Exploring the Texas Instruments TI-Innovator™ Product Line

Texas Instruments TI-Innovator™: Sparking K-12 STEM Exploration

The Texas Instruments TI-Innovator™ product line brings hands-on STEM learning into the classroom, helping students explore coding, engineering, and real-world problem-solving with familiar TI graphing calculators. Designed for K-12 education, these tools give students a jumpstart in programming and electronics—no bulky computers required. Below, we’ll walk you through what you need to get started, popular add-ons, and how to expand your TI-Innovator™ collection to unlock endless classroom possibilities.

Getting Started with TI-Innovator™

To get started with the Ti-Innovator product line, you'll need two things!

1. A Compatible TI Graphing Calculator
   Any of the following will work:

• TI-84 Plus CE
• TI-84 Plus CE Python Edition
• TI-Nspire™ CX
• TI-Nspire™ CX II
• TI-Nspire™ CX CAS
• TI-Nspire™ CX II CAS

2. A TI-Innovator™ Hub
   This Hub will act as your calculator's gateway into the Ti-Innovator products. It will allow your calculator to connect to numerous sensors, motors, modules, robots, and even a rover! It interprets commands from your calculator and sends signals to your attached components, acting as the “bridge” between coding on the calculator and building real-world projects.

With just the calculator and Hub, you can experiment with basic commands, LED blinking, and simple sensor readings. However, to get the most out of the TI-Innovator™ platform, consider adding a few essential add-ons to run a wider range of activities—perfect for turning any math or science lesson into an interactive exploration.

Most Popular TI-Innovator™ Additions

1. TI-Innovator™ Rover

   • What It Is: A pre-assembled blue "cart" that can be controlled by your TI Calculator.
     
   • Why It’s Great: Students can create code to maneuver the Rover, integrate sensor feedback (such as following lines, or calculating distance from an object), and even combine math concepts (like geometry) with a real-life rover.
   • Classroom Use: From straightforward shape-drawing activities to more advanced obstacle-avoidance challenges, the Rover offers a hands-on approach to coding and engineering concepts.

2. TI-Innovator™ Breadboard Pack

   • What’s Included: A breadboard plus multiple components (LEDs, resistors, thermistor, switches, potentiometer, segment display, small DC motor, and more).
   • Why It’s Great: Gives students a firsthand look at electronics. They can create their own circuits on the breadboard and see how different components interact, and even create a manual interface so that their calculators can control other items.
   • Classroom Use: Ideal for introducing basic circuitry, voltage, current, and the fundamentals of hardware prototyping.

3. TI-Innovator™ I/O Module Pack

   • What’s Included: Plug-in modules for the TI-Innovator™ Hub’s input/output ports.
   • Why It’s Great: Quickly extend the Hub’s capabilities without the complexity of wiring each component individually.
   • Classroom Use: Perfect for fast-paced lessons where students can immediately focus on coding concepts rather than detailed circuit building.

Expand Your TI-Innovator™ Collection Even Further

For those ready to dive deeper into STEM projects, the TI-Innovator™ product line offers a variety of specialized modules and sensors. Here’s an overview of the most common categories to help you level up your classroom or at-home experiments:

1. LED and Displays

• TI-RGB Array
  • Features 16 individually programmable RGB LEDs
  • Great for creating custom light patterns, “traffic light” simulations, or pixel art projects
    
• White LED Five Pack
  • Simple light-emitting diodes emitting white light
  • Perfect for experimenting with brightness, power consumption, or signal indicators

2. Motion Sensors

• Ultrasonic Ranger Module
  • Measures distance in centimeters
  • Ideal for projects involving object detection, motion-activated alerts, or robotics navigation

3. Environmental Sensors

• Light Sensor
  • Detects ambient light intensity, allowing students to quantify brightness in different environments
    
    
    
• Moisture Sensor
  
  • Measures the moisture level in soil—excellent for agricultural or botany-related investigations
• Temperature Sensor
  • Tracks ambient temperature, enabling experiments in thermodynamics or weather station setups
• Temperature and Humidity (DHT) Sensor
  • Combines both temperature and relative humidity readings for more comprehensive environmental monitoring

4. Actuators and Motors

• Servo Motor
  • A 360-degree, continuous-rotation servo for creating moving mechanisms like wheels or robotic arms
• Vibration Motor
  • Coin-type motor that provides vibration feedback. Great for alerting, or even vibrating an object to make it move around.
    
• Water Pump
  • Submersible pump with tubing for fluid mechanics experiments or automated watering systems

5. Power and Signal Control

• MOSFET Module
  • Power control component that helps drive higher-power devices, bridging the gap between low-power signals and more robust outputs
    
• Hall Sensor
  • Detects magnetic fields (Hall Effect), beneficial in magnetism or electronics lessons

6. Adapters and Batteries

• TI-SensorLink Adapter
  • Connects popular Vernier sensors to the TI-Innovator™ Hub, broadening the range of lab-ready experiments
• TI-Innovator™ Bluetooth Adapter
  • Enables wireless communication with compatible Bluetooth devices—a great way to untether your projects from the calculator

Bringing STEM to Life in the Classroom

The TI-Innovator™ Hub, brings all of these modules and sensors  under the control of a compatible TI Graphing calculator. It lets educators craft interactive lessons that cover physics, coding, biology, environmental science, robotics, and more. Students can design solutions to real-life problems, collect data in real time, and analyze that data directly on their TI calculators.

Some of our Favorite Ideas for Lessons:

• Environmental Monitoring: Use temperature and humidity sensors to study microclimates, or track soil moisture to determine optimal watering schedules for plants.
• Robotics and Programming: Attach ultrasonic sensors to the TI-Innovator™ Rover for obstacle detection or map out a grid-based route on the classroom floor.
• Electronics Exploration: Introduce circuit design with the breadboard pack—students can light up LEDs, power small motors, or create an alarm that triggers when light hits a certain threshold.

Stocking Your Classroom With the Help of Underwood Distributing

The TI-Innovator™ product line transforms STEM concepts into tactile, interactive experiences. By starting with a compatible Texas Instruments graphing calculator and a TI-Innovator™ Hub, you’ll have an economical, and easy-to-access launching point for your students to learn coding fundamentals, build circuits, and explore real world problem solving. From there, adding sensors, motors, and specialized modules opens up a world of possibilities—empowering students to see how math, science, and technology intersect in tangible, exciting ways.

If you're not sure how to implement the Ti-Innovator Product line into your classroom, getting help from an industry expert like Underwood Distributing Co. can make all of the difference.

As an authorized instructional dealer for Texas Instruments Ti-Innovator Products as well as Texas Instruments Calculators, we match educators with the best products for their curriculum. We stay up-to-date with the latest educational technology so we can provide informed recommendations based on your specific needs and grade level.

Our Commitment to Education

Whether you're looking at the TI-Nspire CX II for its advanced STEM capabilities, or a TI-Innovator Rover to let your students graph out shapes onto the floor, we've got you covered. Our commitment to education means you'll get:

• Quality products at competitive prices

• Tax-exempt options for qualifying organizations

• Fast shipping and easy returns

• 1-year limited warranty for all purchases

• Long-term support and white glove services

Need a quote on some Ti-Innovator products, or want to talk to one of our team members? Request a quote today and we'll provide everything you need before purchasing.