Using Your Activboard As A Chalkboard

CFF : Step-By-Step Tech

September 7, 2007 Volume 2 Issue 1

Kathe Santillo. Instructional Technology Coach

Using Your ActivBoard Like a Chalkboard What is the ActivBoard?

How can I use the skill explained below? What should I know first?

How does this benefit my teaching/students?

The ActivBoard is the interactive whiteboard. You can use the ActivBoard as a visual display, as well as a presentation screen for applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Inspiration, and more. Displays can be both interactive and non-interactive. You can also create a Flipchart presentation using the ActivStudio software. Use you ActivBoard as you would your chalkboard for your instruction as well as student participation. The ActivBoard must be connected to your laptop in order to display applications or documents. You do not need to know how to create a Flipchart in order to use the skills below. 9 Addresses multiple learning styles 9 Encourages student participation

HOW TO BEGIN

TO USE YOUR ACTIVBOARD LIKE A CHALKBOARD: 1) Make sure that both the projector and ActivBoard are connected to the laptop computer. 2) Open the ActivStudio Professional Edition software located on your desktop. 3) The dashboard (main menu) will appear. Select New Flipchart from the dashboard. 4) The background of your screen and the projected image on the ActivBoard will become white and the ActivBoard Toolbox will appear on the right side. You can move the Toolbox by clicking and dragging it by the black bar at the top. 5) Click on the Pen Tool in the Toolbox. It is an image of a grey-colored pen.

6) Use your ActivPen stylus to write on the ActivBoard. You can change the pen color and width a couple of ways: WIDTH a. Select a pen width number (2, 4, 6, 8) from the numbers above the colored squares. b. Slide the pen width slider, located above the pen width numbers, to select your width. You can choose from 0 to 100. COLOR a. Click on the Pen Tool icon, and then click on one of the color squares. b. To choose from more colors, right click the cursor while it is on one of the color squares. A box containing a larger color range will appear. TO ERASE WRITING ON THE ACTIVBOARD: 1) Click on the Clear Tool (a picture of a spray bottle) icon on the Toolbox. 2) Select Clear Annotations from the list. This will clear only what was written by the ActivPen. ****THE ERASER TOOL (A PICTURE OF A PENCIL ERASER) DOES NOT ERASE WHAT WAS WRITTEN. The Eraser Tool will only cover what was written in white. The white area can then be moved off what you wanted to erase if the cursor is on it and it is dragged. ALWAYS USE THE CLEAR TOOL to completely erase something.*****