This website hosts a collection of programs for the Texas Instruments TI-83 and TI-84 families of graphic calculators.
However, they do not run on the TI-84+ CE graphic calculators which have colour displays.
All programs and teacher notes are free to download and use.
The grid below provides links to detailed descriptions and preview videos of individual programs.
| Maths Topic |
Age 12-13 | Age 14-15 | Age 16-18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algebra | Diagrams Equations TFG Ultimate Brackets |
Diagrams Equations TFG Ultimate Brackets |
Equations TFG Ultimate Brackets |
| Graphical | Jugs Traffic |
Jugs | Integrals |
| Logic | Car Wars Flipper |
Car Wars Flipper |
Car Wars Flipper |
| Number | Grid Rush Rounding Number Grids Number Line Time Up Ultimate Challenge |
Data Maker Grid Rush Number Grids Number Line Time Up Ultimate Challenge |
Data Maker Grid Rush Number Grids Number Line Time Up Ultimate Challenge |
| Shape | Angles Diagrams Pinboard Polygons |
Diagrams Pinboard View 3D Polygons |
Pinboard View 3D |
| Assessment | McMarker | McMarker | McMarker |
TI-Connect Software is needed to transfer the program files from your computer to your graphic calculator.
TI-Connect (for TI83, TI83+, TI83+SE, TI84, TI84+ and TI84+SE)
"Thanks for your presentation at the conference. I found the programs excellent and can see them being very well received by the pupils in my classes." Robert McCallum, Loudoun Academy, Galston
"My Intermediate 1 class loved Grid Rush- great benefit. At Maths Club we tried Boxes, TimeUp and Rounding - all first years and all hooked! Great." James Gill, Websters High School, Angus.
"I've just come across your TI83 downloads … they look FANTASTIC! … [until now] I've not really found anyone who believed that TI83's could be used profitably in this way. I just wanted to say 'thank you' for the work you have been doing." David Payne, St Anne's Science College, Southampton.
"I have found the majority of the programs you forwarded to me very useful within the classroom. They have been especially useful for consolidating / revising various topics. The most impressive program is the Equation program due to the progression through the levels and the illustration of removing barrels and weights. I found some of my less able pupils in S2, who were struggling with the equations topic, reaching level 10 which was a real achievement, best of all they were able to describe their methods for solving the equation, excellent. Thanks for the programs. I have enjoyed using them in the classroom and the pupils have enjoyed the challenges." Robert McCallum, Loudoun Academy, Galston
"When using the Equation program on the OHP I found pupils began to see the answers instantly the way Maths teachers do. I also found that when the pupils used the software individually they overtook what their textbook offered in half the time that the book required. Getting the pupils to use their jotters too maintained good form. All very satisfying for a teacher." Maths Teacher, Glasgow.
"TimeUp is an excellent mental maths program for starting or finishing lessons. Classes always enjoy playing this game. Integrals is used for Unit 2 Higher work on integration …. [and is] much easier than drawing your own diagrams and classes quickly see the effect of increasing the number of strips. Pinboard - pupils enjoy the challenge of constructing triangles or quadrilaterals with given areas. Problems are set at different levels of difficulty to provide challenges for all your class. The Ultimate Challenge covers everything you need for 5-14 and S Grade non-calculator work. Purchasing the licence for this program allowed all members of my department to get a copy as well as pupils with their own TI83+ calculators." David Martin, Harris Academy, Dundee
"The Ultimate Challenge program, I have found, can be used with any level of class; it is extremely well differentiated and provides many more questions than can be got from most textbooks; an excellent tool to help improve number skills." David Johnson, George Watson's College.
"Calculator Software - Very good value for money. Presenter [Nevil Hopley] knew his subject very well. Practical resource. Interesting for students to use. Informative - lots of tips to try. Most relevant to current curriculum of all the demos." Delegate at LTS Maths Software in Focus Day.
"About 75% of the teachers who returned evaluation forms chose your software as the best title they saw on the day" Organiser of LTS Maths Software in Focus Day
"The Tables, Functions, Graphs program is great as an introduction or as consolidation of straight line work; it can also be used to extend the most able pupils (finding an equation of a line(s) which goes through a number of points; the difficulty increasing as the number of points increases). I have found the program useful with a wide range of classes." David Johnson, George Watson's College, Edinburgh
"…the department is still having a great time with your programs - they’ve been using Ultimate Brackets lately. Seemingly the PT even took the calculator on holiday with her during October, and one for each of her children, to try out your programs!" Maths Teacher, Aberdeenshire Secondary School
“I think your programs look fantastic. I was wondering about … obtaining an authority license [and] our maths advisor is very supportive of this idea” Authority Trainer for North Lanarkshire
How do the programs come?
The programs can come as individual pieces of software to be installed separately on the calculator, or they can come in a GROUP of programs. You can GROUP programs together on a TI83+, TI83+SE, TI84+ and TI84+SE and store them in Archive memory (see below for more on this). This is a safe and efficient way of keeping them out of RAM memory when they are not being used.
What are the advantages to using calculator programs over other teaching methods?
There are many. The programs allow individual students to work at their own speed through a set sequence of stages, problems or challenges. Where a student is consistently successful, the program can progress to the next level of difficulty. This "responsiveness" of the exercise is something that cannot easily be emulated with a textbook. The programs typically generate problems with randomly selected numbers. As a result of this students can't copy answers from their neighbour, but rather they spend time discussing how to do questions and identifying methods that work. The motivational aspect of use of IT in the teaching and learning process cannot be undervalued - especially with the weaker, or younger, mathematician. Students typically enjoy lessons that are based around calculator programs - the desire to obtain a faster time, or a higher score, often adds an additional competitive element to the chosen exercise.
How can I set up my school to make best use of graphic calculators
Here’s a selection of tips that I often give out to other teachers.
Do I need to know how the calculator works in order to use the programs?
No. Once the program is running, all options in the programs are menu driven and the calculator becomes essentially a small computer running a piece of software that's been designed to be used by young and old students alike.
How are programs different from Applications?
Applications run from pressing the blue APPS key on a TI83+ or TI83+SE. On the TI84+ and TI84+SE, the Apps keys are coloured black like all the other keys, but the letters APPS on the button are coloured pale magenta. These applications are stored in Flash ROM (Read Only Memory) on the calculator and typically have a unique validation code that prevents them from being distributed to another calculator. However, there are various shareware Applications available which do not have this restriction. All Applications are typically written in Z80 Assembly Code. The programs available on this website have no validation code and are mainly written in TI-Basic. They are run by pressing the PRGM key on a TI83, TI83+, TI83+SE, TI84+ or TI84+SE.
How do I get the programs onto the calculator?
The easiest way is to use Texas Instruments' TI-Connect software along with a link cable (either USB or Serial). Newly bought calculators now come with both of these items, but they can be obtained separately - the cable can be bought from most retailers, whilst the TI-Connect software can be downloaded free from TI's website
I have TI-Connect and a cable, now how do I install a program group from a PC/Mac to the TI83+/83+SE/84+/84+SE?
First, start up TI Connect Software and click the icon for Device Explorer. This gives a tree structure diagram of the calculator's memory that is connected to the computer. At the bottom of this tree structure is the category "* Flash / Archive". Now open up another window of the folder containing the group to be installed (eg PROGS.8XG). This can be done through clicking on the My Computer icon on your desktop and locating the folder and file required. Now drag'n'drop the file PROGS.8XG from the window that it's in into the window in Device Explorer and onto the branch of the tree called "* Flash / Archive". Copying across from the computer folder to the Archive memory of your calculator will then commence.
How do I ungroup programs?
First it is worth clearing the RAM memory on the calculator, to make room for the programs that are about to be ungrouped from the Archive memory. To clear the RAM, press 2nd, press +, press 7, press 1, press 2. After a short time, the message "RAM cleared" will then appear on the screen. To ungroup press 2nd, press +, press 8, press RIGHT ARROW to highlight the word UNGROUP and then use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to select the group that you wish to ungroup. Note that when a collection of files are ungrouped, they are NOT removed from Archive memory. A COPY of the files are made and put in RAM - the original grouped files in Archive memory remain untouched.
How do I run a program?
Press PRGM and ensure that the words EXEC are highlighted at the top of the screen - this stands for EXECute. Using the UP and DOWN arrow keys, move the highlighter until it is next to the program that you wish to run. Press ENTER to select. On the home screen appears "prgmPROG". Pressing ENTER one more time will execute this command and thus run the program.
How do I group programs?
First have all the programs and data files that you wish to group together
in normal RAM. You must want to group more than one file, else you will
incur an error.
Press 2nd, press +, press 8 (for option 8:Group) and press 1: to Create
a New Group.
Type in the name of your group (max 8 letters) eg NUMBER, SHAPE, ALGEBRA,
etc.
From the next menu, select option 2:All-
You are then presented with a full list of the calculator's memory. Using
the arrow keys and ENTER, go down the list marking all of the programs
that you wish to have placed in the group. Pressing ENTER marks each file
with a dot, whilst pressing ENTER again removes the dot.
When you have completed your selection, press the RIGHT ARROW key to highlight
the word DONE and press ENTER.
After a short time, your GROUP will have been created in Archive memory
- wait for the "Done" statement to appear.
How can I put the programs on a class set of calculators?
Once you have the programs on a single calculator, it is simply a matter of sending the programs - via a normal link cable - to all the other calculators. This is done by the means of the LINK menu - see the section in your calculator's manual called "Communication Link" for more instructions on this.
Do the Programs run on TI Smartview?
Yes. You need to initially treat the TI Smartview software as another calculator and install the programs into its "memory" in groups. Then save the state of the calculator emulator. Each time you wish to run the Smartview emulator as one of the class set of calculators, just load up the saved state and it will operate just as a student's calculator would.
Do the Programs run on a TI-Nspire?
Yes, but only on the first generation, non-CAS TI-Nspire (the blue coloured handheld) when it has the TI84+ keypad inserted into it. Simply install the software via the normal TI-Connect software via the I/O port on the TI84+ keypad. All the other instructions on this page are as valid for the TI-Nspire with the TI84+ keypad inserted as they are for a normal TI84+ graphic calculator.
What is the difference between RAM and ARCHIVE memory?
RAM (standing for Random Access Memory) memory is about 24 kilobytes in size and is where programs that you want to run need to be. Also stored in RAM are lists, matrices, functions, etc. ARCHIVE memory is separate from RAM and is where programs and applications are stored when they are not being used. If any data is in Archive memory, then typically it cannot be used, only stored there - it always has to be unarchived first to use it. GROUPS are always stored in archive memory.
>What are the differences between the TI83+/83+SE and the TI84+/84+SE?
There are various cosmetic differences between the different models, but they all operate in exactly the same way The TI84+ and TI84+SE each have a USB port for extra connectivity. The TI83+ has a processor speed of 6Mhz whilst the TI83+SE, TI84+ and TI84+SE all have a faster speed of 15Mhz. The TI83+ has 160K of archive memory, the TI84+ has 480K whilst both the TI83+SE and TI84+SE each have 1540K.
Do the programs run any differently on different calculators?
Some programs only run on the TI83+, TI83+SE, TI84+ and TI84+SE. The reason for this is that the TI83 does not support display of lower case characters. Where programs are run on a TI83+SE, they go faster (up to two and a half times faster). Where programs have timers built in to measure speed of completion of exercise, the opening screen asks whether the program is being run on a TI83+ or a TI83+SE/84+/84+SE. The program's clock counter is adjusted accordingly. Aside from the speed issues described above, there is no difference in the programs' functionality.