One of the biggest influences for change in my teaching is the interactive white board. We have 2 different brands in our building. I was one of the fortunate ones to be trained in how to use both. I liked the Promethean Activboard. I have been using Activstudio and Activprimary all school year. I favor the Activstudio and even my second grade students can with move easily through the tools and activities.
Recently Promethean has released a beta version of their next upgrade; ActivInspire. I love that Promethean works to continuously update their products. I read the prometheanplanet forum regularly and have seen many of the requested changes addressed in the Inspire software.
I thought I might walk you through some of the changes and encourage you to try the program yourself.
Recently Promethean has released a beta version of their next upgrade; ActivInspire. I love that Promethean works to continuously update their products. I read the prometheanplanet forum regularly and have seen many of the requested changes addressed in the Inspire software.
I thought I might walk you through some of the changes and encourage you to try the program yourself.
ActivStudio V3
ActivInspire
The first change that I see and like is the size of the images in the library. It is much easier to see exactly what the image is and you can now read the labels.
The next change was having many browsers to help you quickly build a flippage. The library is not just a library anymore. You can use the browser to help you do a variety of tasks that would take many clicks through menus, but now only takes one or two clicks.
The browser helps with pages, layers, teacher
notes, properties, actions, and voters.
The two browsers that I have found most helpful have been the layer browser and the property browser. These to browsers alone have saved me hours of time and most likely a case of Carpal Tunnel.
The facts that all the pieces that you need to work with are right there for you to see. I no longer need to click through four or five steps to get an object the way I want it. The layering browser has helped me get objects in to the correct layer so that tools like the Magic Ink will work correctly. Before I was always guessing and
hoping that I had the object in the correct layer.
One more plus to the Inspire software is that you can control what tools are available on the objects. You could not do this with v3. It is great to be able to put your most used icons on the screen. My younger students feel very empowered when they do not need my help to change the look of an object.
I also like how the actions turn on and off. You can click an object with a hide action and it disappears. You click the object again and it reappears. I also like how you can now move an object with an action. This saves a lot of time when you are creating a flipchart.
I have found a few things that I do not like very much.
The first change that I noticed that I did not like was that the library no longer has icons showing the different types of images. My younger students relied on the icons to find the files that they wanted to use. The library in Inspire is just the files and word labels. This makes finding a picture much more difficult for young students. There is also no search for items in the library. Both the students and I like to use the search mode to find just the right picture to go with concept we are trying to share.
Another problem is the teaser Promethean has put in this version of software. The duel pen function is shown. The problem is that it will not work. To use the duel pen function you will need special pens and special filmware to get it to work. I am pretty sure that my district will not spend any more money for my classroom when so many other teachers are still using overhead projectors.
I use actions a lot in my flipcharts. I have had a hard time finding many of my favorite actions. Several of the actions’ names have changed a little. I was eventually able to find what I needed. I do like the alphabetical order of the actions. I have been frustrated with one particular action. When I want to use the action “another page” I have to guess what page I want. I would like to be able to see a picture of the pages just like we can see pictures of the object, groups, and text.
I have been going back and forth between both V3 and Inspire. I do not like that anything I save in Inspire will not work in V3. I worry that come March I will have flipcharts that will not work because the demo will run out and the new version will not be made available as a free upgrade. I hope this will not be the case. I would like to use Inspire full time. Of course, I would like some of the glitches worked out.
One more plus to the Inspire software is that you can control what tools are available on the objects. You could not do this with v3. It is great to be able to put your most used icons on the screen. My younger students feel very empowered when they do not need my help to change the look of an object.I also like how the actions turn on and off. You can click an object with a hide action and it disappears. You click the object again and it reappears. I also like how you can now move an object with an action. This saves a lot of time when you are creating a flipchart.
I have found a few things that I do not like very much.
The first change that I noticed that I did not like was that the library no longer has icons showing the different types of images. My younger students relied on the icons to find the files that they wanted to use. The library in Inspire is just the files and word labels. This makes finding a picture much more difficult for young students. There is also no search for items in the library. Both the students and I like to use the search mode to find just the right picture to go with concept we are trying to share.
Another problem is the teaser Promethean has put in this version of software. The duel pen function is shown. The problem is that it will not work. To use the duel pen function you will need special pens and special filmware to get it to work. I am pretty sure that my district will not spend any more money for my classroom when so many other teachers are still using overhead projectors.
I use actions a lot in my flipcharts. I have had a hard time finding many of my favorite actions. Several of the actions’ names have changed a little. I was eventually able to find what I needed. I do like the alphabetical order of the actions. I have been frustrated with one particular action. When I want to use the action “another page” I have to guess what page I want. I would like to be able to see a picture of the pages just like we can see pictures of the object, groups, and text.
I have been going back and forth between both V3 and Inspire. I do not like that anything I save in Inspire will not work in V3. I worry that come March I will have flipcharts that will not work because the demo will run out and the new version will not be made available as a free upgrade. I hope this will not be the case. I would like to use Inspire full time. Of course, I would like some of the glitches worked out.
As you can tell from this very long post I have turned into an active geek in a very short period of time. My students are benefiting from my love of the new technology and are eager to do the activities that I have created or downloaded from Prometheanplanet. They are also starting to create their own flip charts.
You can get your chance to try out ActivInspire by going to http://www.prometheanplanet.com/server.php?show=nav.16615
I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
You can get your chance to try out ActivInspire by going to http://www.prometheanplanet.com/server.php?show=nav.16615
I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Posts
I was a little hesitant about the ActivInspire software. I was unable to remember all the changes and additions from ActivStudio. After messing around with it and creating new flipcharts, I do like it. Have you voted with it yet? It is much easier with the Inspire than with studio. I would agree that I am beginning to become an 'activ geek' like you called it, as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first year teaching with a Promethean board, and I honestly don’t think I could go back using a traditional chalkboard/ whiteboard. I spend hours prior each class to make my high school math (Algebra 2/ Trigonometry) classes fun by making them interactive and most importantly meaningful. The Promethean board enables me to use to use features that a traditional chalkboard doesn’t offer such as highlight, trash bin, graph paper, and saves flipcharts. I am able to organize and present the complex mathematical content with pictures, because research suggests that students learn more efficiently with pictures, diagrams, and learning webs. For example, when I teach completing the square, I relate this topic with Sponge Bob and my high school students remember the process of completing the square as “sponge Bob.” I also think it is important that students come up to the activboard to interact with the mathematics. For example, I may have developed a mix and match activity where students have to math the graph with the appropriate equation. It is also easy to access the internet, which is just a click away. I previously have inserted hyperlinks that enabled my students and me to explore more mathematical examples on the World Wide Web. I think assessment plays an important role in the learning process. I consider myself an assessment junky, because I am an on-going assessor of my students’ performances. The Promethean board enabled me to differentiate my instruction, because I am a strong believer that each student can and will learn. I think the activboard encourages students to participate and decreases levels of stress/anxiety in the classroom. I think my high school math classroom is a leaning environment that encourages students to think outside of the box and embrace diversity. I think it is important that students construct their own learning, because they will gain a deeper understanding of the material. The most effective educators are those who conquered to ability to enter into a student’s mind and bring their mind to life by teaching students how to think. According to Kottler, Zehm, & Kottler (2005), “Students are not viewed as blank tapes to be filled with the knowledge from a lecturing teacher. Rather, students are engaged in the active process of building on that they already know and can do” (p. 31).
ReplyDeleteMath is a very challenging subject and involves students to take risks. Math is its’ very own language and an activboard helps make those connections that no other chalkboard/ whiteboard can make. It is my role to guide them through success by utilizing the technology that our society has to offer. Teachers must be careful that their technology integration compliments their instruction, rather than distract their students. I understand that each student learns differently and my Promethean board allows me to reach all my students.
Thanks for your insights,
Jessica
References
Kottler, J. A., Zehm, S. J., & Kottler, E. (2005). On being a teacher: The human dimension (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.