Using ActivInspire

Page 1

Training and Development

A Guide to the Interactive Whiteboard Using

ActivInspire


2|Page


Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5 Where are the Interactive Whiteboards located? .................................................... 5 Interactive Whiteboards .......................................................................................... 5 How do I book a room with an Interactive Whiteboard? .......................................... 6 I am in a room with an Interactive Whiteboard how do I get in the cabinet? ........... 6 Who do I contact if I have problems with the IWB equipment? ............................... 6 I have never used an Interactive Whiteboard before what should I do?.................. 6 Who is who again?.................................................................................................. 6 Getting Started ........................................................................................................... 7 What is ActivInspire? .............................................................................................. 8 The Activboard ........................................................................................................ 8 The Activpen ........................................................................................................... 8 Launching ActivInspire ............................................................................................ 8 Flipcharts .............................................................................................................. 10 Toolbox ................................................................................................................. 10 Tools ..................................................................................................................... 11 Manipulating Objects ................................................................................................ 12 Selecting Objects .................................................................................................. 12 The eraser tool ...................................................................................................... 12 Creating Colourful Pages ......................................................................................... 13 Presentation Mode and Design Mode ................................................................... 13 Applying backgrounds........................................................................................... 14 Adding lines .......................................................................................................... 14 Shapes .................................................................................................................. 15 Trashcan ............................................................................................................... 15 Using text .............................................................................................................. 16 Text tool ................................................................................................................ 16 3|Page


Menus ................................................................................................................... 17 On Screen Keyboard ............................................................................................ 17 Enlarging the Floating Keyboard ........................................................................... 18 Saving ................................................................................................................... 18

4|Page


Introduction Where are the Interactive Whiteboards located? There are 50+ Interactive Whiteboards distributed throughout the college. Each are set up with a DVD /VHS player, a sound system and access to the internet and college network. Interactive Whiteboards E101

E106

E107

E110A

E110B

E125

E128(IT Centre)

E205

E216A(SDRC) E315

E316

E319

E409

E411

E415

E416

B002

B003

B108A

B108B

B202

B205

B211

B303

B304

B305

B306

B308B

B309

B401A

B403A

B405A

B408

B409

W303B

W302

W305

L102

L205

L212

L212A

L307

L310

L318

T116

T108

T126

T203

T204

T204

T208

T212

T224

T230

T231

T329

BE109

BE118

BE204

BE217

BE302

Palmbourne Palmbourne Unit 2

Unit 2

Sports Hall Classroom (SH02) Rooms over at the Chetwynd centre with IWB’s are CH12A, CH12B, CH13, CH14, CH15, CH16, CH17 and CH18B Projectors mounted on the wall (not interactive) E102

E128 (IT Centre)

E128 (IT Centre)

B209A

B209B

Brickwork

T210

Palmbourne Unit 5

5|Page


How do I book a room with an Interactive Whiteboard? Contact Nikki Berry on ext. 3115 (or via email) specifying your name, course/subject, day and time you wish to book a room. This will then be checked EBS4 (timetable system) to check availability. I am in a room with an Interactive Whiteboard how do I get in the cabinet? Keys to cabinets are held by Faculty Secretaries and also in Main Reception where you will need to sign for and return promptly. Who do I contact if I have problems with the IWB equipment? Within the cabinet, you will find a troubleshooting checklist and a Quick User Guide. Please read this as in most cases you will be able to resolve the problem yourself. Should your problem not be resolved through following instructions on the checklist please contact: The IT Helpdesk on ext. 3121 I have never used an Interactive Whiteboard before what should I do? You have a number of options: • • • •

You can attend a group training session indicated on the Staff Development programme, which is published each term. You can book a 1:1 training session with Sarah Clay ext 3210 or Cheryl Howells ext 3233 You can collect a training manual from the SDRC (E216a) and work through on your own. You can access the Promethean online tutorial http://prometheanlearning.com/uk and registering yourself by creating a new account (top left of the screen). Access to the Foundations Skills materials is FREE!

Who is who again? Booking:

Nikki Berry on ext. 3115

Keys:

Main Reception or Faculty Secretaries

Support:

The IT Helpdesk on ext. 3121

Training:

Cheryl Howells on ext 3233 for 1:1s or book a Staff

Development Training Session.

6|Page


Getting Started Turn on the projector using the remote control you will see the projector light turn green. You can also turn on the amplifier using the on/off button. Ensure you have set the amplifier to select the correct channel. To select the CD channel you will be able to hear sound from the computer. Select the AUX channel to hear the sound from the video/DVD player. Below are some helpful images to get started.

On/Off

Volume

Channel

Button

Control

Selector

On/Off

Video/DVD

Button

selector

On/Off Button

Infra Red

7|Page


What is ActivInspire? ActivInspire is a user-friendly tool to help teachers create excellent interactive lessons. You can install ActivInspire on the computer you use for preparing lessons as well as the computer you use in the class.

The Activboard 1. Switch on the Activboard before starting your computer. The power indicator light, in the top-left hand corner of your board, should be illuminated when the Activboard is switched on. 2. Calibrating the board by right clicking using the mouse on the Activboard logo. Select the calibrate option and follow the instructions using the pen and the board. You can find the calibration tool by clicking on the Activboard icon on the bottom right-hand of your screen. The Activpen Tips for using the Activpen:  Moving the cursor – Hold the nib lightly on the Activboard; don’t push the nib into, move the pen around and the cursor will follow your pen.  Left-click – Tap the pen nib firmly but quickly on the Activboard.  Right-click – Hover over the Activboard, less than a quarter of an inch away and click the orange button on the pen.  Click and drag – click on the object you want to move, hold the pen nib down on the board and then move the pen, the object will then move.  Double- click – two firm quick taps on the board will work.

Launching ActivInspire When you have logged on, you will see the ActivInspire icon on your desktop. Double click on the ActivInspire icon with the Activpen.

8|Page


Alternatively

If you cannot see the Icon on your desktop, press the start button on the tool bar, go to Programs and then find ActivSoftware, then select ActivInspire then ActivInspire.

When you launch ActivInspire you will see the dashboard appear on your screen.

Note: if you uncheck this box, the dashboard will no longer appear when you open the software

9|Page


Flipcharts Click on OK on any messages which show up before the dashboard appears. The dashboard will allow you to open any flipcharts you recently saved or you can choose to open a New Flipchart.

Toolbox The toolbox will appear on the right-hand side of your screen. If you hover over the tools they will tell you what they are. To use a tool double click on the one you wish to use. Edit User Defined Buttons Main Menu Desktop Annotate

Switch Profile

Previous Page

Desktop Tools Next Page

Starts/Stops Activote Colours

Express Poll

Pen Size Tools

Select

Highlighter

Pen

Fill

Eraser Connectors

Shapes

Customise

Insert Media from file Text

Clear Undo

Reset Page

Redo

10 | P a g e

Question

Delete


Tools Select tool allows you to select items and click and drag items. Pen tool allows you to write freehand on the page.

Shapes Tool allows you to insert shapes into the flipchart.

Highlighter tool allows you to highlight something.

Resource Browser opens a bank of images, shapes, backgrounds etc.

Eraser tool erases selection however beware that this creates a layer over the file increasing its size.

Colours the colours installed in the toolbox which you may wish to use.

Text tool allows you to type on the page.

Size adjuster increases/decreases the size of thickness of your pen/highlighter. Flipchart Type opens the flipchart in design mode or at the board mode

Spray tool allows you to clear items. Undo/Redo goes forward/back on what you’ve done.

Desktop Tools allows you to Annotate over the desktop.

Tools open a menu of other tools you may wish to use.

Main Menu opens a drop down menu of options such as save, open. Roll up/out hides the flipchart to the right or upwards.

Reset Page - resets the entire page. Delete allows you to delete items on a flipchart page.

11 | P a g e

Fill tool allows you to fill a page or object with colour


Manipulating Objects Selecting Objects Using these icons will allow you to move through the pages of your flipchart. When you write something on your flipchart with the pen, you need to select the marquee tool; 1. Click on a blank area at the top left of the object. 2. Press the pen nib on the board and move the pen to the bottom right of the object. 3. Release the pen from the board and a box should surround the object. 4. You can now move, resize and drag the object. NOTE: to click and drag, you must click the object you want to move, press the pen nib on the board, and then move the pen. The object you have clicked will move with the pen. The eraser tool When using the eraser tool you can erase an area of the object. Beware of the eraser size as you can increase/decrease this. It is also important to note that if you make a mistake you can use the undo/redo buttons.

12 | P a g e


Creating Colourful Pages Presentation Mode and Design Mode You will be automatically use presentation mode, which is useful when using the Activboard in front of the class. We can however enter the design mode for when we are creating flipcharts.

Presentation Mode

Design Mode

To put your flipchart into design mode, click the switch profile button and select Authoring. You will notice the view of your screen will change. There are more tools which have appeared at the top of the page, these are handier for when working at the computer.

13 | P a g e


Applying backgrounds 1. Using the resource browser, double click to open the resources. 2. Click on the shared backgrounds. 3. Double click on the background you want. NOTE: You can follow these steps to add shared images/grids/shapes/lines.

Adding

lines

To draw a graph on the flipchart, first select some gridlines from the resource library. 1. Select the shape recognition tool from the top toolbar in Authoring view. 2. You can draw a line with the Activpen and it will automatically draw a straight line. 3. You can do this with both vertical and horizontal lines as well as shapes.

14 | P a g e


Shapes You can add shapes to your page using the shapes tool. 1. Firstly click on the shapes tool and you will see the shapes appear on the right hand side. 2. Select the shape and the Colour that you want 3. Click and drag the shape to the size that you want. 4. Remember if you make a mistake use the undo/redo tools.

Trashcan If there is something that you don’t want on your flipchart, you can throw it away. 1. A trashcan should be present on the screen. 2. Using the marquee tool select the object you want to delete and drag in to the trashcan. 3. The rubbish will appear when you’ve done this correctly. Alternatively 4. Click on the item to select it and click on the trashcan.

15 | P a g e


Using text Text tool You can use the text tool anywhere on a flipchart 1. Select the text tool from the toolbar 2. Click where you want to start typing. 3. You will notice and editing box appears on the top tool bar. 4. Use the editing box as you would normally.

16 | P a g e


Menus There are lots of tools available on ActivInspire which you may not see on the toolbox; 1. To view these click the Tools option on the main menu in authoring mode. 2. Select More Tools. 3. Select items such as Tickertape/On-Screen Keyboard/Clock.

On Screen Keyboard If you are wanting to type whilst using the Activpen you can select the floating keyboard. 1. Once selected the keyboard, select the text tool 2. Click where you want to type 3. Use your pen to select the letters and numbers. 4. The keyboard works exactly as a normal keyboard would. 5. Edit the font using the editor menu. 6. To close the keyboard, click on the X.

17 | P a g e


Enlarging the Floating Keyboard If you want to enlarge the floating keyboard, you need to right-click on the keyboard where you are given four sizes; adult small, adult large, child small or child large. Select one of these to change the size of the keyboard.

Saving To save a flipchart, click on the main menu, select File and select save/save as, this will allow you to choose where to save the flipchart. Please ensure you save it to a place where you will be able to find it again.

18 | P a g e


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.