Import PowerPoint into notebook software

Most notebook software will enable you to import PowerPoint files, (but it is made easier by saving them as PDF files) into your notebook files. Sometimes I prefer to create my activities in PowerPoint because of the templates and designs.

The following is an example of a cloze activity, based on instructional reader. It is created in PowerPoint, I added a template, then saved as a PDF file and then imported into Activstudio (File-Import-From PDF)
where students can use the tools to fill in the words.

and into 'mimo' notebook (File-Import)

and drag the PDF file onto a Smartbook notebook page.

Which IWB?

I keep being asked which is my favourite out of all the IWBs I have used. I can't say I have a definite preference for one particular model as they all have features I like (and don't like) so here is where they stand at the moment as of August 2009!

If I was choosing for Software - Activboard
If I was choosing for Price - Mimio
If I was choosing for interactive features (uses both hands and pens) - Smartboard

I can't ultimately choose one product!
Now, if only somebody could come up with a product that incorporated all three...

Activboards beginning thoughts

Many schools are investing in Interactive Whiteboards. A lot of teachers are not using them to their full potential, mostly because of technical issues of calibration, software and hardware conflicts, setting up problems and most of all lack of professional development. Then there is the issue of 'Which should we buy for our school?'

Here is one example of Activboards being used in one school. The Activboard has the projector attached to the screen. (Big tick here, no projector or wires hanging from ceilings or sitting precariously on tables).
The screen can be moved up and down according to the child's height. The screen is large and can be seen by the whole class right to the back of the room. Teachers have very little problems calibrating because the projector is fixed to the screen. There is a wireless keyboard that children or teacher can use anywhere in the classroom. The only down was maybe the clarity, the room needed to be darker or the projector needed to have higher lumens, but it was a minor point as it made no difference to the children.


The Activboard works well in the Senior School because it can be seen from the back of the room and when you have big children sitting in a classroom with all your furniture, there is not a lot of room for sitting up the front. I also liked how you could direct student's attention to it while they are working at their desks and they could all easily see it.

Activboards versus Mimio...some thoughts

There are many types of Interactive Whiteboards and Mimios out in schools. A lot of teachers are not using them to their full potential, mostly because of technical issues of calibration, software and hardware conflicts, setting up problems and most of all lack of professional development. Then there is the issue of 'Which should we buy for our school?' This blog entry makes suggestions for and against both.

I have had the opportunity of seeing both Activboards and Mimios in action in one school. The Activboard has the projector attached to the screen. (Big tick here, no projector or wires hanging from ceilings or sitting precariously on tables).
The screen can be moved up and down according to the child's height. The screen is large and can be seen by the whole class right to the back of the room. Teachers have very little problems calibrating because the projector is fixed to the screen. There is a wireless keyboard that children or teacher can use anywhere in the classroom. The only down was maybe the clarity, the room needed to be darker or the projector needed to have higher lumens, but it was a minor point as it made no difference to the children.





The Mimio is attached to a LCD TV. This works well with small groups or the whole class on the mat in front of the TV. The mimio image was TV quality.

So far my evaluation of this equipment is that the Activboard works well in the Senior School because it can be seen from the back of the room and when you have big children sitting in a classroom with all your furniture, there is not a lot of room for sitting up the front. I also liked how you could direct student's attention to it while they are working at their desks and they could all easily see it.

I would use the Mimio more in the Junior school. It is least distacting for the whole class as it is smaller and could be used unobtrusively with small groups.

See my new blog dedicated to mimios and IWB http://mimioiwb.blogspot.com/

Proofreading and Interactive Whiteboards

• Choose a student's story that has been drafted on the computer and use that as a proof reading model at the beginning or end of a writing session
• Have the whole class or maybe a targeted group discuss what changes need to be made and let the children take charge of the proofreading
• use an example of drafted writing as a proofreading activity to be completed while waiting to conference (several children can be working on this activity at one time)
• have a child drafting using the IWB instead of in their books
• have two children drafting on the IWB creating a collaborative story, print out and they can proofread, edit and publish on their own
• use the IWB as one of the activities on your developmental circuit

See my new blog dedicated to mimios and IWB http://mimioiwb.blogspot.com/

Planning, linking, websites and Interactive Whiteboards

With Interactive Whiteboards comes a huge amount of activities already created for you. Plus there are all the other activities that are teacher made in Kidspiration, Inspiration, Word, PowerPoint etc. And then I see that teachers have found all these wonderful websites but are not fully utilising them to their full potential. How can we manage all these websites and activities we may have stored on our computers?
Answer: Incorporate it into your planning. Hyperlink the activities, websites, or teaching resources into your planning and launch the sites from there. This is a perfect way of managing all of these links and it is all in one place plus you are able to see what resources you are mainly using. In this example I have colour coded the activities, red for Flip charts, orange for PowerPoint, green for Inspiration, blue for websites and black for book work.See my new blog dedicated to mimios and IWB http://mimioiwb.blogspot.com/