ActivPrimary or ActivStudio?

[Rosie MacAlpine]

Hi everyone,
I'm working at a school in Australia that is planning to put quite a few boards in next year - K - 7 (+ a couple in senior school).
I was lucky enough to get the first board in the school in my Year 2 class and have only ever used ActivStudio (which I love, very deeply :p ). I haven't even tried ActivPrimary. My question: Is there much difference between the two programs? Is it possible to have both installed and see which one we like better? Would it be more useful if all the staff use the same program (given that nearly all have never used it before), or are they similar enough for those of us who are using Studio to be able to help people who are using ActivPrimary.
I searched and found a couple of threads, but not much, so I'm hoping someone can help us out.
Cheers,
Wendy

[LisaD]

Feature-wise, they are both pretty similar. The main difference is the interface. You may find that some users prefer Activprimary because the toolbars are prettier and off to the sides of the flipchart. Also, the tools are easier to use by younger children (bigger and located at the bottom of the screen.) The teacher tools are located near the top and you can toggle between teacher and student modes.(actually I think it's called Design and Present modes.)

They open each others flipcharts fine. I have both on my machine but I do normally develop in Studio and "use" (with younger children) Activprimary.

I don't think the resources are the same. Obviously Activprimary's resources are more developed for younger children but they are fantastic.

Margaret is the real expert here though. I'm sure she'll "chime" in. +wave+

See her demonstration of Activprimary at:
http://www.Prometheanplanet.com/uk/server/show/nav.1412

A getting started manual is available at:
http://www.Prometheanplanet.com/uk/server/show/nav.1428

Online training is at:
http://www.Prometheanplanet.com/uk/server/show/nav.1423

Additional tutorials can be found at:
http://www.atomiclearning.com/activprimary_2_pc

Hope this helps,

Lisa

[LouB]

Hi Wendy,

I am using AP in my classroom with 4-6 year olds and they are able to access it independently as it is so simple to use. I have been fortunate enough to have a copy of Studio too, however, it does take some learning! Although they have a lot of the same functions they are often in slightly different places.

I am fairly competent in using AP and thought I would be able to cope with AS straight away - well I nearly cried! It was very frustrating as I knew how to do something in AP but had to learn how to do the same thing in AS. Once you get used to Studio though it is ok! I now tend to develop my flipcharts in Studio and polish them up in AP. :-/

I would recommend using AP with younger children as they can access it so easily. My class are often independently making flipcharts as they 'teach' each other!

[Rosie MacAlpine]

Thanks for your feedback LouB and LisaD. It was good to be able to have a look at the videos and see the ActivPrimary interface. Very nice! I can see the appeal.
Hopefully our reseller in Oz will give us a copy to try.
Cheers,
Wendy

[davidlloyd]

Hi Wendy
We found in schools in the UK teachers of younger children (up to about age 9 or 10) prefer Activprimary, but by 10 and 11 years old children want to feel more grown up so their teachers often use Activstudio which is also good for transition to high school where almost exclusively teachers use Activstudio.

Re converting from one to the other, when Activprimary was first released, it was about 6 months before I felt as comfortablewith Primary as I did with Studio. But I can be a slow learner :cool:

[Margaret Allen]

Hi

How could I not respond:D

I would like to start by saying that if a Primary/Elementary school are buying from scratch/new then I would absolutely recommend that they buy AP throughout the school. The reason being that if everybody (teachers) are all using the same software then the impact is much stronger if everybody is trialling/experiment/playing with the same interface. The sharing of knowledge/experience is much richer if everyone is trying out the same tools/features. That way the experience isn't diluted by different people choosing different interfaces and thereby not really enthusing/sharing in the same way.[clap]

If after several years it is felt that some of the children are ready "for a change" then I would suggest that possibly the top end of the school changes to AS, but to be honest only if it can really be said that every aspect of AP has been truly exploited. In my experience it is only when teachers who know AS come into the equation that the feeling of changing/using both/comparing is a reality. My experience is that if a teacher uses AP well it does all that a class needs to learn whatever their age.:cool:

However, the example David cites, I believe to be an authority who were early Promethean adopters and therefore had AS before AP was even born. That was then a tricky transition/change as they had already become accustomed/comfortable with AS and so it made sense to keep AS for the "older end" of the school and transfer over to AP for the lower end.;)

The strength of AP is its easy interface and readily available tools to teach the whole Primary/elementary range of subjects inviting users of all abilities and ages to truly exploit its potential. [clap]

The parity between the two now is virtually common with the only real concern being the ability to have more than one flipchart open at any one time. However, with V3 "a page picker" equivalent will be available and will therefore enable an easy combining of several flipcharts at any one time.{}

Hope that helps...+wave+