ActivInspire Training Videos and Resources
Here are two very handy links if you are an ActivInspire user and are looking for ActivInspire training materials.
ActivInspire flipchart creation help and resources : This wiki has some very useful ActivInspire helpsheets and handouts, including help on using containers and actions. There are sheets for other software such as Audacity, Excel and Photostory too.
ActivInspire Training videos : These videos, produced by Denver Public Schools, cover many features of ActivInspire and are well worth a look for some extra help.
Dont forget my ActivInspire training videos here, and please get in touch to book ActivInspire training/CPD for your school or college.
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Annotate Word Documents with Promethean ActivMarker
This post was inspired by a Promethean ActivInspire training session that I delivered recently. An English teacher wanted to annotate on top of Word documents, but didn’t want to use the transparent flipchart, or capture sections of text with the camera and annotate them within ActivInspire.
It is possible to do this, using a little known tool that comes bundled with ActivInspire called ActivMarker. It’s a slightly hidden feature and many Activ users don’t seem to know about it, which is a shame as it’s a handy feature.
To launch ActivMarker go to the Start menu and click on -> All Programs -> Activ Software -> Activ Inspire -> Activ marker
Once launched, the next time you open Microsoft Word you will notice a new floating tool over on the right hand side of the window, which looks a bit like this:
To start writing, click on the Pen icon, then start drawing over the top of your Word document. Or click on the highlighter to highlight different words. You can change pen size and colour.
The annotations will be added as clip art into your document. This will work with any Microsoft Office application, including PowerPoint and Excel.
When you save the document you can save it with these extra annotations, and call it back in the future. Or quit without saving to keep your document pristine.
Don’t forget if you want to annotate over PDF files you can use the File -> Import feature to import the PDF file into ActivInspire. It will put each page of the PDF onto it’s own page of the flipchart. Use the Page Zoom tool to zoom in and out to display the text larger on the screen if you wish. You (and your students) can then annotate on top of the flipchart – good for group editing tasks, or examination technique using past exam papers.
If you are a SMARTboard user you also have a similar feature to ActivMarker, called InkAware, which runs automatically.
Let me know what you think of ActivMarker in the comments section.
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Promethean ActivInspire Training Resources
Here’s a summary of the Promethean ActivInspire (and ActivStudio) training resources that you’ll find in the Guides section of this blog.
Promethean Helpsheets
- Using Desktop Tools in Activinspire
- Making an Anagram Starter in ActivInspire
- ActivSoftware Inspire Studio Toolbars
- ActivSoftware Inspire Primary Toolbars
- Activstudio 3 Toolbars
- ActivExpression voting guide
- Promethean ActivInspire – Adding Graph Paper and Grids
- Check your Interactive Whiteboard Gallery
- Moving between IWB Platforms
- Screencasting with IWB Software
- Creative use of colour in IWB files
- Lesson Starter Ideas for your Whiteboard
Promethean Training Videos
- Making an Anagram Game in ActivInspire
- Desktop Tools and Screen Capture in ActivInspire
- ActivSoftware Inspire Edition – A first look
I am working on some more guides and resources, watch this space!
Also take a look at the Promethean section of this blog, which has lots of other articles I’ve written that you might find useful.
Other websites
The official guides and resources can be found on PrometheanPlanet.
A great wiki of resources from Tom Cooper : http://promethean.york.wikispaces.net/su10training
Some useful resources from Technology Resource Teachers
The Promethean Playground : http://prometheanplayground.wikispaces.com/
Promethean ActivInspire CPD/INSET
Don’t forget, you can book me to deliver Promethean ActvInspire training, check out my Think Bank website or just get in touch for details.
Read MoreEmbed HTML Codes into Promethean ActivInspire
With the latest update to Promethean’s ActivInspire software you can now use embed codes from YouTube (and other sites) and embed the video directly into your ActivInspire flipchart page.
First go to the YouTube video that you want, click on share, then copy the embed code (looks like both the old and new embed codes work)
Once you have copied the code, switch back to ActivInspire and click on Insert then Link and Embedded HTML
In the box that appears, paste the embed code
The video will then appear on your page as a moveable object. You can’t resize it, so make sure you grab the largest version of the embed code – click on the size before you copy the code.
Using this technique you can embed any YouTube video into the page. You’ll need YouTube access to play the video, and if the video gets removed from YouTube the link will be broken.
You can download and place YouTube videos using some of the various downloaders out there, if you download as a FLV file, but you will be in breach of the YouYube terms and conditions.
You will need to update your version of ActivInspire to the very latest version to be able to do this – to check if you have an update available go to Help and Check for Updates. You might also want to check you have the most recent version of Flash player too.
Have fun!
Don’t forget, for Promethean ActvInspire training check out my Think Bank website.
Update – I have tried this with Vimeo clips, but they didn’t work. I have successfully managed to embed the Random Name Picker and Arcade Game from the Classtools.net website. Try it with other embed codes and see how you go. If find any good ones, let me know in the comments!
Read MoreTriptico – an essential interactive whiteboard resource for teachers
I have written about Triptico a few years ago, but it’s worth mentioning again since the site, and their resources, has had quite a revamp since then. Triptico has changed from being a website of online resources to a downloadable application which runs locally. Triptico uses the Adobe Air platform, so as long as your school network allows you to install it then you’ll have no problems. You might need to have a word with your technician just in case….
The Triptico resource application currently contains 20 different interactive resources – all of which are easy to edit, adapt, save and share. You can access them all with one simple download… everything is completely free – and you will receive updates whenever new resources are added!
There are some great resources that teachers will find useful for their interactive whiteboard. Each one can be customised and saved – ready to use whenever you need it.
Here are just a few:
Word Magnets has lots of different uses. You can create drag and drop sentences, adding adjectives to create “better” sentences. Or create a quick Fridge Magnet Poetry activity.
Find 10 asks the students to select the 10 correct items from a grid of 15 different things. The grid can be customised with your own items. Would make a fun lesson starter activity.
There are countdown timers, student name pickers, Image and word spinners. There is even a resource you can use when running a class quiz – keeping track of each team’s score.
You can view a screencast of the various Triptico resources here.
David Riley at Triptico has done a fantastic job in creating all these resources. And the fact that they are free is even more impressive. For the latest updates to Triptico then it is well worth following David on Twitter or go take a look at his blog.
I definitely think that Triptico is an essential download for anyone who has an interactive whiteboard, whatever brand you have. You can download your free version of Triptico here : http://www.triptico.co.uk/
Thanks to Jose Picardo, who reminded me about Triptico via his blog.
What do you think of Triptico? Let me know via the comments…
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Promethean ActivInspire – Adding Graph Paper and Grids
One of the things that I often get asked by teachers when delivering whiteboard training sessions is how to get graph paper onto their whiteboard screens. With the old ActivStudio/ActivPrimary (and also in Smart Notebook) you had to select these grids from the resource library.
With ActivInspire this has been made a lot easier. The grid is always there on the page, it’s just hidden by default so you can’t see it. Although it’s simpler, it’s often a feature that is missed by most teachers – it’s not an entirely obvious way to get it. I thought it would be worth highlighting this method for Promethean ActivInspire users.
So here is how to get graph paper in Promethean ActivInspire. On the flipchart page where you want the grind, choose the selection tool (the arrow) then right click on the page and click on “Hide grid“. This will toggle between the grid being visible and being hidden.
This will make the grid appear. If you want more control over the size of the squares and the look of the grid then you can also access a grid designer menu.
To open the grid designer, right click on the page again and choose Grid Designer. A window will pop up.
In this window you can control the look of the grid. Click on the plus and minus buttons to make the squares larger or smaller.
Click Close when done.
If you want to have horizontal lines for writing on – change the Direction to Y only.
For diamond or isometric paper – change Grid Style to 45 degree, or choose Angle and define an angle for the diamonds.
If you choose Allow Snap then objects that you move on the page will line up to the nearest corner – good for lining things up on the screen. This works well with shapes but also lines and text boxes.
If you draw lines using the line tool, the lines will go from a corner to a corner – which helps when trying to draw neat diagrams in maths or Design and Tech.
You can even have “Allow Snap” turned on, but have the grid hidden. So text and shapes will align themselves on what appears to be a regular page.
With Allow Snap turned on, any shapes that you draw will be forced to match the size of a grid square – good for looking at areas.
And something else to try. Draw several squares, right click on each and select “drag a copy” to create a very fast pictogram/bar chart where each square will snap in place.
So that’s it. It’s quite quick to get graph paper in ActivInspire, you just have to know about the right click toolbar and the Grid Designer.
If you spend time setting up the axes of your graph with the line/arrow tool – you can then put this graph into your resource library. Right click on the page from the Page Browser at the side of the screen and choose Add to Resource Library and then Add Page to Resource Library. The page will then always be available to you from your area of the Resource Library. This is a good thing to do with any page template that you use a lot – from lesson objectives, tables etc.
For more ActivInspire Guides look in the Guides section of this website. And for information on thePromethean Promethean ActivInspire training I can offer, visit my Think Bank website to learn more.
Read MorePromethean ActivInspire 1.6 released
Promethean have recently released version 1.6 of their ActivInspire software. If you are already an Inspire user then it’s free to upgrade.
As well as some bug fixes and feature tweaks there are new features such as an equation editor to allow you to create equations and add them into the flipchart page. These can be edited once on the page. To use the equation editor go to Insert and Equation.
To upgrade – open ActivInspire, choose “Configure” from the Dashboard, then choose Check for Updates. Choose to run the update and have the latest version installed on your computer.
Keep an eye out on Promethean Planet for a breakdown of the changes and updates in 1.6.
Don’t forget, for Promethean training check out my Think Bank website.
Read MoreInteractive Whiteboard Training from Think Bank
A short commecial plug. I’ve mentioned before that I am a freelance interactive whiteboard trainer – I specialise in the main on delivering training in Interactive Whiteboards (Smart/Promethean) and also on Science training for teachers and student teachers. As an interactive whiteboard trainer I regularly deliver bespoke training sessions on how to use interactive whiteboards in schools and colleges around the UK plus overseas. I’ve also deliver courses for Military and Corporate customers.
One of the things I really enjoy doing is going into universities to deliver introductory whiteboard sessions to PGCE students studying to be teachers. Institutions where I have delivered this kind of training include Kings College London and Anglia Ruskin University.
So if you are in need of interactive whiteboard training, then please get in touch.
I am an accredited Smart Masters trainer for SMART Notebook v10 and SMART meeting Pro. I am also happy to deliver training on Promethean boards – for ActivInspire, ActivPrimary and/or ActivStudio. I can also offer training on voting systems such as Smart Response, ActiVote/ActivExpression and Turning Point and also on Visualisers and their use in the classroom.
In addition I also run non-whiteboard sessions, such as blogging, podcasting, animation, digital storytelling and web 2.0 technologies. With my science hat on I can also run sessions looking in general at the use of ICT in Science, or a particular focus on datalogging.
You can find find out more on the Courses page, or check out the Think Bank website.
Here are some quotes from a recent Interactive Whiteboard training day:
“Fantastic – I learnt more today than on my PGCE”
“An extremely useful and enjoyable day”
“Very Impressed. Possibly the best course I’ve ever attended”
“Lots of really great ideas. New skills learned, others revised. Lots of thinking about application. Great”
“A great beginning to my interactive adventure”
If your school or college is in need of training, then please get in touch and we can discuss options. Get in touch via the contact form here.
Get the Whiteboard Blog in a handy book format
“The Best of the Whiteboard Blog” contains the very best articles from over three years of this blog collated and put together into one handy document. Running to over 200 A4 pages it is chock full of ideas and useful links to help you to make the best use of your interactive whiteboard.
As well as interactive whiteboards it also covers other educational technologies that would be of interest to teachers such as digital storytelling and other “web 2.0” tools.
You can obtain an ebook version, or an A4 printed version.
Buy The Best of The Whiteboard Blog here. (electronic book / printed version)
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About Me
Danny Nicholson : Educator, Science teacher, ICT Consultant, PGCE lecturer, Author and Web2.0 / SMART Masters/ Interactive Whiteboard Trainer. Contact me for any training requests. 
Buy the book!
