspire CX CAS).

It was created using the same technology used by leading engineers to design products from smart watches to 3D printers, the TI LaunchPad Board.

“The TI-Innovator System is a unique resource which taps into students’ natural curiosity to help them learn how to use coding, maths, science, and engineering design principles to analyze and explain the world around them,” said Alexandre Titin-Snaider, Director of TI Education Technology for Europe. “Coding has become one of the essential literacies in twenty-first century education and there is a growing demand now for teaching students how to code. The TI-Innovator allows students to get hands-on technology and not even realize they are learning important STEM principles, like coding, that they need to be successful in the classroom today, in college tomorrow and in their careers in the future.”

Enclosed in a durable case, the TI-Innovator Hub is protected against dings and drops and can be shared among several students.

But what makes the TI-Innovator Hub interesting, is its versatility within STEM projects. The tool allows teachers to embed coding and engineering design into engaging math and science lessons.

There are resources and lesson plans on the Texas Instruments website that give examples of the potential of the TI-Innovator Hub;

Lesson: One small bite for man
Students will be asked to play the role of the same engineer on the ISS, who has been researching food production for extended space exploration missions. Students will design and build a model of an astronaut of that consumes energy according to the BMI and activity level assigned in simulation of a space work environment.

Lesson: One giant leaf for mankind
Students will be asked to play the role of a horticultural engineer on the International Space Station (ISS) who has been researching food production for extended space exploration missions. Students will design and build a space-based greenhouse model in order to conduct a simple experiment using the scientific method while learning about photosynthesis and plant cell structure.

These are just two examples of lesson plans using the TI-Innovator Hub to learn in other STEM projects.

“The TI-Innovator replaces complicated electronic circuit construction with a few lines of simple computer code,” said Ian Galloway, an international education consultant and former physics teacher from the UK. “Students can explore the real world using feedback and control by connecting their graphing calculator to the Innovator and using ten minutes of code. The power of having control over lights, speakers and motors is both stimulating and motivating and can be accessed by all students using the TI-Innovator.”