Messy handwriting and no more chalkboard space

[kbenson]

This is our first year with Activboards. I am the technology integration teacher for the school so I field a variety of questions. We love the ActivClassroom! Our students are engaged and our teachers are having fun sharing new techniques with each other. I love the collaboration.

Here's my question, since the Activboard is taking up a sizable portion of the front of the room, teachers don't have much space to post paper charts anywhere. We also don't have any overhead projectors since each teacher has a document camera. Thus, the Board area is occupied by flipcharts and/or displays from the document camera.

One of the trade-offs is it is hard when you want students to look at two things simultaneously (e.g., the document camera as well as a flipchart page). In the olden days, teachers would have multiple sheets of chart paper up at a time and go back and forth between them, or write on two sections of the chalkboard. How do schools who have become experienced with the ActivClassroom compensate for this trade-off?:confused:

Additionally, I had a first grade teacher worried because her text (ideas solicitted from students during a discussion) was not a neat as it would have normally been in the olden days. What do experienced ActivClassroom teachers do about this issue? :confused:

[tcampbell]

I do two things at my school. First, I have the teachers take a "picture" of what they are displaying on their document camera. Most document cameras have pc software that will do that. Then, you can either past the "picture" on one half of the flipchart, or you can use the arrange windows feature in the Promethean software to display two flipcharts side-by-side. There is a great Activtip on how to do that. That leaves your flipchart and a flipchart for your document camera image. I suppose you could also shrink the window and place the two windows side-by-side. As far as the handwriting, I use the recognition tool that converts my handwriting to text. It is fabulous. Besides, if I have a student who is absent, I can print the flipchart, and boom, fabulous looking instant notes.

[Kaylea]

I've had my board for two years and understand what you're saying. After 37 years of teaching, I had rooms of teaching material and wondered what I would do with all of it. 90 % has been given to teachers who don't have Promethean boards. Away went my chalkboard, overhead projector, and tons of maps.....
I have white boards on each side of my activboard which I use to write material that goes along with the lesson being taught on the activboard (something I want to stay up longer).
Permanent lines can be drawn on the board for use in lower grades for the teacher or students to show correct penmanship. ( in activstudio: The handwriting backgrounds are great to use when teaching )
To help me out with teaching charts, I have clips on one side to display the posters quickly, leave them up for a long period of time or change them as needed. The activboard is then used to get the students actively engaged in learning the material. They are excited, motivated, and ready to go to the board and show what they've learned.
I wonder daily how I ever taught without the activboard...
Would like to share a true story with you: Last year my laptop crashed :( talk about panic attack... I had nothing !!! no computer, none of the flipcharts that I had saved all year, and didn't have any of my lessons for the week. After my principal saw my face, heard the panic in my voice, and knew I needed help...he called our tech support and by the next morning, my files had been recovered and a new laptop was on my desk. [clap] [clap] [clap]
We have the best support in Winn Parish...one in which the vision is to do what it takes to reach the students of our parish and the Promethean board is accomplishing that goal.
Hope I didn't get away from your questions !!! Let me know if I can help with anything. Bren

[kbenson]

Thank you for your experienced perspectives. It is reassuring to hear how you worked these things out.

I will show my teachers how to put two a capture from the document camera along side a flipchart. I really think they will like that idea.

I have been encouraging them to use the lined papers when they write notes, so I think they will take up that idea soon.

I tend to type text as students are throwing out ideas, so I need to trust the handwriting recognition more. If it works as well as you say, then I think they will take up that technique instead.

We are in the mode of learning the tool and simultaneously trying to be efficient (in planning time and instructional time). I welcome your advice to make us more effective and productive.

Kathy

[davidlloyd]

We are in the mode of learning the tool and simultaneously trying to be efficient (in planning time and instructional time). I welcome your advice to make us more effective and productive.

Kathy

Hi Kathy
Two rules:
1. keep it simple!
2. Only invest the time into preparing a flipchart in proportion to the work you going to get out of it. For example if its going to be used once for 10 minutes, do the minimum. If the flipchart will be used for a week, or repeated used over a term etc., then it's worth taking more time over creating it.
Enjoy.