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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Interactive 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.
AWW – An Online Web Whiteboard
AWW – A Web Whiteboard is very simple whiteboard application that lets you use your computer, tablet or smartphone to easily draw sketches, collaborate with others and share them with the world.
Online boards can be embedded elsewhere or shared online via a link.
It’s very basic – all you get is a choice of pen colours and thicknesses, so it’s limited in comparison to other online whiteboards such as Dabbleboard or Scribblar.
Take a look at : http://awwapp.com/
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The White Elephant
This is something I wrote a while back as part of a reflective task for the M.Ed module I’m studying. I was thinking about some of the teachers I meet when I go into schools. It’s an extreme amalgam of characters.
I’d forgotten that I hadn’t posted it here yet. I was reminded when I read this post by Chris Betcher and this one by Steve Wheeler.
The bloody thing arrived over the Easter break. A giant screen with a stupid arm sticking out of it. They messed up my room to put it in too. My desk was moved and my old board ripped out. An interactive whiteboard they say it’s called. What do I want an interactive whiteboard for? My old board was interactive enough for me. I wrote on it. Occasionally I’d stick things to it with blue tack. It was fine. I asked the head if I could use my whiteboard pens on this new board and he went pale. No. Not under any circumstances.
I hate it. I’m not good with computers you see. I have to get my son over to help me with anything like that. I still get confused with the DVD player at home. There’s too many buttons.
All this technology in the classroom. It’s just unnecessary. What a waste of all that money that could be spent on books. I can’t see the point of all this email and texting. Kids are sending texts to the kid sitting next to them at school. How stupid is that? And as for Facebook and Twitter? Who wants to know what you’re doing every minute of every day? Apparently the C in ICT stands for communication – I think there’s quite enough communicating as it is. Kids are losing the ability to sit quietly and do their classwork. Whats the point of being able to speak to people on the other side of the world?
Anyway, so my big stupid board just sits there. A big stupid blank space, staring at me. I tried to use it once, but I couldn’t get it to click where i put my finger. Apparently I need to calibrate it or something. I asked the head and he told me there was a manual for it on the school network. I didn’t think i should ask how to get onto the network so I just nodded and left it at that. He said something about the P drive, or the Z drive or something. No idea how to get those. I don’t think they’re on my computer.
We haven’t had any training on it, the head said there was no need. “it’s intuitive” he said. “anyone can use it”. In reality he’s spent thousands on these things. I reckon he’s now trying to save a few quid by doing the training himself. But it’s the blind leading the blind. Even if we did get someone in it would probably be some snotty little 18 year old whizzkid who’d throw a lot of jargon at us, or a sales pitch. And then leave us to it.
I should try and do something with it. My kids have shown me how to get a video up onto the screen, but that’s all I can do. I just don’t have the time to learn anything new. Especially with all the jobs i keep getting given.
I’m too old for all this.
Do you have teachers like this in your school? How can you help them? How could your school support them?
When I go in and deliver training, I try and think of this teacher and try to make things manageable for them. To keep it simple but to show how to use the IWB in the classroom. At least in the schools I go into the management team have made the decision to invest in some training. That can make all the difference. Even to the very hesistant teachers.
I know there’s quite a kick back against interactive whiteboards in many schools. This links back to my post the other week about it not being the whiteboard that’s the problem. There’s always been a resistance to change, school boards and teachers have resisted slates, ballpoint pens and paper over the last 200 years. The tech is not going to go away – our children are growing up in a highly technological world. As teachers we need to adapt and embrace it.
How do you support the other staff in your school?
Read More2010 Whiteboard Challenge Ready to Go
The 2010 Interactive Whiteboard Challenge is almost ready to go! This challenge involves participants creating videos and / or screencasts of some of the great things they are doing with their IWB to share with teachers and students across the globe.
The aim is to complete as many challenges as you can in the 10 weeks of each round AS WELL AS contributing a challenge of your own. There are 12 Challenges to do already on the site.
Round 1 will launch on June 15th.. so go and visit the Whiteboard Challenge website now, and start thinking about what you are going to do! This year you can also win a prize!
http://iwbchallenge.wikispaces.com/
Good luck!
Read MoreThe 2010 Whiteboard Challenge
The Whiteboard Challenge – set up by Jess McCulloch is back, and better than ever 
Are you new to using an interactive whiteboard (IWB)? Have you used one for ages but want some other ideas? Are you using an IWB regularly but know you could use it better? Then you are invited to join The 2010 Interactive Whiteboard Challenge!
http://iwbchallenge.wikispaces.com/
What you have to do:
This challenge involves participants creating videos and / or screencasts of some of the great things they are doing with their IWB to share with teachers and students across the globe.
Firstly, you choose 2 of the 7 challenges listed on the wiki, complete them, make videos of what you did, and post those videos to the IWB Challenge YouTube Channel (and your own channel if you like), then embed them in your page here on the wiki.
THEN it is up to you to create a challenge for someone else to complete. Go looking on people’s pages for the challenges they set and complete as many as you can in the 3 months of the challenge. The three people who complete the most challenges wins, will collect a prize, and will have a badge to put on their blog. (I’m working on some sponsorship for prizes for the challenge, so stay tuned!)
SO it is in your best interest to create a challenge AS WELL AS complete someone else’s challenge.
There are 2 Rounds of the IWB Challenge in order to cater for those living above and below the equator:
- Round 1 is Down South (June, July and August)
- Round 2 is Up North (September, October, November)
You can join either or both rounds!
Why join the Interactive Whiteboard Challenge?
1. To get some great new ideas on how to use your IWB
2. To take part in discussions with colleagues who are interested in improving their IWB practice as well
3. To work alongside students who are interested in using IWBs and helping teachers to use IWBs better
How to get started:
Remember this challenge is for teachers AND STUDENTS so please get your kids involved! We’d love to have some input from students and I’m sure they will come up with some great ideas. You can use the challenge as a classroom activity or unit of work. Read more ideas for that on this page.
To be a participant in The 2010 Interactive Whiteboard Challenge you need to:
1. Add your name (or group/school name) to the table on the Challengers page and then create your own individual page.
2. Write an intro about yourself on your page – where you are from, why you are interested in the challenge, links to your blog etc. Maybe even leave a photo!
3. Explore some of the content, choose 2 of the 7 challenges and GO FOR IT!
Remember more information can be found on the Whiteboard Challenge Blog as well as on the Wiki
If you do take part, please let me know – it’ll be great to see as many of you take part as possible
Read MoreScribblar – a shared whiteboard space
Scribblar is a another in a growing line of online collaborative space such as Etherpad, Wallwisher and is probably most like Dabbleboard in the way it works. And like my favourite sites, it’s free to use.
Using Scribblar, users can collaborate on their own online whiteboard or “room” – featuring many of the tools familiar to users of Smart or Promethean boards – lines, text, shapes etc. You can upload your own images where you and others can edit it or comment on it.
In addition to the whiteboard – there is a chat box to communicate with other users, and there is also a voice chat option as well.
You can create a Scribblar “room” without creating a free Scribblar account. However, if you do choose to create an account you will get some additional free benefits like having moderator privileges to be able to lock and unlock rooms, name rooms, and some privacy controls. As it’s free, and very quick, to create an account I would recommend you do so.
Your scribblar “rooms” can be embedded into other pages such as a blog or a wiki although it’s not true embedding. Here is one I created for playing about on, click on the image below to visit the room I created and have a go with the tools:
Or you can click on this link : Collaborate Now!
Proper embedding/skinning comes with a Scribblar Pro account.
One great part about Scribblar is how easy it is to invite others to the room. You just grab the URL and paste it into an email or into any social network or your VLE.
Scribblar could be very handy for working on shared writing – although if it’s purely text then etherpad might be better. You could also upload images and ask students to analyse them – maybe artwork or historical images. Or you could use it in place of your whiteboard software to record presentations that could then be shared over the internet or VLE.
If you do start using it – leave a comment below to tell me how it was used.
Read MoreWhiteboard Debate Online
As I mentioned last week, I recently took part in a discussion with some eminent users of technology in education hosted and chaired by Chris Betcher.
It was a truly international affair, with a few representatives from Australia, myself from the UK and James Hollis representing the USA
Chris has now uploaded the podcast to the Virtual Staffroom website here so you can have a listen. Hope you find it useful.
I want to discuss a few of the issues raised on this blog when I get the chance. For now I am wrestling with Windows 7 installation so that may take me a while to get my computer back up to speed with all my favourite software.
Enjoy!
Read More11 Ideas for Music Lessons on your Interactive Whiteboard
I’ve been asked several times recently on Twitter to recommend ideas for Music lessons that involve the interactive whiteboard.
So here are 10 free resources, and one excellent paid-for resource, that will help you make music on your interactive whiteboard. More can be found on my delicious list.
Moodstream is a really interesting tool. It combines images (from Getty Images) and audio tracks to suit your mood. Would be good to investigate how different sounds and tunes affect our how we feel. Choose from combinations of happy/sad, calm/lively, warm/cool etc. Is really interesting to leave running for a while and see what it does.
Make music with Shaun the Sheep of Wallace and Gromit fame. Click on a sheep to make them bleat! Great fun. Includes a free play mode or a memory game.
Making Music from Help Kidz Learn
Simply press a piano key or run your finger down the keys on a touch screen, to play the notes. Mouse users can click on the keys. The keys are in different bright colours and marked with the note they play.
Ken Brashear has made a giant drum kit that you play simply by hitting the different hotspots on the image. Very therapeutic.
This game helps you learn how to play the piano and read music. You can learn the notes, learn the keys or both.
An interactive drum machine that lets you build up different beats to create your own drum track which you can then export as a swf file.
A simple interactive piano that lets you produce a tune and then play it back. Will show the musical notation at the same time.
A collaborative “wall of music” Click on the notes to play a track, but other people can also be using it at the same time and play music between you!
4 different games here. Compose your own music, create drum beats, music maker and piano puppet. Try them out!
A paid-for resource that is wonderful for KS1 is Musical Monsters from Q& Multimedia. Create rhythms and melodies by putting the singing creatures onto the music board, then listen to – and watch – the results.
And finally… Reindeer Orchestra
Probably best left until close to Christmas, but click on the reindeer’s noses to make them sing. Choose from several christmas carols, or free play mode.
More links can be found on my delicious list at: http://delicious.com/dannynic/music+iwb
Update:Following this tweet from GirlfromPBO on twitter:
girlfromPBO@dannynic great links in your post & bkmks but you’re missing our wiki full of teacher made lessons from across the US! mustech.pbworks.com
So for some more good ideas for music – also head over and check out their wiki at: http://mustech.pbworks.com
Don’t forget: For SMARTboard Training and Promethean ActivInspire Training, check out my Think Bank website.
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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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