Many of the math teachers in our school like to demonstrate calculator techniques for their students in class. Most will try to get SmartView software to do demos. This software is expensive for some and I have had several teachers struggle to get the software to work correctly. Here are a few alternatives I have found that are all free. One is a free app for Mac/PC. Another is a Flash script that runs in a web page. The last is an Android App. All of these programs require you to have a ‘Rom’ image of the calculator you want to use. If you do not know how to copy the Rom from your TI calculator you could download one from a Google search. To be legal however, you need to actually currently own that model of calculator.
WabbitEmu
http://wabbit.codeplex.com/releases/view/44625
This program is a free download for Mac OSX 10.5+ or PC. I have tested this one and it works great it our classes with the TI-73 rom and the TI-84plus-SE roms. I did not have luck with the TI-85. The PC version seems to run more roms successfully than the MAC version. This program runs very smoothly and once you connect to a Rom file it generally remembers so that it loads automatically. I like to put the Rom file on the Desktop so I can double click to open the emulator immediately.
TI8XEmu
http://www.brandonmeyer.net/projects/TI8XEmu/TI8XEmu.html
This is a Flash program that emulates the TI-82, TI-83, or TI-85. It also requires a ‘Rom’ file, but is great if you don’t have access to install software. Some of the teachers I work with mention that this file can time out after a few minutes requiring you to re-upload the Rom file. With the HTML embed feature of ActivInspire you could put this in a flipchart for quick access. I prefer to just go to the website and turn on the annotate feature in ActivInspire and then use the extra space in the webpage to drop in charts or write out the problem.
Andie Graph
http://dougmelton.com/android/andie-graph/
This is a free app for android. You will need to copy the roms to your phone/tablet. Once they are copied the program will search for them and allow you to chose which Rom to load. Andie Graph supports the TI-82, TI-83, TI-83+, TI-85, and the TI-86. This app runs well and could be useful if you have an HDMI export feature on your device.