Biology on the IWB: 10 Quick Ideas

Here are some quick ideas for using an IWB for Biology teaching.

1. Sequence the stages in Mitosis or Meiosis using images or statements

2. Drag and Drop animals and arrows to create Food Chains and Webs

3. Label diagrams of the various body systems using images captured from the Internet or from the gallery.

4. Investigate genetic crossing using drag and drop punnet squares. In Smart you could use the Infinite Cloner on the B and b, or just stack several letters on top of each other so when you drag one down, the rest remain.

5. Use the camera to capture pictures from the internet to illustrate a lesson on the dangers of alcohol and smoking. Or use the Inside Body powerpoint presentations from the ASE site as a source of images.

6. Sort foods into 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' foods, then use as basis for a discussion about whether there is actually any such thing as an unhealthy food.

7. Simulate how to use a quadrat before going out into the field using random dots and a square annotation, or the square spotlight tool.

8. Combine the IWB with a digital microscope to demonstrate and label slides as a whole class.

9. Keyword Plenary – pupils choose keywords from a selection, drag them into the middle of the screen and use them to explain one thing they’ve learned from the lesson.

10. Use a visualiser (Document camera) when carrying out dissections of the heart or flowers to make it easier for the whole class to see what is going on. Use the camera tool to capture images during the various stages of the dissection and add labels to the images. A cheaper alternative would be to use a webcam clamped to a retort stand

Smartboard Browser

I just found this post on the Smart Exchange forum by Quentin D'Souza of teachinghacks.com. He has written a fab little flash tool that you can add to a Smart Notebook page which will let you browse the internet within Notebook itself.

You can add it to the My Content area of your Gallery, and drag it onto a page whenever you want to use it. It's PC only for now, see the note from JoeS about it not working properly on Macs.

The instructions to use it are as follows:

a) To Bring Into Notebook

1. Right-Click on http://www.teachinghacks.com/files/Browser.swf and select 'Save Target As" and place on your desktop
2. Open up Smart Notebook
3. In Notebook - Select from Insert Menu "Flash File" and then locate the "Browser.swf" on your desktop
4. Drag the SWF in your Notebook file to your Gallery.

b) To Use:

1. Click on the Browser to Activate it
2. Enter the url and select enter.
3. Default Web Browser Opens to the Web Page You Entered.

Thanks Quentin for sharing this!

Links Roundup

A quick round up of some of the sites I've added to my del.icio.us feed this week

Adobe Photoshop Express
An free online photo editor from Adobe.
https://www.photoshop.com/express/

Timelines
Televised history documentaries for free on the web.
http://www.timelines.tv/

Viscosity:
Create Abstract art
http://windowseat.ca/viscosity/create.php

NCEF Resource List
NCEF's resource list of links, books, and journal articles on the educational use of interactive whiteboard
http://www.schoolfacilities.net/rl/interactive_whiteboards.cfm

World Wide Telescope
Virtual Telescope. Not yet launched totally, but promises to be a very useful resource when it does.
http://worldwidetelescope.org/

Anibooms Shapeshifter
Make simple animations
http://www.aniboom.com/ShapeshifterAnimachine.aspx

Footprints Science Animations
Some good free examples here. Buy the rest if you like them.
http://www.footprints-science.co.uk/

Getting Started with Smart 9.5
Excellent manual for Smart 9.5 users produced by Oxfordshire County Council

Whiteboards - a beginners guide #3

There are many different ways of interacting with the IWB to support teaching and provide learning opportunities.

Introduction: – Lesson starters, giving the lesson aims and objectives, “Awe and Wonder” introductions

Main body: Explaining practical work/tasks or illustrating main concepts. Using software/ simulations or other software.

Plenary: collecting in results, analysing data as a group, summarising the lesson aims (can easily call them back up from the screen used at the start of the lesson)

The following techniques can all play a role in each of these sections of the lesson.

1. Drag and Drop: This allows the user to move items – either text or pictures around the screen. This is ideal for matching activities, ordering items or labelling diagrams.

There are a range of uses for this simple technique:

• Sequencing – putting events into the correct order, eg steps in an experiment, phases of the moon, stages of digestion, timelines,
  


• Ranking – putting things in order of importance or magnitude eg electromagnetic spectrum in order of wavelength


• Matching – matching words to their definitions, putting matching halves of sentences together, characters and moods, sums and answers
  


• Sorting – eg renewable and non renewable energy sources, healthy and unhealthy foods


• Labelling – eg Putting labels onto diagrams


• Word Walls – drag words to fill in the gaps in cloze procedures.

2. Rub out to Reveal:this involves placing a layer of colour over the top of a word or picture in order to hide it. Use the eraser to reveal the hidden item. If you want to, you can cover the item in the same colour as the background – this makes the item invisible but you do need to remember what you have hidden underneath. Use this for hiding labels on diagrams, or words in sentences.

3. Annotating over Windows: Being able to write over the top of any other software (for example a CD ROM, an internet page or a Microsoft Office document) is very useful. Adding comments, highlighting items, writing additional notes, drawing arrows – all things that can be done by the teacher or by the pupils to discuss and analyse what’s on the board. For example adding annotations over a graph in Excel show how to read data from the graph or pausing a video of different levers and adding arrows to show the direction of different forces.

4. Screenshots: Bringing in resources from other software and the internet can be done easily by using a screenshot. This can be a whole screen, but it is often more useful to take an area screen shot. Google images can be a very useful source of pictures for all subjects. Please note that there are copyright implications and the pictures should only be used in teaching and not sold or widely distributed without the consent of the website owner.

5. Spotlight and reveal: Some whiteboard software allows you to place a spotlight over the area of the board where you want to focus the pupils’ attention. You can also use a reveal technique to show a bit of the board at a time.

6. Using simulation software: Using a combination of data projector and interactive whiteboard it is possible to interact with simulation software such as Crocodile Physics or Focus Science Investigations. The whole class can observe the experiment and suggest changes etc.

Nearly all the features discussed above are available whichever interactive board software you are using. What you need to do is take time to think about the interactivity of each page you create or each task you set.

Whiteboards - a beginners guide #2

There are many ways an IWB can benefits your teaching. Some of them are summarised here:

Motivation: Pupils say that they find it motivating because it is big, bright, and colourful and they can get more involved with the lesson. Teachers find it motivating because it opens up a wealth of resources from which they can select their teaching materials.

Use of images and colour: The IWB/Projector provides a much better quality of image over a traditional overhead projector acetate. This can make diagrams easier to understand. Photographs have more impact. Colour can be used on concept charts/brainstorms to link related ideas.

Use of multimedia: Watching a video has been possible in lessons using a video/dvd player and television but now including short bursts of multimedia is much easier with an interactive whiteboard. These can provide excellent lesson starters or form part of a plenary.

Items can be moved on screen: Text and pictures can be ‘dragged and dropped’ on screen. This can help with a variety of tasks (see below). Using traditional methods, this could only have been achieved through using cut-out pictures or words and blu-tac which was time-consuming for the teacher and may not have been as visually clear for the pupils.

Saving and retrieving materials: All teachers have banks of resources which they use from year to year. However, having them stored as computer files on a laptop or USB stick means that a teacher has all their resources with them all the time. Recapping at the beginning of lessons is proving to be very useful (reload last weeks notes) and saving completed lessons provides a record of work done. The sheer volume of material that can be accessed from a networked computer leaves a well-prepared teacher with a huge bank of resources to draw on. This would be almost impossible in a classroom with no computer.

Hard Copy: It is possible to print a copy of the notes that have been written onto the screen. This means that the teacher can have evidence of work carried out or a group could each be given the results of some collaborative work such as a brain storm task. The screens can be printed for revision purposes too.

Why not just use a Data Projector?

One question often raised is “Why have an interactive whiteboard?” Many teachers have already experienced the benefits of linking a computer to a projector but why not just work at the computer – what difference does it make working at the board?”

Research has provided two answers here:

1) being able to write on the board, either on a blank screen OR over the top of other software is very useful- you couldn’t write with a mouse – you would have to type and this isn’t as spontaneous.

2) working at the board: many pupils enjoy being able to come and work at the board. They perceive the position at the front of the class as being important and enjoy having the opportunity to make their point before their peers.

There is something almost theatrical about working at the board. The fact that a teacher can pick something up and move it in front of an audience and the fact that other events can be triggered by pressing on certain buttons. This could be done on a computer at the side of the board, but the visual impact is not as great and this creates a certain effect on the observer.

Anecdotally, teachers who have taught firstly with a data projector and then with the addition of a whiteboard all say that they would feel very awkward having to return to their computer each time they want to do something on screen. One remarked that he didn’t feel part of the class when working on his computer. The students are looking at the screen while the teacher is talking somewhere else in the class. With a IWB the focal point is both the teacher and the screen.

(source - The Review Project)

Whiteboards - a beginners guide #1

It might be useful to start at the beginning and explain a few basics for those readers who are coming here to find out about Interactive Whiteboards from the point of view of a complete beginner.

What is an interactive Whiteboard?

Wikipedia defines an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) as

An interactive whiteboard is a large interactive display that connects to a computer and projector. A projector projects the computer’s desktop onto the board’s surface, where users control the computer using a pen, finger or other device. The board is typically mounted to a wall or on a floor stand.

Basically, an interactive whiteboard is a type of touch-sensitive computer screen. They are used in a variety of settings such as in classrooms of all levels of education, in corporate board rooms and work groups, in training rooms for professional sports coaching, broadcasting studios and more.

The basic kit consists of three parts

• The Whiteboard - touch sensitive
• A data projector
• A laptop or PC

The computer projects an image of the computer screen onto the Whiteboard. The user can then interact with the whiteboard screen and move the mouse pointer from the board, rather than having to use a mouse.

Some newer versions involve adding touch capabilities onto a very large LCD monitor. As the price comes down I can see this eventually replacing the need for the data-projector.

Most whiteboards do not have built-in speakers. But often they are bought as part of a kit that includes a speaker and amplifier to enhance the multimedia experience. A decent set of speakers is highly recommended when installing a whiteboard system in your classroom.

There are three main types of board:

1. Membrane / Resistive Boards

This uses several thin layers of material that are stretched across the front of the board. When the surface layer is touched it makes contact with other layers and causes the board to respond. The main type of board that uses this technology is the Smart Board.

Advantages: anything can be used to write on the board, different coloured pens and an eraser can be picked up without having to click on floating tool bars, generally cheaper than solid-state boards of a comparable size. Many children like the fact that they can move things on the board just using their finger. Very nice with SEN pupils.

Disadvantages: board is activated if touched by mistake (you can't lean on it), the surface could be more easily damaged than solid-state boards. If two children are working at the board they need to take turns to touch it as touching it at the same time will confuse the system.

2. Electromagnetic Boards

These boards have a durable hard surface that covers the mesh of electrical wires buried in the board. A special pen containing a magnet is used to interact with these sensors and activate the board. Some of these pens work on their own, others need batteries or to be recharged. Some boards come with a small writing tablet that can be passed round the class, and is used to enter information onto the main board. The main example of this type of board is the Promethean ActivBoard. Cambridge / Hitachi boards also work in this way.

Advantages: Durable surface, higher resolution, faster tracking speeds. Pupils near the board cannot interact accidentally unless they have the pen. Newer boards allow two pens to work at the same time.

Disadvantages: Will only operate with supplied pen (replacement pens can be expensive), changing pen colour or to erase mode requires clicking on floating tool bars. Pens can be prone to cracking or breaking. Buttons can stick and give odd effects.

3. Infrared / Ultrasound

these devices clip on to a conventional non-interactive whiteboard and give it some of the functionality of a 'true' interactive board. They consist of a receiver unit attached to the edge or the corner of the board or flipchart and a set of large pens that transmit a signal to the receiver unit when pressure is applied to the tip. Examples of this kind of system include Mimio and EBeam.

Advantages: Very cheap (about a fifth of the cost of dedicated boards), very portable, comes with several different coloured pens and eraser.

Disadvantages: Pens are big and bulky and use batteries or need charging. The system is more fiddly to set-up and does not respond as quickly or accurately as other technologies. Often the software supplied is quite lacking in features when compared to that supplied with "proper" interactive whiteboards.

Software

The whiteboard is simply an input device that gives the user control of the computer where their finger/pen becomes the mouse. Any computer software can be used on an interactive whiteboard in exactly the same way if you were sitting at the computer.

Most boards will come bundled with their own software which allows the board to be used like a regular whiteboard - but the notes you write can be saved, stored, manipulated, printed. They allow multiple pages, banks of clipart, different page backgrounds such as graph paper and desktop capture.

Not all software works the same way and allows the user a simple interactive experience. If you are buying a board - please test the software out first. Usually you are tied to the software provided. The cheapest boards often come with very user-unfriendly software. This can be a false economy if your teachers then do not use the board because they cannot do the things they want to do easily.

Also be aware of the TDS ActivBoard. TDS is the parent company to Promethean and they sell a board which is almost identical to a Promethean ActivBoard - and does come a lot cheaper. Unfortunately, what is not usually explained is that it does not come with ActivStudio/ActivPrimary software and that this software will not run on the boards. Again you are saving money but getting the useful software that will make using the board a much better experience. I have been in so many schools that have bought these boards thinking they are Promethean boards.

Smart and Promethean do generally have the best software, and are the two boards I would recommend. It then becomes an issue of whether you want to use your pen or your finger and this can be a personal preference.

Shift Happens

Something to think about.

What kind of a world are we currently preparing our students for? What kind of a world should we be preparing them for.?



This is a version of a presentaton by Karl Fisch. It's been doing the rounds for a while, but I was shown it again in a training session today by a student, and I thought I'd share it here as it does make you think.

Science Notebook Files

Two years ago I produced a pack of Smart Notebook files for Steljes, the distributors of Smartboards over here in the UK. They formed part of a teachers pack that was distributed to schools around the UK.

The files were also available via the Steljes Software site. For now, that site is no longer up, and the files are no longer available online.

I have copied the files onto my Think Bank website so that Smartboard users can still access them. Each file has a corresponding teachers' guide in pdf format.

The six lesson packs cover the following topics:

• The Blast Furnace (KS4)
• Cells (KS3)
• Forces (KS3)
• Metals (Ks3)
• Muscles and Joints (KS4)
• Reflection and Refraction (KS4)

To download the files, and the corresponding teachers guide, click here.

Smartboard Spotlight

James Hollis over at Teachers Love Smartboards has posted a link to a great video about how to use the Spotlight tool in Smart Notebook.

I love the Smartboard tool, its a very fun tool for focusing attention on one part of the screen and removing any distractions.

I commented on James' post about how you can access the spotlight without being attached to the board, but I thought it was worth posting it here too.

Basically on your computer go to the C:/ drive and Program Files.. look for a folder called Smart Technologies Inc, open it and then open a folder called Smart Board Software... in here will be a file called Spotlight.exe.

Copy this file to your desktop, or make a shortcut to it and put that on your desktop. Then all you need to do is run this file/shortcut to run the spotlight on your desktop.

Cool eh?

It's a shame that the spotlight tool isn't on the toolbar of Smart Notebook. You can access it via the Floating Toolbar though (if you customise it a little). I can't wait for version 10 to come out which, if you've seen the videos Smart released, has a Magic Pen tool that will create a spotlight wherever you draw a circle... which is just fantastic (OK, I am easily pleased!)

Google Sky

Previously only available via Google Earth, which you had to download and run locally, Google have now made Google Sky available online to access anywhere with an internet connection.

Now you can browse the night sky and zoom in on any interesting galaxies or star clusters that you like.

Google Sky via kwout

If you haven't tried them, also check out Google Mars and Google Moon for surface maps based on information from various Moon and Mars missions.

Remember you can use the camera function in your interactive whiteboard software to make any screengrabs from any part of the map and bring it into your IWB software to annotate over the top. You can also put these images into your resource library/gallery for later use.

Animoto Again

Now back with loads of photos from my skiing holiday last week, I thought I'd have another play with Animoto and make a full length movie. I think the end result is pretty good, and not bad for $3, especially with the exchange rate at the moment.

Whiteboard training day - links

A big thanks to those who came to London today for the Lighthouse IWB training day. It was good to meet you all. I hope some of you are now checking out this blog.

I'll put in this post some of the links that cropped up on the day.

How to save YouTube videos
A good guide on how to do it from Teachers Love Smartboards
Video Downloader for FireFox
ZamZar.com

Saving Flash Animations
SWF catcher for Firefox
Flash Saver for Firefox
Flash Saver for Internet Explorer

Smartboard Training Materials
Printable Materials and Two Minute Tutorials here.

Promethean Training Materials
Training Manuals from Promethean
Top tips on using Promethean boards

Getting Smart Notebook 9.7
Smart Download Page

Getting ActivStudio 3
Guide on how to get it

Health and Safety Guidance
Links to Becta and HSE

IWB Links
My del.icio.us links for whiteboards

Thanks again for attending the day. And please get in touch if you have any other questions about your boards that you think of in the weeks to come.

Full Screen Please

A quick plea to the makers of Flash-based games and widgets for use on Interactive Whiteboards. So many I have played with have been quite small and when displayed on the board they can be quite hard to see, especially from the back of the classroom. Most of them have no way of resizing the activity, which is a shame.

It would be quite nice to see a "full screen" button as standard on these activities. The BBC Science Clips do this, and it is a very nice feature to have.

I can understand why older resources may have been written with 800x600 monitor resolutions in mind - but since Flash is Vector-based, the whole point is that it should be able to stretch and rescale quite easily with no loss of quality. (which reminds me, I need to add a full-screen button to a lot of the Flash stuff I wrote as well......)

I posted the other week about the Yenka resources for Science. The one drawback for me was that the resources could not be resized. Well now they have rectified that, and they now open full-screen, which is fantastic. They've also added a whole load more resources so it's definitely worth adding to your favourites list now!

So to makers of interactive resources - can we have a full-screen button please?

Blank Canvas

Back from holiday. Had a great time skiing. Photos are up on Flickr if you fancy a look.

I was clearing some of the photos from my mobile phone and I thought I'd share this photo from an IWB session I did a few weeks back.

Once I have gone through the basic tools of Smart Notebook with a group of teachers, I give them 10 mins or so to have a play with the software on a blank page to see what they can create.

Most of the time we get some excellent drawings. Other times, however.....