Posts made in March, 2009

Using a Visualiser

Posted on Mar 31, 2009 in Digital Media, Hardware, Interactive Whiteboards, Presentations, Promethean, Visualisers | 2 comments

I ran a training day last week for a college where we looked at Visualisers (sometimes called Document Cameras). Through the day we tried out some different things that you could do and I took some screen grabs.

I have put the screengrabs, and a few photographs from the day into a short presentation. Hopefully it will help to illustrate some of the ways that you could use your Visualiser in conjunction with your interactive whiteboard. (Warning, if you’re squeamish – it does contain close up photos of an animal heart….)

If you do have a Visualiser then make sure that you have it installed so that is connected to your computer, rather than just connected to your projector. This means you can then use the desktop annotation tools of your interactive whiteboard to draw and write over the top of the images. You can also use the camera tools to snapshot images into your IWB software (e.g. Smart Notebook or ActivStudio)

Here are a few ideas for using your Visualiser

• Display good examples of students work.
• Show pages from books – save photocopying
• Model examination questions – write answers on the paper – work through as a class.
• Dissections – heart, kidney, plants, flowers, fruits etc.
• Display intricate models / objects
• Show parts of a circuit
• demonstrate how to use technical drawing tools – or maths tools such as rulers and protractors
• Use to make collages – assemble objects below the camera. Take snapshots as the image builds up.
• Video experiments – colour changes in chemistry – iodine clock/thiosulphate experiments. Remember visualisers on a flexible arm don’t only have to point downwards – they can be angled to look at things side-on too.
• Show how to use small gadgets such as calculators, pda’s (or even phones) – no need to use software and cables to mirror/simulate them on a computer.

and many more. If you have any to add, put them in the comments!

Also check out the Ideas to Inspire presentation about Visualisers for a few more ideas.

If you own a Lumens visualiser, then I’ve produced a short guide that tells you a little more about this particular brand of visualiser. You can view it here.

Whiteboard Thinking Skills

Posted on Mar 31, 2009 in Activity Ideas, Interactive Whiteboards, Resources | 0 comments

Thanks to Anthony Evans for sending me this link to a great thinking skills video on Teachers TV.

It’s a series of six short video clips for use on interactive whiteboards, designed to enhance thinking skills and promote creativity amongst Key Stage 2 pupils.

The clips vary in style and mood, and aim to stimulate imaginations and generate discussion. The accompanying resources suggest classroom activities which can be used before or after viewing the clips.

Each clip ends with a question to prompt either class, paired or group discussion and will encourage pupils to compare, contrast and evaluate information. They will have to weigh up evidence, make deductions and anticipate the consequences of what they see on screen.

All clips are designed to be used as starters for a range of curriculum areas in order to warm up the pupils’ thinking skills.

if you like that one, there are a range of Primary lesson starter activities on the site. You can view them here. Even better, if you register with the site you can download them to access offline too.

Thanks Anthony for the link! And a quick plug for the TeachMeet North East London event tonight. I’m unable to attend as I’m heading to Birmingham for a training course tomorrow – but if you are in the NE London area this evening drop in and take part!

Science Clipart

Posted on Mar 24, 2009 in Interactive Whiteboards, Resources, Useful Links | 0 comments

Jane Whitney is a medical and scientific illustrator who contacted me recently for advice on producing images for the SmartBoard.

She’s been developing an image bank of Science clip art for use on your interactive whiteboard (not just the Smart Board). Most images are in jpg format so can be copied and pasted into your IWB software. Others are in SWF format so you can capture using your desktop capture tools. Jane has given permission for these images to be freely used for classroom teaching purposes.

It’s great to see more people producing high quality images and allowing them to be freely used by teachers.

There are only a few images there at the moment, but Jane has said she will be adding to the library of images when she can. It’s well worth bookmarking the site and visiting again in the future to see what’s new.

Visualisers

Posted on Mar 24, 2009 in Hardware, Interactive Whiteboards, Presentations, Visualisers | 0 comments

In advance of a training day I am doing on Friday about Visualisers, I’m putting this short post together to collect together some useful resources to direct teachers towards.

A visualiser, (sometimes called a Document Camera) at its simplest, is a video camera mounted on a stand that connects to a data projector. You can then place objects below the camera and project the image onto your interactive whiteboard.

You can pretty much put anything below the camera and display it to the whole class. It is great for showing 3D objects, sharing books, children’s work, photographs and even demonstrating drawing techniques. Anything where you would usually have students crowded around a front bench to see something being demonstrated could be displayed on a visualiser.

Usually, the visualiser also allows you to record images or video snapshots of whatever it is you are demonstrating. If you run your visualiser via your PC you could also use your interactive whiteboard tools to capture and annotate over the top of whatever you are showing the class.

The Visualiser Forum is a blog that aims to help promote the effective use of visualiser technology in schools. There are some very useful posts and case studies on there, such as this guide to using them in the Primary classroom.

Here is a good case study from Hertfordshire Grid for Learning.

Also check out this video on Teachers TV with the Visualiser Forum’s very own Dave Smith.

Becta have also produced a handy guide to using them. You can read it here.

ActivInspire Training Manual

Posted on Mar 20, 2009 in Interactive Whiteboards, Promethean, Tutorials and Guides | 1 comment

A very short post as it’s Friday evening, but I wanted to give a quick plug for a very useful ActivInspire training manual I’ve just discovered on the Technowellies Blog.

You can read the ActivInspire manual here.

On the same blog, also check out the guides for Effective IWB use, very handy documents.

Google Street View

Posted on Mar 20, 2009 in Interactive Whiteboards, Resources, Useful Links | 3 comments

I’m loving Google Street View. I’ve been playing with it with for other countries for a while now, but they’ve only just released images from the UK.

I must admit, I’d only ever played with it in Google Earth, I hadn’t used the Google Maps version of it.

When you are using google maps you should see an icon of a little orange man just above the zoom in and out controls. If you drag that man onto the map you should see blue lines appear to show where Street View is available.

Sadly, my town of Southend on Sea is not (yet) on Street View but the major cities in the UK are up

Here’s the hotel I was at yesterday in Edinburgh:

View Larger Map

Here’s the pub I used to drink at as a student in Birmingham:

View Larger Map

And here’s the home of football

View Larger Map

Street View on an IWB is a great tool. If you are doing a project on the Romans you can zoom over to Rome and walk the streets around the Colosseum or the Forum. If you are going somewhere on a school trip you can explore the area beforehand.

If you’ve not tried it before, have a go. It’s great!

Wiki Guide

Posted on Mar 18, 2009 in Tutorials and Guides | 0 comments

I’m delivering a Blogs/Wikis/Podcast day in Edinburgh tomorrow.

I’ve previously shared my guide to making a WordPress Blog.

Here’s my new guide to setting up a Wiki on Wikispaces

Sudoku Starters

Posted on Mar 16, 2009 in Activity Ideas, Interactive Whiteboards, Numeracy Resources, Software | 2 comments

The Sudoku puzzle has been around for a while now, so I shouldn’t have to explain how to do them. If you want a quick activity to use as a mental warmup then a Sudoku puzzle could be just the thing.

One way to use them on your IWB would be to use the desktop annotation feature to write numbers directly over the top of an online Sudoku puzzle.

Alternatively, use the desktop capture tool to take a screengrab of the Sudoku puzzle and add it to your IWB flipchart page. This means you could stretch it to make it bigger – you could also print them off to have the students solve them individually, then solve it as a class on the IWB. You could quickly build up a bank of these by visiting every day and saving a new puzzle each time.

You could also use a table (or a spreadsheet) and produce your own Sudoku puzzles – then just type (or use Ink-Aware) to add the numbers directly into each cell.

One site I have found today is The Daily Sudoku. This gives you 2 different sudoku puzzles. One is a regular 1-9 Sudoku, but they also have a simpler 1-4 puzzle you can use with younger/lower ability children.

There is also an interactive version which you can play against the clock online – entering numbers directly onto the webpage.

You can even grab the code and host these puzzles yourself.

In theory if you bookmark this blog post, you should get a different sudoku puzzle every day.

Gone Skiing

Posted on Mar 6, 2009 in Site Stuff | 0 comments

Off to the Italian Alps for a weeks’ vacation. So it’s time for pasta, pizza, red wine, mulled wine and hot chocolate. And maybe a little skiing too.

You might just catch me on the webcams

See you in a week.