Recorded webinars

This webinar concludes the Sharing Inspiration 2022 webinar series. The development of Computational Thinking is a growing concern in many countries. In Portugal we are now at a stage where this is a mathematical skill becoming explicit in the new curricula, having started this year in elementary school. In 2024, the new curricula are expected to reach the high school students' classroom and, with them, also the use of the Python programming language, sometimes linked to working with numerical methods for solving equations.

This webinar shows how some of these methods, Newton-Raphson and Bisection, are used in math learning, using TI-Nspire CX II-T technology and in particular the built-in micro-Python.

Marie Curie, born on the 7th of November in Warsaw, is perhaps the most famous female scientist in history. But she was by no means the only one. There have been many women who have contributed to today’s knowledge in STEM. In this webinar, I not only point out her scientific achievements, which are widely known, but also focus on the fact, that we are still lacking women in STEM research.

June 17 is the birthday of M.C. Escher. He was a Dutch artist who is well known for his tessellations based on mathematical principles. In this webinar we will learn how to use Python to construct Escher like tessellations and investigate different ways of making them. The TI-draw modules in Python provide us powerful tools to achieve impressive results.

Starting with the simple question of the computation of the binomial coefficients for large numbers, we'll try to program our own algorithms in Python language and compare them. The resulting Pascal triangle will then be graphically displayed, leading to a Sierpinksi-like fractal.

Technology

TI-Nspire™ CX II-T (non-CAS) with Python installed.

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit was born 24 May 1686 in Gdansk (Danzig). He spent most of his life in the Netherlands inventing the mercury thermometer and designing his famous Fahrenheit scale of temperature. His scale was superseded by that of Anders Celsius which in turn was replaced in scientific communities by the Kelvin temperature scale. Fahrenheit still left a legacy (to be revealed) which is present in many kitchens today!

Rising temperature is a symptom of both global warming and fevers in mammals. Understanding temperature is therefore an important part of all school science curricula and this talk will look at how temperature scales have been constructed using the ice and salt mix as an interesting phenomenon on which to hook students' learning.

Measuring and recording temperatures can be carried out with the TI-Nspire™ Lab Cradle, Vernier EasyTemp, TI-Innovator™ Hub or the BBC micro:bit, the choice is yours! Temperature lends itself to building scale conversion algorithms or writing programs to control thermostats. The behavior of modern refrigerators can be easily explored using a datalogger and we will look at some experimental results.

I will wrap up with the Vernier Infra-Red thermometer and consider how it might be used to provide a very striking demonstration of the importance of the albedo effect for global warming, not to mention its use for measuring body temperature during the Covid pandemic!

This is the second webinar of the Sharing Inspiration 2022 webinar series. In part 1, Dr. Hubert Langlotz highlights some Examples for the occurrence of the number e. Some known and may be some unexpected occurrences of the number e are depicted and it is shown how we can use TI-Nspire™ CX technology to find approximations of the number e. This will include some simple Python scripts (by Veit Berger).

In part 2 Hans-Martin Hilbig focuses on enhancing angular precision of a MEMS sensor using Euler angles. Euler angles and their mathematical dependencies are used to enhance the angular precision of accelerometer sensors in modern electronic devices like smartphones and fitness watches. The sensor fusion technique will be explained in an implementation example in MicroPython on the TI-Nspire™ CX II-T CAS.

This is the first webinar of the Sharing Inspiration 2022 webinar series. In this quick overview of some of René Descartes works we get into the C.M (Cartesian Method) and its heritage nowadays. Then we revisit two classic problems through illustrative cases of TI technology use in the classroom. One of them includes the use of the simulator platform Vittascience which is a handy way to teach coding to students.

This is the fourth and final quarterly online Sharing Inspiration Conference of 2021. The expression ‘the elephant in the room’ implies that energy is a big important topic which makes people uncomfortable when discussing it. Everybody knows about it, but the issues are politically and socially sensitive. How can people overlook something as big as an elephant when it is in the same room as you? This session will look at ways in which we might teach about energy use and attempt to stimulate those discussions which are so difficult.

Food Waste and Food Loss is highest in high-income countries. This is disturbing because one would expect that high income correlates with high education which then would correlate with appreciation for our food. Apparently, this is not the case. So, where is the missing link? Why do rich countries produce so much Food Waste? What are specific and transferred values in such societies? And what can schools specifically contribute to fight this problem?

On the behalf of the SDG no 2, ‘Zero Hunger’ this webinar will give you specific insights and directly applicable methods to teach this issue in your classroom.

This is the third quarterly online Sharing Inspiration conference of 2021. Computational thinking and coding have already penetrated the curricula in the schools of most countries, but they may not yet be mainstream. Should these topics have the same priorities as language or science and mathematics? Could computational thinking be the vehicle for delivering 'thinking skills' in the classroom? What motivates young people to write a program?

The TI-Innovator™ Hub and TI-Innovator™ Rover are unique solutions for the STEM classroom. You will be able to also programme a BBC micro:bit v2 microcontroller with your TI-Nspire™ CX II-T or TI-Nspire™ CX II-T CAS handheld. With the version 5.3 commands to the Python app have been added to make it a convenient experience.

This is the second quarterly online Sharing Inspiration conference of 2021. No doubt, education for a purpose beyond exams is more motivating for students than traditional teaching methods. Students are concerned equally about the future of our planet, of our society and our economy. Education for Sustainable Development is just about that.

This Sharing Inspiration conference aims to share activities and concepts which have been designed to bring Education for Sustainability in every Math, Science or STEM classroom. On top we will learn about the European Green Deal Agenda and its implications for the European Education Area.

We think, no, we know that many of you know the Christmas star from Herrnhut.

Every year at Christmas time, hundreds of these adorn the small town of Herrnhut and many other houses around the world. The first star was created by a Math teacher at the beginning of the 19th century.

In the webinar we´ll give you some information about the star and we would like to show you a few mathematical tasks around the star by using TI-Nspire^TM. At the end of the webinar you´ll get a small task and with some luck you can win an original Herrnhuter Star.

In this session you will be shown the use of the TI Innovator^TM HUB to monitor the output of a green energy solution. The hub will monitor the output of a solar panel or a windmill. The session is part of a course I use in Belgium with primary and lower secondary students.

Concepts of Object Oriented Programming from an educator’s perspective. Using ‚time‘ functions in Handheld and Desktop applications. Adding new sensors under Python

Finland has moved to digital final exams in upper secondary schools. Drawings in math and science that were earlier done by paper and pen, can now be done with TI-Nspire Widgets. Participants will get short hands on introductions how these tools are used in math, physics and chemistry.

Learn, through simple examples, how Python can be used in vocational high school, Physical, Computer Sciences and Technology courses to better prepare students for tomorrow’s needs & challenges.

The participants will experience the implementation of a STEM-project in the classroom. Computational thinking will be stimulated by coding music that can be listened to through our own build speaker. This project connects electronics, the math behind music, programming and related science topics. Programming will be done in TI-Basic, but can be done in Python as well. A sample program will be shared with the participants.

Learn about Python programming on TI-Nspire CX II.
See how it is designed for new programmers and also allows advanced projects. Observe how Python on TI-Nspire CX II interacts with other TI-Nspire apps and with TI-Innovator Hub and TI-Rover

So, you thought you knew all about frictional forces? Never heard of Amontons’ Laws? Every high school physics teacher teaches the first law but tends to forget the second. All of us use the laws every day, almost every waking minute of our lives. Hardly anybody understands them! They are the two laws of friction, the first about applied load and the second, now largely forgotten, about the area of contact.

This workshop will guide you through a logical approach to understanding both laws and lead you to an appreciation of why Jeremy Clarkson is so wrong about the stopping distances of cars. Is weight really thrown forwards when a car stops? Of course not, but then what exactly is going on when a car stops or starts? Using the TI Rover and the Vernier force probe you will learn why some car manufacturers still use rear wheel drives…it’s all about friction!