Back To Basics: Promethean 101 A Promethean Professional Development Provided by the Osage County Interlocal Cooperative
ActivInspire Dashboard The Dashboard appears when you start the ActivInspire software. If you do not want the Dashboard to appear on startup, then uncheck the box “Show the dashboard window on startup”.
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The Dashboard contains many common ActivInspire tasks. The most common tasks are: Create a new flipchart – You may also create a new flipchart by clicking the File menu. Open a flipchart – You may also open an existing flipchart by clicking the File menu. Open recent flipcharts – You may also open recent flipcharts by clicking the File menu. Annotate over the Desktop – You may also activate the Desktop Annotate by clicking the icon on the main toolbar.
5. ExpressPoll – You may also activate the ExpressPoll by clicking the icon on the main toolbar. 6. Promethean Planet – You may also go directly to Promethean Planet by adding the icon to the main toolbar. 7. Configure a. Register devices b. Manage profiles c. Check for updates – Perform an update check about once per month!
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Calibrating the ActivBoard When using the Promethean board, it may become necessary to calibrate. Calibration aligns the tip of the ActivPen to the cursor on the screen. METHODS FOR CALIBRATING THE ACTIVBOARD: Method 1: • • •
Hover the ActivPen over the indicator light at the top left corner of the ActivBoard for a few seconds. You will hear a beep. The ActivBoard will turn white and display the following message: “Click once anywhere on the board to start the calibration process.” Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the calibration process.
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At your computer, click the ActivManager icon located on the system taskbar. Select Calibrate Once the calibration process starts, move back to the Activboard. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the calibration process.
Trouble Shooting Tips • • • • • •
Saving Lessons You Create Saving ActivInspire flipcharts is similar to saving documents saved in any application program.
Make sure all cables (USB & Power cord) are connected. Check multiple ActivPens if having pen problems. Clean the filter on your projector regularly (every 30-45 days). Disconnect all cables, shut down computer, reconnect cables, and restart computer to reset ActivBoard. Check for software updates regularly (every 30-45 days). If you are unable to resolve your ActivBoard trouble, contact the Promethean Support team at (888)6522848.
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Click the File menu, then click Save As… In the Save As…dialog box, give your flipchart a name and choose where you want the computer to save the file. Then click the OK or Save button at the bottom of the window.
**NOTE** The key is remembering where you saved your flipcharts. Refer to the “Organizing Your Flipcharts” section in this learner guide for more information about recommended ways to save your flipcharts.
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Customizing the Main Toolbar The Main Toolbar contains several ActivInspire tools by default; however, you may wish to change the toolbar to contain the tools that you use most. Here’s What You Do: Click the View menu, then click Customize at the bottom of the menu list. The following Edit Profiles dialog box will appear:
Make sure the Commands tab is selected, which it should be by default. Notice the All Commands list on the left of the window, and the Main Toolbox list on the right of the window. The All Commands are all the available tools that you may add to your toolbar. The Main Toolbox are the tools that are currently on your toolbar. Select tools in the All Commands list and then click on the Add>> button to add tools to your toolbar. Select tools in the Main Toolbox list and then click the <<Remove button to remove tools from your toolbar. When finished making all changes, click the Done button at the bottom of the window. 3
Downloading Pre-made Lessons Promethean Planet is the online professional learning community provided free by Promethean for teachers to connect and share resources. The most popular resources are the full lesson flipcharts that teachers upload to Promethean Planet. These flipcharts are available free for you to download and use in your instruction. Here’s What You Do: •
Go to http://www.prometheanplanet.com
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Create an account if you do not already have one. If you have an account, then log in. You are not allowed to download any resources without an account. In July 2011, Promethean surpassed 1,000,000 users on Promethean Planet.
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Click on the Resources tab at the top of the home page.
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You may search for your subject or topic by entering a keyword(s) in the search bar at the top of the page.
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Scroll over or click on the Preview button to get a preview and brief description of the flipchart.
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If the flipchart appears to be one that you would use in your instruction, click on the Download button.
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When the window appears asking whether to Open or Save, click Save.
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Give the flipchart a name and select the location to which to save the flipchart. It is recommended that you save the flipchart to your Desktop. Refer to the “Organizing Your Flipcharts” section in this learner guide for more information about recommended ways to save your flipcharts.
Organizing Your Flipcharts When you save flipcharts, you must decide where to save them (My Flipcharts, Shared Flipcharts, My Documents, or Desktop). Many want to save them to the ActivInspire folders My Flipcharts or Shared Flipcharts, which is fine to do so. If you prefer to save them to My Documents or the Desktop, it is better to create folders to contain the flipcharts. To create a folder on the Desktop or in My Documents: • On the Desktop, right-click. Click New Folder in the menu. The folder will be created on your Desktop and the name will be highlighted blue. • Type a name for the folder, such as Promethean Flipcharts. When you save a new flipchart, choose this folder to save the flipchart. • To save to My Documents, repeat the same procedure, but make sure you have opened the My Documents window before pressing the right-click mouse button. 4
Ideas for Interactive Uses Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brainstorm ideas for how you can use your Promethean Board to engage your students with interactive lessons.
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