Express Poll in ActivInspire

Let's talk about Ad Hoc questions in ActivInspire using ActivExpressions. First of all, Ad Hoc is more like asking a question spontaneously. In order to do this, there is a button on the toolbar in ActivInspire. this button has a question mark in the middle of it and the tag is Express Poll. Once it has been clicked, a button will be placed into the flipchart. Hover over that button to see the different types of questions that can be asked. Some of the question types are: likert scale, multiple choice, text, number, sort in order, yes/no, and true/false.

If a teacher is using the text response, both letters and numbers can be used to answer a question. If they use the number response, only the numbers are used to answer a question.


With an Ad Hoc question, the correct answer is not shown until after all the voting has stopped. The teacher can then go into the upper right corner where there is an image of AB and a check mark and choose the correct answer. This changes the correct answer to green (bar chart or pie chart) so that the teacher can quickly see if they need to re-teach that goal, or did the students really understand it. 


Another tip that I learned is that once you start an Express Poll, if a student is putting in incorrect answers or silly answers, you can turn that voting device off at the board. That way the teacher doesn't waste time by talking to that particular student. I thought that was a very clever idea.

Image: 'Questions' http://www.flickr.com/photos/42788859@N00/318947873

ActivExpressions Are Cool!

The other day I was learning about how to register ActivExpressions. Here is what I learned:

To register ActivExpressions, you need to have your voting browser open. Click on View, and then click on Browsers. The Voting Browser is the last browser in your list and has a picture of a voting device on it. Once you have opened the browser, click on the image of the clipboard (which is Device Registration). Click on Expressions and click Register. From here, the easiest thing to do is to follow the on-screen instructions. Usually you only have to register your voting devices once a year. You can register all of your voting devices, or just register the number of students in your class using your voting devices. If a student leaves your classroom or you get a new student, it is very easy to add or delete one voting device. 

A good rule to follow is to add a name of some sort to your voting devices. For instance, you might want to put your name in front of the number of the device. One of the reasons for doing this, is that if your voting device develops legs and walks out of the room, you can turn the device on and see who it belongs to. To name your devices all at once, go to the Device Registration (see above) and click Rename. Once again, follow the on-screen instructions. You have up to 14 characters that you can use. Make sure to put a space at the end of your prefix, it just looks nicer. One thing that you may notice is that ActivInspire renames your voting devices and starts with 0. You can easily change this by clicking on that device, click rename, and change it to the last number in your sequence. Make sure to click on Done.

Holiday Themes

It's holiday time again! Many schools are looking at how other countries are celebrating the holidays. I gathered some resources and wanted to share them. Below are web sites that have information for students to learn about different countries and their holiday traditions. I hope you enjoy them!

The Gift of Holiday Traditions

What is Ramadan 

What is Rosh Hashanah
How do People Celebrate the Winter Holidays in Different Ways? 

NCWiseOwl websites

German Holidays
Christmas Around the World
Christmas Traditions Around the World
Christmas Around the World
How is Christmas Celebrated Around the World
Christmas Celebrations
Christmas Around the World Lesson

For those schools that have Interactive White Boards, there are plenty of holiday themed lessons in SMART Exchange and Promethean Planet.  I also have been re-tweeting some holiday activities that would show up great on IWB's. Here are some of those games: 

Santa Run

Christmas Activities
Create Your Own Snowflake 
Create Your Own Wrapping Paper using Patterns

Want to create snowflakes and learn about symmetry? Try this lesson plan on The Symmetry of Snowflakes. 

If your class is going to read "The Polar Express", click on this link The Polar Express. You are your students can explore different parts of the book. For example, the boy's house, a tunnel, etc.

Image: 'mr frosty' http://www.flickr.com/photos/17149966@N00/3258065532

A Window To The World With Webcams

If you have visited our new offices you may have noticed in the Instructional Technology area we have no windows. (We don't let it get us down too much though.) But we do have an Interactive Whiteboard. Normally we use it to post a question of the day. Such as:

If you could have any superhero power what would it be?
What is your best childhood memory?
Turkey or ham at Thanksgiving?

We use it as a way for all of us in the office to have a little fun and learn lots about each other. (It was an idea we picked up from the Promethean Offices in Georgia.) Having a question like this on your board when the kids come in in the morning could be a great way to activate their prior knowledge about a subject or to just get to know your kids.

But something new we started doing was video. It began with a webcam to watch the effects of a hurricane on the NC coast. But has turned into visiting various webcams around the world for periods of time. It's our little window that connects us to the outside and our board doesn't sit idle.

So think about this in the classroom. You have your IWB (or monitor or projector) that just hangs there. And frankly you might not be using it all the time. No problem! Find a webcam and just leave it up for a while. Travel the world through your "window."

There are loads of great webcam sites out there. Here are just a few we use:

Earthcam- This is the motherload of Webcams. Ever wanted to see what was going on with the Bull on Wall Street, Times Square or Tokyo? They have 100's of cams to view.

Surfchex- This is the site we use to view the beaches of NC

Vail Webcams- This is a great one this time of year to watch snow fall and folks having fun on the slopes.

Amazing Animal Webcams- One of the Livebinders Top 10 Binders, there are loads of great sites for watching animals in zoo's and preserves.

This is just a small list. Normally I will just ask where we want to visit and do a search in that area for webcams.

And these cams are more than just windows; they are teaching tools as well. Studying about South America? Find a webcam and leave it up during the study. Help the kids feel like they are there. (Marlo also wrote a great post about using images on the IWB that you will want to check out as well.)

Oh and if you think you have to have an IWB to do these, you don't. Your monitor or projector will work just as well.

So open up your window to the world and explore.




Photo Under CC License From IronRodArt

Special Characters in IWB software

  

This morning I was at a school and watching some very talented teachers working on their IWB's. One of the teachers had a math problem on the screen and the problem was talking about the temperature of water. She didn't have a degree symbol, and I started to think about how to get one into her software. So, I sat down to investigate. 

I am not sure if everyone knows about the character map tool that is in Windows. If you click on Start, Program Files, Accessories, System Tools, you should see the character map. This character map allows you to insert special characters into the different software packages. I went to the character map and found the degree symbol. I can copy and paste the degree symbol, or I can use the Keystrokes (Alt + 0176). This simply means that I can press and hold down the Alt key on the keyboard and then type the numbers 0176.

Now that I have it in my IWB software, do I have to follow the same steps every time I want to add another degree symbol? I am glad you asked that question. No, you do not have to follow all the steps. I can add the degree symbol to my Gallery (for SMART) or to my Resources (for Promethean). All I have to do is drag it to My Content (which is SMART) and My Resources (which is Promethean). Once in those places, I have to option of naming it to Degree Symbol. I have this symbol at my fingertips whenever I need it. Cool, huh!

Anytime you need to add new symbols, why not try using the Character Map.

Quick Tips with ActivInspire

You have found all these great resources in Learning Village and you want to write on them using your ActivBoard; or you want to copy them and put them into your flipchart. What do you do?

Once you have pulled up your file from Learning Village that you want to write on, open ActivInspire. On the toolbar is a button with a picture of a blue screen and black scribbles on it. This is called "Desktop Annotation". By clicking on Desktop Annotation, you can then write on the document even though it is not in ActivInspire.

The next thing that you can do is to click on the button next to Desktop Annotation; Desktop Tools (this is a picture of a blue screen with a hammer and wrench on it). Once you click on Desktop Tools, your file from Learning Village can be brought up. Move your mouse over the icon, select the picture of the camera and then the last picture of a camera with a square on it (area snapshot). From there, move the white box over what you would like to take a picture of. Once you have everything highlighted by the box, click on Current Page or New Page and your image will then be placed into your flipchart. Then click on the icon again and click on the picture of the flipchart to open your flipchart up again.

Making a Difference

In the first week of school this year I received an email from a teacher who was a little frazzled because her classroom Interactive White Board (IWB) was not displaying the computer input correctly.  I had a free moment before leaving to go to a workshop so I called over to the school to speak with the teacher.
When I got the teacher on the phone they proceeded to describe to me what the problem was and I immediately realized what was going on and that it was a simple fix.  Now there was a problem that came up, I would not be able to get to their school until the next day so I decided to walk the teacher through the fix over the phone while she was in her classroom.
I had the teacher go through the steps slowly with me by describing the steps they would need to do to fix the problem with the IWB.  The teacher listened to me and was able to do the steps to fix the problem and even talked the steps back to me and said that they would be able to fix the teachers IWB in the room next door because they had the same problem.
She was very excited to have things working and her students, that were in the classroom and behaving incredibly well, were excited as well.  She had the students thank me over the phone which made me feel very good.  Now what was even better was the fact that two days later an inter-office envelope came into me with the following card that the students in her class made for me to thank me for taking the time to call their teacher to help her with the problem.

To me I was just doing my job but to the students I made a difference by taking the time to contact the teacher and help her out over the phone.  I had a friend some number of years ago tell me to figure out how you can make a difference and take it as far as it will go.
So now I have to ask you.. How have you made a difference today?

What's in a Picture

In our office today one of my colleagues, @web20classroom, decided that we were going to try something new with our Smartboard. He decided that we were going to live stream video from the beach to give us a new perspective on how to use the board. This has now become our window to the world.

So I began to think a little bit of some ways that images can be used with your Interactive White Board (IWB). It was a great idea to put the live shots of the beach on the board because everyone that has come into our office today has commented on what they were seeing. The comments have ranged from "I wish I were there right now," to physical displays of a diving motion towards the board. What a great idea that immediately sparked conversation, laughter and a lot of smiles. The site that was used to display the live feed was was Earth Cam.

I started to think of other ways that I could use images with an IWB to engage students in the classroom. Ways to incorporate the and merge the technology into the classroom. I thought about using the Reveal/Shade tool to cover up the image(s) at the beginning of class and then have a student come up to the board and raise the shade to show the picture for the day.

What ways can you use the images then, you might be asking? Why not try some of these suggestions.

• As part of your Virtual Field Trip
• Showing images of locations for Social Studies
• Identifying different weather types
• Famous people
• Object identification
• Geometric shapes
• Atomic Structures
• Article Identification for ESL and Foreign Language
  
• Identification of Architecture

Images can be preloaded into the software that comes with your IWB so that you can either click through or reveal the images to the students and discuss them. Displaying the images or live video could also support your Essential Question for the subject you are working on. You could create a game using the images to find a location in the world. Kind of a where in the world is... situation. Being able to reach the students and bring in a visual component to the lessons adds so much more to their learning experience over and above the norm.

You may now be saying how will this affect me in my instructional day? As a teacher using you IWB and displaying images could factor into the new evaluation tool for Standard IV for integrating and utilizing technology in instruction. It can also encompass the new Common Core standards for using technology tools and skills to reinforce classroom concepts and activities. As well as using technology and other resources for the purpose of assessing, organizing, and sharing of information.

Dragging Hidden Text in ActivInspire

I was creating a flipchart for Camp Inspire (July 19 & 20), and I was hiding words behind an image. The reason for this is to have students come to the board and pull out the words from behind the image. One of the things I was wondering about was how do I know where the words are behind an image? Maybe some of you have created a flipchart using this same technique and had the same question. Well, I am so glad you asked!

The first thing you would do is place the image on your flipchart. I happened to find an image of a treasure chest, so I put this on my background. Then I started typing my words; I decided to go with vocabulary words that would go with a treasure chest and a story of pirates. The treasure chest is located on the Middle Layer, and I locked it in place (so that students wouldn't accidentally move it and reveal the words). I moved all the words to behind the treasure chest. 

That is all well and good, but how do I know where the words are? When I move my mouse (or pen) over top of the treasure chest, I look for the mouse "tail" to change from a straight arrow to a cross-hair (looks like a cross with arrows on each end). Below is a video that shows you what I mean. (You may need to turn the sound up on your computer to hear).

Free Math Games for IWB's

I was trying to think of something to write about and I was looking through my Twitter feed and came across a blog posted by @JamesHollis. His latest blog post "SMARTBoard Users - Mangahigh is Now Free" caught my eye. According to the web site: "Mangahigh.com is one of the world’s first games-based-learning sites, where students learn Mathematics via purpose-built casual games that balance fun and learning." The games are tied to core standards in the US. The resources page has user guides and lesson plans tied to the different games.

According to James Hollis: "Mangahigh creates exceptionally high-quality, game-based learning resources to help Primary and Secondary students reinforce their Mathematics skills in a way that is both fun and engaging. In addition to all the great resources, the service includes assessment and analytical tools that enable teachers to monitor the progress of individual students." So, I decided to look at the website. This site will work great on any interactive whiteboards.

First, you type in your school name and then click Register to create your free account. Fill out the registration information, make sure to use your school email address. Then you can add students by sending a class list to the Mangahigh staff, or quickly generate a student list. Then you can print out your student list for students to log into the site. As the teacher, you can set challenges for your students and then analyze the performance of your class.

To start looking at a challenge, click on View Activities. You can select the grade level (starts at Grade 2 - 12), and then look for a challenge to assign to your class. Once you find one, you can play it, or click on Challenges to assign. The image below is what you see after clicking on Challenges.

When playing the above game, students must quickly type in answers to addition and subtraction problems to blow up robots. This can be done as a whole class, a center where a couple of students are at the IWB collaborating on the answers, or in a computer lab situation. Students could even access this site from home for extra help.

Teachers can sort by grade level, course level, or topic level (after choosing a particular course). The courses to choose from are: Number, Algebra, Shape and Data. After each of these courses, are the number of games related to that course. If a teacher chooses one of the courses; for instance Data, a list of topics opens for the teacher to choose from. A couple of the Topics under Data are: Probability, Measuring and Comparing Data, Averages and Range, and several other topics.

I played a couple of other games and this looks like it would interest students and be a fun way to reinforce your math lesson. Why not check it out for your school? Remember, it is free!

Want more math resources? Here is a link to my blog listing some math resources and links to my Math Diigo library.

Working with Layers and ActivInspire

Lately I have been learning a lot about ActivInspire software for Promethean boards. I must say that I have really been enjoying seeing what the software could do. I am not finished looking at all the possibilities; I still have a lot to look into and learn.

The latest thing that I have been learning about is layers. The flipchart (which is what ActivInspire calls its documents) has several different layers. There are: Background layer, Bottom layer, Middle layer, and the Top layer. ActivInspire places certain items by default on certain layers.

The Background layer is what you think it is; where you would put a background. A background could be a snow scene, a seascape scene, a scene from a book, etc. The background can also be just a color or border. You cannot edit anything once it is on the Background layer. When you look in the shared resources browser, and select a background, by default it is automatically loaded into the Background layer.

The Bottom layer does not have any type of object automatically placed. You can move things to the bottom layer; for example, connectors.

The Middle layer has the most default objects placed on it. Shapes, text, images, etc. are all placed on the Middle layer. 

The Top layer is where you can use the pen (to annotate) or highlighter.

However, you can move any of the objects around from layer to layer, depending on how you are going to use the software. For instance, if I was making a page using the Magic Reveal tool, I would move a lot of my images and text to the Top layer. That is how some of the "special effects" work in ActivInspire. To move objects from one layer to the next, you only have to open the Object Browser find the objects to move, then click and drag to the appropriate layer.

I am creating a flipchart on how to create a Magic Reveal tool and hope to teach it at the Camp Inspire Workshop we will be having this summer. Hope to see you there!

Work Your Way Up the Studyladder

As I was scrolling through Twitter this morning, I came across a tweet from @teachersharetp (Toby Price). He created a Livebinder on using Special Needs SMART Notebook Lessons. I am always on the lookout for something that can be used with Interactive White Boards (IWB). When I went to Mr. Price's resources web page, I found a link to something called Studyladder. (I also noticed that he has a Studyladder Livebinder on his resource page.) Anyway, I decided to go and check out the instructional resources in Studyladder.

I first went and previewed some activities, and the next thing I looked at was pricing. As educators, we are always curious to find out how much something costs! Imagine my surprise when I saw that as a teacher, you can register and get a free account with Studyladder. Here is a video clip about Studyladder:

After creating my own account, I went in and started looking at some of the Literacy resources. I opened the one for Kindergarten and Concentration game. When I got to that page, I noticed in the upper right corner a link to "Open Whiteboard version". Score!!!

 

Studyladder also has activities for Math, Science, Music, and Art. Each interactivity has a whiteboard version so that you could use these on your Interactive White Board. Why not go and check out this resource for your class?

A Question A Day

So we have now had a new multi-touch mobile SMARTBoard with the extreme short throw projector in our office for a little over a month now and I have to weigh in on it.

First off the multi-touch capability for me has to be one of the best features of the board. The ability to have two people working on the board at the same time is a great feature. As well the ability to size images similarly to what an iPad/iPod, SMARTTable or Microsoft Surface can do with the multi-point drag feature. Most of the rest of the board features are the same as they were before but with a couple of tweaks here and there for upgrades and add-ons.

So what have we been doing with it for the past month? We have been asking questions. I know you may be thinking, why or what? We wanted to see how people reacted to the board as they were coming into and through the office. The questions are more of a prompt than anything else in that we want people to touch and interact with the board. Some people have come in and asked us what it is, while others know what it is and just keep going. We have had some takers with the questions that we have been asking. Things like, what is your favorite cereal, to thought provoking ones about your favorite quotes. The main thing is that people are touching the board and asking questions about it.

So as a teacher, I have to ask you how do you use your interactive white board (IWB)? Whether it is a Promethean ActiveBoard or a SMARTBoard. Do you just look at it in the room? Is it just a fixture on the wall, or stand? Or is it a tool that you use within your classroom? The best thing that you can do with your IWB is use it, and if you do not understand something just ask. I am pretty sure that there is someone in your building that can answer or is willing to help you to get the answers to your questions. Remember that you have an on-site technology facilitator as well as a District Instructional Technologist that are here to help you to better understand the tool so that you can make it an effective, integrated and productive part of your instructional day.

The 3D Interactive Solar System

A couple of days ago a colleague posted a link to a website that offered a view of the Solar System. I was skeptical at first needless to say, thinking that it might not be a really educator friendly website. Boy was I surprised.

The site Solar System Scope(SSS) is a 3D interactive website that allows you to explore all there is in our solar system from the planets individually to Saturn's rings to the Constellations.

When you go to the site initially and just let the page load you will notice that the site seems to be moving on its own, changing views and showing different information on its own. The site is set up, so that it will seem to from what I gather, to demo each area of the websites option choices for viewing. Once you click on the site you are then able to interact with the Menus, planets and other objects on the screen.

Along the left side of the webpage there are three tabs that allow you to interact with the site in different ways. In the first tab you will find the Cursor Info Texts which define what each of the cursor identities are. You will also find the Hand icon that allows you to; of course, interact with items on the page. The second tab shows you the different views that you can see while using the page. These affect the broad views of the entire webpage unlike the Hand icon interacting with individual items. The view types are Heliocentric, Geocentric and Panoramatic. The third tab gives you the Setting information and Search features of the site. You can change the Planet and Moon, Stars and Constellations, Earth Observatory, Time and Reset settings from the tab. You can find a Planet or Moon, Star or Constellation or find a Specific Time in the Search features.

On the right side of the page you have a slide ruler that allows you to zoom in and out within the viewing area. Along the bottom of the page is the Time and Date Calendar. If you hover over either of the items you will see a clock or calendar for you to change settings. Then there is a Start, Fast Forward and Fast Rewind time buttons where you can see the solar system in action.

Lastly up in the top right hand corner of the screen you can change the Language, hide the interface button. Then you can use the Arrow button and/or the Space bar to change you out to the full screen mode and back.

The site looks great and the possibilities are limitless on how you can use it in your classroom. It would also be a great tool to use with your Interactive White Board to show the solar system on a larger screen where your students can come up and touch the board and move things around and make things happen. In just a few days that I have known about the site I have shared it with a number of teachers at the Elementary school level and all of them have really been excited to see it and use it.

Let's Talk Shapes ...

...Shapes Tool for ActivInspire

I really like the Shapes tool in ActivInspire. There are so many things you can do with it besides just drawing shapes. You can create over 40 different shapes using the shapes toolbar. Click on the Shape Tool, then click on the double arrow at the bottom of the shape toolbar to see more shapes and lines. To add color to your shape, choose one of the colors in the color box above the shapes (the one highlighted in blue). To change the color of your outside line of the shape, select a color from the color box on the regular toolbar (the one highlighted in red).

When you click on a shape, a toolbar opens up. With this toolbar, you can move and rotate the shape. The 4th button in (looks like a sun), allows you to set the transparency of the shape. The button that looks like 2 pieces of paper lets you duplicate your shape. The next 2 buttons that look like stars increases and decreases the size of your shape. The last button changes the shape. The one below has rounded corners, by clicking on the last button I can change the shape to a round shape or square shape. Once you click on that button, 2 small yellow boxes appear. Click on the yellow boxes to change the shape or change which way the bubble points. If I choose one of the star shapes, the small yellow box that appears allows me to change the star; expand the points, change the type of the shape, etc.

It's All About the Tools ...

... ActivInspire Toolbox that is. 

The main toolbox consists of several different buttons. Below is a picture that describes the different parts of the main toolbox. This image is taken from the Introduction to ActivInspire flipchart.

At the top of the toolbox is a button that allows you to "Switch Profile". The default profile is Authoring. That is the toolbox you see above. The first one is At The Board profile. This makes your screen go full screen for teaching purposes. It allows you more real estate in which to write or show your lesson. Another profile is Languages. This changes to toolbox to add spell check, go to web browser, on-screen keyboard, and other items to the toolbox. The Mathematics profile adds a ruler, protractor, compass, dice, xy origin, and calculator to the toolbox. The Media profile adds a camera, sound recorder, and insert media from file icon. I love how you can add different items to your toolbox simply by changing your profile.

The Languages profile allows you to create a tickertape that you can put important messages to scroll across your board. You can change font, color, speed, size, etc. This would be great when you are showing a morning message or something that students need to see during your lesson.  Above is an image of the tickertape. When it is live, it scrolls across the screen until you stop it.

To add tools to your toolbox: Click on the Main Menu button (see above), click on File, Settings, Commands. Scroll down until you find the tool you want to add to your toolbox, click on it and click Add.

To move the toolbox: Click on Main Menu, File, Settings, Layout, dock the toolbox where you want it. For example, dock top, dock bottom, dock left, dock right, or leave it floating. If you have younger students, you may want to dock the toolbox on the bottom in order for them to reach it.

Another way to choose where you want the toolbox to be is to click on the first button (see image below):  


Stay tuned for more information on what some of the tools can do in the toolbox. One of my favorites is the shapes tool. But then, that is a whole different post.

You Mean I Have to Clean My Interactive White Board?

'Using the SMARTBoard in Room 14 - 25'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10204545@N02/3129063547
by: Jess McCulloch

 

 

 

Think of all those fingerprints that you see on your Interactive White Board. How do you clean them? It really doesn't matter what type of IWB you have, they clean pretty much the same way.

SMART Boards: According to  SMART Technologies, do not use anything abrasive to clean the board. This includes Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and Mr. Clean Wipes (this is also true for the Promethean ActivBoards). Here is a link to SMART's Article on not using abrasives. On the SMART Board Interactive FAQ section, there is a paragraph about removing permanent ink from a SMART Board.

How can I remove permanent ink from a SMART Board interactive whiteboard?

You can use a cleaner such as Expo Board Doctor or, if you have dry-erase markers (but not non-scented markers), you can cover the permanent ink with the ink from a dry-erase marker, and then wipe the surface with a soft cloth or paper towel. If any trace of the original permanent ink remains, spray a cloth with standard glass or whiteboard cleaner and wipe the area clean.

I personally do not recommend writing over permanent ink with ink from a dry-erase marker. Try using Expo Marker Cleaner or Windex. Make sure to spray the cleaner on a soft cloth, not directly on the board.

Promethean ActivBoards: It is recommended that teachers use baby wipes or a damp washcloth for basic cleaning of the board. Make sure the baby wipes are not saturated in liquid. If permanent markers or dry erase is used on the board, clean with Expo Marker Cleaner or Windex. Make sure to spray on the soft cloth and not directly on the board. Here is an image of the flipchart that was recently shown to teachers learning about ActivInspire and ActivBoards.

Be careful about using the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser too hard or too much. It could put a shiny spot on your ActivBoard.

Remember, keep your board clean and germ free!

You Just Received a New Classroom Solution Cart ...

 ... What do you do now? 

I went to a workshop yesterday afternoon that my boss, Marlo Gaddis conducted on a classroom solution cart for the Activ Classroom. She talked about turning the computer on (and where it was located in the cart); the speakers, microphones, remotes, calibrating the board, and introduced the document camera.

On the remote control for the projector, there are a couple of buttons that everyone should be aware of:

• Blank button - (could sometimes be No Show on some remotes) if you don't want students to see what is on the board when they first come into the room, just Blank or No Show on your projector remote. You can still see your computer monitor, but it is not showing on the board.
  
  
• Freeze button - You can freeze the the interactive white board and do something on your computer without showing it to the students. Also, if you are reading a book to students, you can put the book under the document camera, freeze it, then pick up the book to read to the students.

There are two microphones in the cart that teachers can use to hang around their neck. One is marked A and the other is marked B. It is suggested that teachers use the one marked A because the hand held microphone (to give to students) is also marked B. The power button on the small microphone is on the side and when turned on, the light is blue. Teachers can adjust the strap so the microphone fits between the shoulder blades. If you start getting feedback, open the cart and adjust the volume on the amplifier (there is an A volume and a B volume). Keep necklaces away from the microphone so that they don't make noise. A good tip is to get into the habit of turning off the microphone when a teacher leaves the room or is having a one on one with a student. At the end of the day, teachers should plug all microphones into the charger. If the button is red, microphones are charging; if it is green, they are all charged.

The ActivBoard comes with two pens a dark gray and a light gray. Usually the dark gray is used as the teacher pen. Make sure to keep these pens in the drawer of the cart, or attached to the
board.

To calibrate the ActivBoard:

• Take pen and hold over flame (at the upper left hand side of the board) until the flame turns blue, or
  

• Take the pen and click on the Activ Icon in the system tray (bottom right hand corner of your board or computer screen), click on Calibrate, follow the on screen directions and click the pen in the center of all the crosses. Don't press the barrel button or the calibration will quit and you will have to start over again.

On the new ActivBoard, the speakers are on either side of the board. The controls for the speaker volume is on the left hand side.

Document Camera:

• Red button on the camera turns the document camera on. On your computer screen is an image of a ladybug. Double click that icon to open the software for the camera. Click again on the ladybug to open the software menu (you will see a group of images).
• To display a live image, click on the upper left corner (looks like a piece of paper with a magnifying glass on it).
• The remote for the document camera is red and it also has a Freeze button that works the same as the remote for the projector.
• When placing a book under the document camera, one side might be hanging off the cart. You can turn the book upside down and then press the rotate button on the document camera to rotate it right side up.
• To close Ladibug software down, right click on the Ladibug in your menu bar and left click Close.
• The camera can be used as a web cam; just turn the camera to face the students and rotate the image (great for using Skype).
• To Annotate over an image, open the Ladibug software, click on the Annotation icon (an image with a hand holding a pencil) and write on the board over top of the image.

At the end of the day, make sure to turn everything off. Take the microphone off, turn it off, and plug into the charger. Turn off the document camera and put the remote in the holder on the document camera. Shut your computer down and turn off the monitor. Turn the projector off (press the green button on the projector remote twice to turn the projector off).

What Makes a Good Interactive Whiteboard Lesson?

Have you ever wondered what makes a good IWB lesson? Just like with any lesson a teacher creates, the purpose and objective(s) should be clearly stated. The lesson should also state what will be covered in the lesson, what the standard course of study goal and objective is, and instructions on how to deliver the lesson. Because I am talking about "interactive" whiteboards, obviously the lesson must contain activities to get students to the board. 


What would some activities be? Anything from the Lesson Activity Toolkit in SMART, resource packs in ActivInspire, or anything that the teacher creates designed to get the students to touch the board during the lesson.

Why would a teacher want to add instructions for delivering the lesson? When a teacher shares the lesson with other teachers (via Learning Village, Promethean Planet, or SMART Exchange) the peeople using the lesson need to know how to deliver the lesson to their students.

In ActivInspire, teachers should add Page Notes to each page with instructions on what to do on that page. To add Page Notes go to View, Browsers, and click on the "Sticky Note" icon. This will open Page Notes and the teacher can add instructions on each page. Can you just imagine teachers saying "Thank you" when you add this important piece to your lesson plan!

What about page design? Directions to the students should be "front-and-center". Font size should be big enough for everyone in the class to be able to view the board; it should not be smaller than size 24. Choose fonts that are easy to read (for example a sans serif typeface, Century Gothic, Arial, etc.). Be careful of the colors you select. Some colors do not look good together and they look different on the computer and on the interactive whiteboard. Too much text and/or images on a page could cause students to shut down and not pay attention. Images should be relevant to the lesson; do not put images on pages just for the sake of inserting images.

What ideas do you have for creating a good interactive whiteboard lesson? 

Interactive Social Studies for PreK-5

One thing that I have heard from Elementary teachers, while I have been training on Interactive Whiteboards, is that there are not a lot of activities out there for Social Studies that will utilize the IWB to its abilities. They are looking for quick activities that they can use to either start or reinforce a lesson with.

PBS offers a lot of online interactive activities to aid teachers in getting their students engaged in learning.

Here is a sampling for PreK-2 Teachers
1. Build a Neighborhood - Allows students to create their own neighborhood
2. Coast to Coast - Test students knowledge of Geography in the US
3. Connect the States - A matching game that helps students learn flags, animals, foods and other facts about states.
4. Connect the World - A matching game that helps students learn flags, animals, foods and other facts about other countries.
5. On the Job - A matching game where you pick the best tool that goes with the worker.

Here is a sampling for 3-5 Teachers
1. Sticker Race - Analyze the bumper stickers from around the US
2. Mapping the West - Discover how the land west of the Mississippi was divided prior to the Louisiana Purchase.
3. Search for the Lost Cave People: Be an Archaeologist - Examine why clay is a good material for making containers.
4. Secrets of Lost Empires II: Construct an Aqueduct - Determine where to place the Aqueduct in your Roman City.
5. Be your Own Boss - Learn how good decision making can help you run a successful business.

This is just a sampling of some of the Interactive Activities that PBS offers that you could use on your Interactive Whiteboard. Check out PBS Teachers for more information and activities.