DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
| DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments My Little Computer
| Date of introduction: | 1989 | Display technology: | LED |
| New price: | $25.46 (1992) Activity Packs: $9.95 | Display size: | 16 single LED |
| Size: | 10.2" x 8.0" x 5.0" | ||
| Weight: | 21 ounces | Serial No: | |
| Batteries: | 2*AA | Date of manufacture: | year 1992 |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | USA | |
| Precision: | Integrated circuits: | COP444 | |
| Memories: | |||
| Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner | |
| Download manuals: |  (US: 3.2M Bytes) (US: 1.5M Bytes) |
This Speaking Educational Toy for toddlers trains combination skills. You can insert one of the twelve different picture cards and start the game or play one of the four Children's songs. One out of the 4 LED spots on the leftmost column will glow and the child must point with the arrow keys to the corresponding answer.
The technical part of this product is straight forward. A small microcomputer from National Semiconductors, often found in cheap toys like the Quiz-Kid or the wonderful Monkey See, controls both the LED's and the keyboard. A similar microcontroller was used in the later Magic Sorter.
The four songs stored in the My Little Computer are accessed with the four arrow keys:
| • [UP] Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star • [DOWN] Frère Jacques • [LEFT] Oh, My Darling Clementine • [RIGHT] Für Elise |
Each activity was designed with a specific early learning skill in mind. The activities span a range for children ages 2 to 6. The activities are listed below in order of increasing challenge:
| Number | Title | Activity | Early Learning Skill |
| 1 | Follow Me | Repeat the pattern My Little Computer gives you | Sequencing and memory |
| 2 | Follow Me | Repeat the pattern My Little Computer gives you | Sequencing and memory |
| 3 | Dinosaur Twins | Match identical dinosaurs | Visual discrimination |
| 4 | Shapes & Colors | Match colors and shapes | Color and shape recognition |
| 5 | Shoe pairs | Match similar pairs of shoes | Visual discrimination |
| 6 | Animal Faces & Tails | Match animal fronts and backs | Advanced visual discrimination |
| 7 | Shape Count | Match identical quantities of objects | Counting and visual discrimination |
| 8 | Color Hunt | Match colors | Color recognition |
| 9 | People & Their Tools | Associate people's occupations with their tools | Socialization skills |
| 10 | Dress-Up Maze | Matching clothing and objects with body parts | Socialization skills |
| 11 | Toy Triplets | Match similar types of toys | Categorization |
| 12 | Start-to-Finish | Sequence events in order of occurrence | Sequencing |
| 13 | Make-an-Animal | Match animals heads, middles, and tails | Advanced visual discrimination |
| 14 | What Comes next? | Sequence activities in order of occurrence | Sequencing |
| 15 | Number Match | Match a number with a group of objects | Number recognition and counting |
| 16 | First Letter Match | Match beginning letter sounds | Letter recognition |
| 17 | Animal Hide & Seek | Match parts of animals | Advanced visual discrimination |
| 18 | First Letter Choice | Identify beginning letter sounds | Letter recognition |
| 19 | People & Their Hats | Associate attire with occupation | Socialization skills |
| 20 | Number Hunt | Match a number with a group of objects | Number recognition and counting |
| 21 | First Letter Maze | Identify beginning letter sounds | Letter recognition |
| 22 | Telling Time | Tell and match time in both digital and analog representation | Telling time |
| 23 | First...Second...Third | Sequence pictures in time order | Sequencing |
| 24 | Spell-a-Word | Spell three-letter words | Spelling |
Texas Instruments offered two additional activity packs "Activity Pack 1" and "Activity Pack 2". Each activity pack contains 12 colorful activity cards with 24 varied and exciting activities. The cards are designed with increasing levels of difficulty so that the challenge grows along with the child.
Activity Pack 1:
| Number | Title | Activity | Early Learning Skill |
| 1 | Outer Space Match | ||
| 2 | Color Match | ||
| 3 | Bunnies, Bears, Bees & Bats | ||
| 4 | Toys & Shadows | ||
| 5 | Animal Go-Togethers | ||
| 6 | Animal Mothers & Babies | ||
| 7 | Up in the Clouds with Color | ||
| 8 | Things That Work Alike | ||
| 9 | People & Their Tools 2 | ||
| 10 | Animals & Their Homes | ||
| 11 | Fish in a Bowl | ||
| 12 | People & Their Vehicles | ||
| 13 | Make-an-Animal 2 | ||
| 14 | First...Second...Third | ||
| 15 | Three of a Kind | ||
| 16 | What Comes Next? | ||
| 17 | Creatures & Patterns in Space | ||
| 18 | First Letter Choice | ||
| 19 | First Letter Zoo | ||
| 20 | Number Choice | ||
| 21 | Hidden Traffic | ||
| 22 | Dollars & Cents | ||
| 23 | Start-to-Finish | ||
| 24 | Spell-a-Word |
Activity Pack 2:
| Number | Title | Activity | Early Learning Skill |
| 1 | Monster Match | ||
| 2 | Crayons & Colors | ||
| 3 | Fruit Salad Match | ||
| 4 | Changing Weather | ||
| 5 | Shapes & Things | ||
| 6 | Things in the Garden | ||
| 7 | Let's Make Music Together | ||
| 8 | Boats & Banners | ||
| 9 | Start-to-Finish | ||
| 10 | What Comes Next? | ||
| 11 | Things That Go Together | ||
| 12 | What Do Animals Eat? | ||
| 13 | Big Number Match | ||
| 14 | More Big Number Match | ||
| 15 | Hiding in the Grass | ||
| 16 | How Much Is It? | ||
| 17 | What Do Animals Make? | ||
| 18 | First Letter Hunt | ||
| 19 | First Letter Choice | ||
| 20 | Time & Event | ||
| 21 | Things That Are Alike | ||
| 22 | Spall-a-Word | ||
| 23 | Fix-it-Shop | ||
| 24 | Word Spell |
In Germany an identical toy was sold as Little Computer.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, December 5, 2001. No reprints without written permission.
