Using interactive whiteboards without whiteboard software
This is my contribution to an Ed Tech Blog Carnival, you can find out more by going here.
While I wandering around the BETT show the other week, there were many interactive whiteboards on show that did not come with what I’d recognise as Notebook/Flipchart software. This was especially true of some of the cheap chinese boards who seemed to purely be demonstrating that you could use their board to to use Google Earth.
Some brands of board came bundled with third party software such as Easiteach or Wizteach, while some had very cut down software that was not fit for purpose. Others came with no software at all, apart from a hardware driver, in which case they’re just selling a giant mouse/tablet and leaving it up to the teacher to find the content.
This got me thinking. I’m primarily a SMART and Promethean user. For me the Notebook and ActivInspire software is the heart of your interactive whiteboard – allowing teachers to pre-prepare lesson resources which they can display in class, and to capture and record any notes written on the whiteboard for use later on.
But I guess the question is, do you need software like smart notebook/activinspire/easiteach to get the most use of your board? Can you get by with a mixture of PowerPoint and interactive resources found online?
There are certainly a lot of good quality, free resources that can be used by teachers in their lessons. I’ve shared links to enough of them over the years on this blog. There are even more available if your school subscribes to a managed resource such as Espresso or BrainPop. And the benefit of these resources is that they don’t need any investment in teacher time to create them. You can also access resources such as Triptico for free which provides a bank of free resources and templates.
So what are the options if you have a cheap interactive whiteboard, an interactive projector, or just a projector/interactive slate combo without any useful notebook software bundled with it?
1. Buy a licence for IWB software
You can buy standalone licences for software such as ActivInspire/Easiteach/Wizteach. Prices vary from about £80 to £200 per licence, which needs to be factored in to the savings your school is making by buying the cheaper boards in the first place. Currently it’s not possible to buy SMART software at present, but I’ve heard rumours that may change in the future.
Buying into this software does give you access to additional resources as well, in particular Promethean Planet’s large library of ready-made flipcharts.
2. Use Powerpoint
It’s often seen as the work of the devil, but used correctly you can still make good use of PowerPoint. Don’t load the slides with too much text, use plenty of images. You can even draw and write on slides using the pen tool (look to the bottom corner of the slides when in slideshow mode). Maybe one day PowerPoint will add a whiteboard mode as a half-way mode between full slideshow and design mode. But not yet.
It is possible to buy into ready-made resources such as those by BoardWorks which do have some level of interactivity with embedded Flash files. But this can be expensive.
3. Open source alternatives
I don’t know of many open source alternatives to the IWB software apart from Open Sankore but features-wise it is nowhere near ready to be used in a classroom. If you know of any others, post them in the comments.
4. Online alternatives
One of the best tools I’ve seen recently is a collaborative whiteboard tool called Desmos, but sadle it’s not yet out of bet. You might also be able to use online pages such as Dabbleboard or similar. You could possibly use some of the various online noticeboard tools, but these are limited and most do not allow for handwritten notes..
So what do you use?
If you are a teacher who doesn’t have access to what I would class as “proper” notebook software (ActivInspire/Easiteach/Smart Notebook) – what do you use on your interactive whiteboard? Have you moved away from a whiteboard completely and just use a wireless slate to control third party resources on your computer? Can you get by on just online resources? Is it essential to be able to write and annotate in a dedicated piece of flipchart software?
As an extra thought – I know some teachers are looking at a combination of an iPad 2 and Apple TV hooked up to a projector, allowing you to project the iPad screen onto the wall. I only have an iPad 1 so haven’t been able to try this yet. While you can show any iPad app, you do limit yourself from being able to use all the Flash resources that are on the internet. Only a fraction use HTML5 right now.
Please share your solutions in the comments below. I’d be interested to hear what you do.
Photo Credit : Evaluation Scale by BillsoPHOTO
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Sankore – free open source IWB software
Open-Sankore is free interactive whiteboard software that is compatible with all types of IWB. It’s based on what was previously called Uniboard software. It’s been in beta for a while, and from what I can see this is a recent release, although it still needs some work.
The basic tools that you would expect are here. You can write with a pen (4 colours only) and a pencil. There’s a rubber tool, lines and text. Annoyingly you can’t move anything written with the pens – they seem to be fixed once you’ve drawn them onto the page.
The sidebar gives access to shapes – but you can’t group shapes with text. So a speech bubble with a text box over the top will remain separate objects. You also can’t fix layers either – so if you click on the bubble it will pop over and hide the text.
The sidebar also gives access to different apps such as timers, protractors and rulers. There are folders for clip art and videos, but these seem blank right now.
You can choose from 4 different backgrounds – one plain, one dark and then a dark and light grid. The colours of the pens change automatically when you choose a dark background.
In terms of dealing with files – Open Sankore will let you export as it’s own ubz file type. I’m not sure anything else will open that. You can also export as pdf. It will apparently open .iwb files but the two I tried did not import very successfully – I only got text and none of the images or annotations.
I’m really hoping that eventually we’ll get a decent open-source alternative to the big two for users of other boards, interactive projectors,and for teachers who want to write platform-independent resources. We’re not there yet with Open Sankore, but maybe in the future it will get there. But for now it’s just too clunky and lacking in features. As an alternative to Smart or Promethean you’re still going to have so buy Easiteach for now.
You can check it out at http://open-sankore.org/ The download page is in French, but the software will work in English once downloaded.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Read MoreEasiteach Next Generation – version 1.3 released
If you are an RM Easiteach Next Generation user then you’ll be pleased to know that RM have just released Version 1.3 for Windows.
This latest version of RM Easiteach Next Generation offers many new features, including:
- Integrated Download Center to search and download thousands of lessons from www.easilearn.com
- “Record my screen” captures Easiteach in action, ideal for screencasting
- Import files directly from PowerPoint and SMART Notebook
- Animations tool enables objects to be animated on-screen
- Integrated video tutorials that stream directly from the web
- New Widgets – 5 new mini-apps, including a Graphing Calculator, Measurement Converter, Shark Bait, a Hangman-like word game, Tell-the-Time Clock and X-ray Vision
If you have a previous version of the Windows version of RM Easiteach Next Generation can receive a free upgrade to version 1.3 by visiting www.easiteach.com/eng/upgrade (UK) or www.easiteach.com/usa/upgrade (US).
If your school does not have a Smart or Promethean brand Interactive Whiteboard and are struggling with the poor software that’s often bundled with other brands – then you might find that Easiteach Next Generation is just the thing. You can download a 30 day trial here.
Read MoreSerif DrawPlus X5 Review
I’ve always been a big fan of Serif products* – they provide a much more affordable alternative to the likes of Photoshop or CorelDraw. Just out is version X5 of their popular DrawPlus vector drawing package.
As well as creating standard vector drawings – SerifDrawPlus X5 also lets you generate both Keyframe and StopFrame animations which you can export as either animated .gif files, or as Flash .swf files.
DrawPlus X5 contains all the drawing tools you’d expect. There are lots of pre-set document types including posters, greetings cards and banners, to kick start your designs.
New in X5 is The Shape Builder Tool which can be used to combine simple shapes, including the built-in palette of QuickShapes, into more complex shapes. Dragging between the shapes combines them, and clicking on shapes that overlap will split and create new objects. It’s quick and easy to use.
An instant 3D conversion tool lets you convert simple objects into 3 dimensional shapes. There is also new Styles tab that lets you quickly apply various preset shadows, glows, bevels, feather edges, textures, text effects and more. The user interface has been improved, including the option to display larger tool icons if you wish.
Serif DrawPlus X5 is an excellent product when compared to similar products produced by Corel and Adobe. It can’t do everything these can, but it does enough, and the price should make it very attractive for schools. A single licence for DrawPlus X5 is about £80. It’s also worth looking at the Serif Design Suite which packages up DrawPlus along with MoviePlus, PhotoPlus and WebPlus. A 100 user licence costs around £2600 plus student licences are also available. More info here.
ICT Teachers should definitely take a look at the free teacher resources for using Serif products to support/teach the OCR Nationals, 14/19 Diploma, DiDa etc. These include ideas for projects, step by step guides, pupil worksheets and course materials. It’s an excellent set of resources, and much of it is free if you contact Serif. You can also download some free samples immediately. Take a look here : http://www.serif.com/Education/CurriculumCourses/
As an aside – you can also download and try out free versions of older Serif Software here.
*Disclosure – Over the past few years I have written some of the Serif training materials for the OCR Nationals and 14/19 Diploma, namely the Multimedia, Computer Graphics and Web Design modules. I was sent a free copy of Drawplus X5 to look at, but I have not been paid for this review.
Read MoreHue Animation Studio
Hue Animation Studio is an all-in-one kit to kick start your animation project.The pack includes a webcam and some animation software plus some modelling clay to get you started. I was sent a trial version of the pack to review
The studio includes Zu3D animation software which I wrote about last week which is a very user friendly piece of software. I found it very simple to create a simple stop motion animation and add sounds and titles. Zu3D lets you do onion skinning – so you can see a ghost of the previous frame overlayed onto the live image so it’s easier to see how far you have moved your character before you take the next picture. A very handy feature.
Also included is a Hue flexible webcam. This webcam includes a microphone and comes with a long flexible neck which will help position the camera at a variety of different heights and angles. The picture quality of the webcam is very good and the manual focusing was quite simple to use.
For info the Hue Animation bundle, which comprises Zu3D plus the webcam costs £59.99 on Amazon. But it is worth knowing that Zu3D itself can be downloaded on a 30 day trial and then activated for £29.99. The Hue webcam can be bought on its own for £29.95 on Amazon. Not included in my pack, but apparently part of the bundle, is a pack of plasticine – I bought a simple pack of 8 colours for £1 in Tesco.
I can see that it’s more convenient to buy the bundle, but you will not really be saving any money compared to buying the components individually, especially if you already own webcams in school.
And while the flexible webcam looks great, you can buy things that look similar for about £10 on Amazon for example this camera which costs about £7. Any webcam will work with the Zu3D software.
If you do already own webcams then you can just buy the Zu3D software direct from Zu3D website. And if you want to run this on multiple machines, site licence deals are also available.
Find out more at http://www.hueanimation.com/ and find out more about Zu3D at http://www.zu3d.com/
If you’ve bought the pack – let me know what you think in the comments below!
Read MoreMoviesoup – simple animation software
Moviesoup is a neat bit of software which makes animation simple, even for absolute beginners. Students can create animations directly on screen in just a few minutes.
It’s very simple to use. No need to read lengthy manuals just to get things moving: where others juggle with key-frames, motion-paths and transforms, moviesoup animators simply record and edit animation directly on screen.
You can download a free trial which creates animations which are watermarked. If you like it, a full version costs £49 and site licences are available too.
The website has several video guides which help take you through the process of creating your animation, and there’s also a clip art library to help your students get started.
Thanks to Angie at Edit Training for the link.
Read MoreCreate interactive whiteboard resources with Desmos
Desmos aims to reduce the problems of being locked in to board-specific IWB software by offering platform-agnostic software that enables users to build and share rich educational content.
Desmos builds interactive lessons that are completely browser-based — it gives the users the ability to collaborate in realtime to create lesson resources. You can do many of the things regular IWB software can – type text, write with a freehand pen, use simple shapes and insert graphs.
Currently Desmos is in private beta, which is only letting selected users join – you can get in touch and ask them. I’ve now been lucky enough to get a beta invite and have a play.
I’m very aware that this is a beta version, so not every feature is in place just yet – but I like what I’ve seen so far.
If you are familiar with the standard IWB software then the tools should look pretty similar. The pen, text and shapes tool are pretty easy to use. Pen and Font size is changed by a slider on the top toolbar.
Making drag and drop activities is very quick and simple. Text, arrows and shapes can be grouped and moved about. Images can be uploaded from your hard drive and locked in place on the page. Currently there’s no add from the web (add url or copy/paste) but hopefully that will be added in the future.
Adding graphs is very simple. Drag a graph onto the page and change the axes.The equation editor lets you type an equation onto the page. When you drop this onto the graph the graph immediately adds that line. There’s no table tool at present that I could see for adding data sets to the graph. I’m hoping that will come later.
The equation editor is pretty neat with all the symbols and formulae that you would need. The symbols tool also lets you easily add foreign letters and accents.
Desmos uses a browser to create the resources, so you will need a live internet connection to create a resource. It is saved to your dashboard area of your account. When finished a resource can be “published” which means anyone can view and access it. You can download the file as a pdf or as a zip file that contains everything to play that resource in your browser even if offline. This would be handy for local use in schools.
The online nature means it would be easy to share finished lessons with colleagues or students. Online resources can be shared for collaborative group work, so several teachers or students can be working on the same resource.
Finished files can also be embedded into a blog or VLE – here’s a (quick) example that I produced. (if that doesnt work, here’s the direct link) Strangely the layers have moved about, but this is a beta.
Desmos uses Flash so at present this leaves out iPad users but according to their FAQ an iPad app could be something developed in the future.
Once Desmos leaves private beta and becomes open to more users it is definitely something that you should take a look at. Especially if you’re not a fan of your current IWB software, or want something that you can produce to use on any brand of IWB in the future. http://www.desmos.com
So is the future browser-based? Are classroom teachers ready for working in the Cloud yet? let me know in the comments!
Read MoreDaydream Interactive Wallcharts
Daydream Education have been making wall charts for 14 years, having shipped over 1 million wallcharts covering over 600 titles. In recent years they have begun the process of converting these wall charts into interactive versions that can be displayed on Interactive Whiteboards.
These interactive wallcharts currently cover 10 subjects, Business Studies, D&T, English, Geography, ICT, Maths, Music, P.E, R.E and Science. There are versions of their Interactive Packs for both Primary and Secondary (and Sixth Form), with CD or VLE versions available.
For example, here are the links to their Primary Starter Pack and Secondary Starter Pack. You can also purchase individual subject packs or even just the individual wallcharts that you like. You can buy them on CD, or as a version that runs on your VLE.
Each pack contains Interactive Wallcharts, with simple animations and text. They also include related worksheets to print off, quiz questions plus additional interactive content to aid revision.
Many of the wallcharts are bigger than your actual screen. You start with a zoomed out view, and then can zoom in on each different section of the chart to show them clearly. You are able to hide the text or hide images to vary the amount of information that the students are initially given. You can then selectively reveal it again. Could make a simple recall task to check knowledge.
The sheets are not entirely “interactive” in that they do not include simulations and the animations are simple. But the quiz questions are very nice for checking knowledge again as a starter or plenary. The worksheets that accompany each chart are also a useful resource.
You can download some trial versions of their wallcharts via this page. All you need to do is register with your details. You can also ask for a free trial CD to be sent to you.
It’s definitely worth checking out their resources. Download the trial and see what you think.
Read MoreSmart Notebook Licence Update
Further to the article earlier today about Promethean’s licence changes, I’ve managed to locate the new Smart Notebook licence as of 21 June 2010. You can download the pdf file here.
Basically, like Promethean, Smart are tightening up on what you are allowed to do with Smart Notebook software. The ability to install it on staff machines for preparation purposes is still there. But what they are being more explicit about is what you cannot use Smart Notebook on. To quote from the letter sent out by Smart in June.
A SMART Notebook licence is included with a SMART licencensed product (IWB, voting set, slate etc) and you are permitted to use the software on any computer connected to these Licensed Products. SMART Notebook software may also be used on a reasonable number of computers associated with your authority or school that are not connected to pen or touch-enabled devices. This permits teachers to use the software at home to create lessons for use on their Licensed Products in the classroom.
The licence agreement does not, however, normally permit the use of SMART Notebook software when a computer is connected to a restricted pen- or touch-enabled device (“Restricted Product”). Restricted Products include, but are not limited to, any touch-enabled or pen-enabled devices that are not on the Licensed Products list above, including the following:
· Interactive whiteboards
· Interactive projector systems
· Display screens
· Screen digitising devices or slates
The only exception to this is if you use a non-SMART slate/graphics tablet. You are allowed to use this if another Smart product is attached. But if you are using a wireless slate with a projector, you’re not allowed to use Smart Notebook.
What Smart do make clear is that if you do with to access Smart Notebook files, then you can use their SMART Notebook Express web application, which can be found at http://express.smarttech.com/
So if you are using Smart Notebook on a non-Smart product, you are in breach of the licence. This hasn’t changed, it’s been like that for quite a while, but now they’re being more explicit about it. At present I don’t know of any way of buying additional licences for Smart Notebook to use on other boards or devices (IWB-free projectors) but maybe that will be something that will develop soon.
Don’t forget – if you have Smartboards in your school, the licence does allow for staff to have it installed elsewhere for preparation of lesson resources (on a “reasonable number of machines”, whatever that means…). Make sure you do this – it is a much better way of making resources to use in the lesson. You’d be amazed how many schools I go into where the staff have not been told this.
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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. 
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