University Level Application

[csloan]

Greetings! I have just been hired at North Greenville University here in South Carolina. I am responsible for teaching the ACTIVstudio software to the faculty, as the ACTIVboard is newly-introduced technology at NGU.

The ACTIVboard is GREAT for use in K-12 schools. But can someone help me think of some ways that it can be effective at the college/university level? How about the post-graduate level? Any and all ideas would be helpful, especially from folks who are using this technology in the college or university environment.

Thanks!
Chris

[Dug]

Chris,
I teach post graduates and use an ACTIVboard. However, as they are trainee teachers. Much of what I do is preparing them to be effective users of the IWB as an aid to teaching and learning itself (rather than using it myself explicitly for teaching - if you know what I mean).
The ACTIVsoftware has real depth and can be used as much or as little as you like depending on purpose. At the shallowest level, you might use it to view and annotate office type documents and the internet, or even as an 'enhanced' whiteboard. Further in, you might produce complex flipcharts incorporating flash animations, flash video, video clips etc to help deliver vibrant, multi-modal learning opportunities.
What specific subject areas will you be teaching? Particular topics/subjects will lend themselves better to certain functions of the software/hardware depending on your focus.

[csloan]

We teach a variety of subjects at NGU. We are a Christian university, so a lot of what we teach revolves around the Bible. We have Christian education courses, pastoral care, and philosophy of religion, just to name a few. And then we have your "normal" college classes as well...math and sciences, english and literature, foreign languages, music & the arts, etc. I'm not sure what all the majors are since I just started there last week, but you can go to www.ngu.edu (http://www.ngu.edu) and get a good idea of what we are about.

My objective as a member of the Computer Services team is to prepare faculty to use the ACTIVboard for any and all disciplines. Hope that helps.



Chris

[dbunker]

Chris

I don't see a fundamental difference here than when you're teaching younger learners.

Your students will have a variety of preferred learning styles, - Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, and various combinations of these.

The ActivBoard allows teachers to prepare content drawing on each of these styles. So encourage your teachers to develop resources that draw upon rich visual images, that allow manipulation of data on the baord to illustrate key concepts, that use a variety of multimedia resources to engage and stimulate .

The board is a collaborative tool that can involve all the students in contributing to tasks that develop a shared understanding.

Technology such as wireless slates and the ActiVote system are also invaluable tools in engaging students in the learning process.

[airskeeter]

Chris,

The McNeece State University Education department has adopted the Activclassroom for them to model best practices in instruction to their pre-service teachers. Dr. faye White is leading the initiative. You can look her email up on the www.mcneese.edu webiste.

Hoping that this helps.

[davidlloyd]

Have you had a look at some of the flipcharts available from this site? While they may not be at the right academic level, they may give you some ideas.

It might also be worthwhile buying a training session from our American office. I'm sure they would be able to tailor a session to show examples from the specific areas your college is teaching.

David