smart resources

[tharksha]

How do you convert flipcharts into smart board board activity. When I tried to change some of the things are lost. Please help me.
Tharksha

[Margaret Allen]

Hi

I am not sure why we would want to encourage you to be able to do this :eek: :D

Activstudio and Activprimary have a format called flipcharts, within which activities/content are displayed when using an Activboard. Once within this format, various functions and features can be employed, through the software, to enhance the display of such material. There are occasions when this format is available for use on "other" boards, but this is generally by prior arrangement through us. +wave+

If you are trying to convert Flipcharts into Notebook then I think you will find that because of the different, some might say superior, :eek: :cool: :D , functionality that the Flipchart software employs it is possibly inevitable that limited features/actions have transferred in your attempts....

[daverosthorn]

Had a go with a SMART board last Friday. They're rubbish. Don't think there's any way you could convert a FLP into a notebook file - it's not interactive.. you can draw on it, that's about it.

[davidlloyd]

Dave, you're a hero. I love your good blunt comment on Smart boards.

As related in another thread, if people must use a Smart board then you can convert flip charts to pdf files and Powerpoints but lose all the interactivity. Better sill you can now buy a license to put Activstudio or Activprimary on another brand of whiteboard. Contact our sales office for info. Then flipcharts can be used with their interactivity preserved.

[Danny Nicholson]

as has been said, its not really possible to do easily.

One thing I have done, when trying to turn something non-interactive such as a PDF file with a diagram and labels - is to use the camera tool to grab each section independantly and then rearrange it on the flipchart page.

But this is rather laborious and so may not be the ideal solution.

[airskeeter]

I would figure out how much time it would take me to do the conversions over a year and decide if it was easier and more economical to purchase AS2 or AP2....

[daverosthorn]

Dave, you're a hero. I love your good blunt comment on Smart boards.

As related in another thread, if people must use a Smart board then you can convert flip charts to pdf files and Powerpoints but lose all the interactivity. Better sill you can now buy a license to put Activstudio or Activprimary on another brand of whiteboard. Contact our sales office for info. Then flipcharts can be used with their interactivity preserved.

Haha I would've rather used other words but I don't think anyone would really like to hear them. :eek:

[janimcdo]

Hi All

I'm a new member, led here after a knock out demo by Peter, of training video fame, at a conference near Toronto, Ontario. I have been using and training others on Smart Board for about a year but was blown away by the superior functionality of the Promethean boards and software. Someone give me a reality check. From reading posts, I noticed that a few of you have both Smart and Promethean in your schools. Am I correct to believe that: - price is comparable, software is also available for student use ala SMart Notebook, difficulty of authoring activities is comparable to Smart, resources shared on this site are plentiful and pertinent, and that I will not be frustrating staff further with the introduction of something completely different? Your honest responses are appreciated. I get a board and software for trial next week. Can't wait!!!

[Dave Harrington]

As an AST (Advanced SkilIs Teacher) I get to visit a few different schools and help them use a whiteboard. I'm far more familiar with Promethean than Smart, but I try to do my best with both. I've never known staff not be impressed with what active studio can do, and I can't honestly say the same for Smart - but then I'm probably a little bias. My pens are getting a little old now and starting to annoy, but that's a couple of years down the line if you're just starting. Overall, go Promethean if you want an "interactive" board; stick to Smart if you want something to "project onto" that the kids (or staff) can put finger marks all over!


Oh and this forum is by far the best there is!clwn

[Phil Simpson]

Overall, go Promethean if you want an "interactive" board; stick to Smart if you want something to "project onto" that the kids (or staff) can put finger marks all over!
Oh and this forum is by far the best there is!clwn

If you simply want a projection screen, your still better of going with Promethean as our board doesn't produce dazzling hotspots in the same way that a SMART board does.

PS As encouragers of effective practise, we would never condone that you simply bought a Promethean board as a projection surface though!

[daverosthorn]

If you simply want a projection screen, your still better of going with Promethean as our board doesn't produce dazzling hotspots in the same way that a SMART board does.

PS As encouragers of effective practise, we would never condone that you simply bought a Promethean board as a projection surface though!

Hear hear! Why buy something that does almost everything and then just do the basics on it?

[Dave Harrington]

If you simply want a projection screen, your still better of going with Promethean as our board doesn't produce dazzling hotspots in the same way that a SMART board does.

PS As encouragers of effective practise, we would never condone that you simply bought a Promethean board as a projection surface though!


Sorry, I forgot to type my comment in the "irony" font.:D
Dave

[Peter Lambert]

:D Because text cannot express sarcasm :rolleyes: , irony ;) etc. what a brilliant idea Dave! Better than these smilies.

Maybe they should do html tags:

I can spel but i carnt tipe

[janimcdo]

I wish there were more hours in the day to play with my borrowed Activboard so I need to really focus on something. Any suggestions?

I am most interested in using the board with special needs students from Learning Disabled to Physically disabled to Aspbergers to Developmentally Delayed. Do most of you out there mount the boards on the wall? I find the stand has some pluses and minuses: plus, it has less forward projection of the 'feet' than other boards hence less chance of tripping, knocking etc. is reduced. Minus, wheels jam under stand when turned more than 90 degrees and the board has to be removed to lower stand. Am I missing something?

Another question. How difficult is it to create flipcharts for language instruction and how do you insert sound files that play when an overlaying object is clicked? In a manual somewhere?

[Margaret Allen]

Hi,


Wow what a question.....

Lets see if I can help a bit..... I actually think that there are some very good users out there who have been submitting stuff based on others' ideas and suggestions. I would suggest that most of the flipcharts that have been submitted within the forum as well as within the resources area are from our most avid "supporters" and so it may be that you find it helpful to use those as a starting place and then adapt/adopt for your own use? Not sure if thats helpful but the other way of perhaps exploring is for you to put together a flipchart using text and pictures and some of the learning objectives/types of things you want from the lesson and see if others can revamp/suggest improvements?

Now your sound question. Basically the reason the sound can't be activated is that it is "hidden" by the covering shape. As you may have noticed it works in layers and the top layer is most dominant - ie you get to it first and so it masks anything underneath including sound. There are two ways in which I can suggest you could manage it.

One is to put the sound icon next to the shape which is hiding the object underneath and you click on that icon. :cool:

The other - this is a bit more fiddly so bear with me.:eek:

Basically the sound icon needs to be visible or the object with the sound embedded within it needs to be visible to activate the sound. This is possible if you put the sound icon on the top layer but make it invisible. You will need to disable actions (right click on the page and untick enable options - or on latest version there is a hyperlink icon on the top of the flipchart page bar click on that so that it has a red line through it) Then right click on the sound icon and move to top layer and front. Now you will have the sound icon accessible. But you can hide it by double clicking on it and clicking on the object properties option (red tick) one of the options within there is to make the object translucent. BUT before you do that stretch it so that it is really big (this is important as you need to be able to find it) then make it completely translucent. Enable actions again - this should work - providing you got to the bottom and didn't give up the will to live :D

I may have missed something here, but no doubt someone will tell me.... [clap]

Let us know how you get on....+wave+

[janimcdo]

Wow Margaret! Thanks for the answers/suggestions. I am trying to create an matching activity with sound reinforcement for the correct answer and I will give your very clear steps a try.

How about the mounting of boards on the wall? Is this common practice in England/US? We are just starting to get interactive whiteboards into classroom in Ontario and everyone wants it to be portable to allow for sharing around the school. Any opinions? I'm sure your board or districts are crying about no money as well.

[Margaret Allen]

Please Please Please do not have a mobile system and share it around. In the early days here in England, there were a considerable number of schools and authorities who thought this was the best way of getting one board around lots of users. Oh dear! :eek: :eek:


Imagine this scenario

4 teachers one board shared within a month

Teacher 1 : first week Monday starts off enthusiastic and sorted. Tuesday arrives late and doesn't have time to get projector out. Weds on a course. Thursday PE first lesson. Friday sets it up for a bit of fun as it is the last day of the week....

Teacher 2 : Meant to go and see what Teacher 1 was doing but didn't get round to it and therefore forgets to try it out in her room so doesn't go and get it until Monday evening. Tuesday tries to set it up, but forgets about how to set it up and so it doesn't work properly. Weds ICT Cord. arrives to sort.....

you can see where this is going.....

Now then

One board installed in most enthusiastic/flexible teacher. Uses it all the time, really exploiting it for all its worth. Agrees to allow other teachers to come in and watch/use/share. Soon, those teachers are saying hey we want one of those all the time too. Now that does have cost implications.... but believe me it is better finding funding for a resource that people really want - the motivational aspect of this makes it seem possible.

The ultimate in these early days is for a school to buy a minimum of two if possible. That infectious enthusiasm that those two teachers have for their new found teaching resource enhancement/motivator will be much more effective if those two can pubically share.

Installed is best!!!! [clap] [clap]

If you really are going down the mobile system route, then teachers should have it for a minimum for half a term so that furniture and room is really set up for it and the teacher really has it there almost permanently - well for that period of 6/7 weeks.

+wave+

[Westlake]

We have 13 installed boards and one 'mobile'. As you suggest, this has spent time parked in one room where the teacher has had time to develop skills and resources. Unfortunately the time has come to move that board elsewhere, and there is BIG sadness in that Department because they will only have 2 boards now. Because we installed boards throughout the school, a few to a Department, I have to be careful that people don't feel left out.
Another scenario that doesn't work well is to install a board in a bookable public room where nobody really 'owns' it, everyone who uses the board is a novice, and people don't really develop confidence or build up their repertoire.
We OCCASIONALLY move the board to the Hall for a Parent Teacher occasion or Career Information Expo, but that is not for the faint-hearted. Travelling in the lift with a 78inch board sitting on your feet so it clears the 'oversize' light beam is a bit daunting... :eek:
Hilary

[Danny Nicholson]

Im my experience of going into lots of different schools - the "mobile" board is the one that sits in a cupboard somewhere and goes nowhere.. which is a real shame.

The desk mounted projector that moves, the increased shadow, knocked board messing up alignment, lots of cables all over the place and the set up time at the start of a lesson all detract from the IWB experience and so teachers will prefer not to use it.....

Bite the bullet and mount it in one room permanently. It will get much more use.

[Danny Nicholson]

I can spel but i carnt tipe

Be careful of who's toes your step on today, they might belong to feet you have to kiss tomorrow.


And don't even get him started on the use of apostrophes :)

[JB_UK]

Just to play devils advocate, we have a couple of mobile boards and have had them for a few years and they work really well. Our IT technician sets it up in the room it is booked for before the lesson. Doesn't take long and everyone gets to use it. Because we have had the boards mobile everyone has steadily become better and better instead of 1 person becoming a genius. At least 10 of us now have a lot of experience and skill with the interactive whiteboard.

[KGillespie]

Wow Margaret! Thanks for the answers/suggestions. I am trying to create an matching activity with sound reinforcement for the correct answer and I will give your very clear steps a try.

How about the mounting of boards on the wall? Is this common practice in England/US? We are just starting to get interactive whiteboards into classroom in Ontario and everyone wants it to be portable to allow for sharing around the school. Any opinions? I'm sure your board or districts are crying about no money as well.

As an ex-Sales Support staff member for Promethean Direct, I can recall being asked on a daily basis by Schools to quote for the installation of an existing mobile system, often you would hear that they found this solution inappropriate in the long run. I completely agree with Margaret that installation is by far the best option and this is why most schools do have their systems fully installed here in the UK.
Hope that's helpul +wave+
Katherine

[Dave Harrington]

I would go further and make sure that a board is installed in a particular teacher's classroom rather than in a "spare" one that all teachers can access, because often they don't bother or only use it for something special. If we want proficient teachers, they need to be using boards routinely.

I'll try and climb down from my soapbox now.:o

[djmitchella]

At BETT, I remember there was a neat setup in the Promethean booth with a projector fixed to the top of an ActivBoard with some sort of special mount (curved bit of blue pipe, if I remember correctly). Would it be possible to have this whole setup on a stand? That way the projector and board could be moved around as one thing thus preserving alignment, and then all you'd have to worry about is hooking it to the PC in each room.

This doesn't help with the getting-used-to-it factor, but it would at least keep things together and lined up properly. I wonder about balance, though; with a projector sticking out the front the legs would need to be pretty long.

[Peter Lambert]

You want have too long to wait, but watch this space.
It won't be mobile though.

[JB_UK]

Again, I re-iterate (hmmm how do you write that word?) we have mobile boards and they are used all the time successfully and there are lots of us now that are very competent with the board and don't just use it for 'special occasions'.

In our case having movable boards has been more successful than our fixed boards, it just depends on the support network for setting them up etc.

Not everyone has bad experiences with unmounted boards.

[Westlake]

In our case having movable boards has been more successful than our fixed boards, it just depends on the support network for setting them up etc.

This is the key to successful use of a mobile board - if you have the support staff who are available any time to transfer and set up the board competently, then that can work well. We DON'T have this kind of assistance, so that isn't really an option in my school.
Hilary