ActivInspire Updates to Version 1.4

Promethean has just released the newest Version of ActivInspire.  Several changes have been made to ActivInspire that will make this program that much better.  One of the best changes is the return of the pen modifier tools.  These tools were available within ActivStudio and were somehow left out of the first version of ActivInspire.  Another great addition is the ability to select more than one page from the page browser.  You can now use the Ctrl key to select multiple pages and drag them to the location that you want.  One of my favorite new changes is the page turn effects option.  You can now set up your flipchart to turn the pages of the flipchart and add a little zing to your lesson.  If you would like to download the updates just make sure that ActivInspire is open then click on the Help menu and select check for updates.  It will tell you that there are updates available and select download.  You will have to either download it to your computer and then run the file from there or just choose run as your option when you download.  If you would like a more in depth look at what is new click here to view the new features guide.

Got Games?

As spring fever starts to settle in and students start to get a little restless you might be looking for some online activities that are more engaging. Here are some games that will keep students amused and still do a decent job of teaching or reviewing a concept.

Below are a few websites in different content areas that might be useful.

For Language Arts try: http://www.freeworldgroup.com/games6/gameindex/grammar-ninja.htm AKA Grammar Ninja

Students can practice identifying parts of speech and brush up on grammar skills as a Ninja Warrior.

For Vocabulary try:

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/rhwebsters/

This is a challenging word game that helps build vocabulary and shares interesting facts about the history of the English language.

For Science try: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm

A website that is sponsered by the Energy Information Association that has games and activities that explore different types of energy and the science behind those. There are also lesson plans and extension activities for teachers.

For Math Activities try: http://www.kidsolr.com/math/fractions.html

Students can practice their fraction skills converting improper fractions renaming fractions multiplying and dividing fractions.

April 22nd is Earth Day!

With Earth Day fast approaching there are several websites that offer information for teachers and kids.  The first website is called Energy Kids and it is a fascinating website that gives a ton of information about energy.  Do your students know what energy is?  If not they can visit Energy Kids and they can learn about energy and all of its different forms.  The website also give great information about nonrenewable and renewable energy.  It also breaks down how we use electricity and hydrogen as forms of energy.  Have you every wondered how much energy homes or businesses use?  Energy kids also gives some great statistics as to how much energy is used by people every day.  There are a few games and activities that are included but they are not very interactive so they will probably be best used within a lab setting.  This is a great website that provides a lot of information for both teachers and students.

BrainPop is also offering several videos and activities that go along very nicely with earth day.  They have 11 different videos that can be used to inform your students about earth day as well as an overall earth awareness package.  If you are not sure what to teach about earth day I would start with these videos and activities.

Activotes

Incorporating the Activotes into your classroom!

If you are like most teachers you would really like to use the Activotes within your classroom but you feel that you cannot fit them in.  Most teachers that I talk to feel that they either aren't comfortable with the Activotes or they just don't have the time.  Today I will give you some ideas to help you become more comfortable with the Activotes.

1. Pass out the Activotes first thing in the morning and don't pick them up until the day is finished.  (If the Activotes are already on the students desks you don't have to worry about passing them out and wasting the time to do so.)
2. Since they are already on the students desks use them to answer simple questions like... Do you understand?, Are you ready to move on? or Should we stop and review?  With questions like this you don't have to have a right or wrong answer but yet the feedback from your students will benefit their understanding of the concept.
3. You don't have to use them for everything that you are doing but if they are on the desk I am sure that you will use them for more than you think.  (Lunch count, understanding, quizzes, polls and much more.)
4. The more that you use the Activotes the more comfortable you will become with them and eventually you can use them to create tests and take scores or use them with websites (BrainPop) that already have quizzes attached to them  based on the Activotes.
5. If you need help with the technical aspects of using the Activotes I have attached an Activote Guide that I have created to help you out. (This guide is also available on the Helpful Hints section of the blog)

If this is helpful please let others know and they can get the same valuable information from our blog.

http://theprometheanteachers.blogspot.com/

Free Printable Certificates

With the end of the year fast approaching we are all trying to plan for all of the end of the year activities.  Recently I found a very cool website that offers free printable certificates that can be downloaded.  Certificate Street offers a ton of free templates that range from Student of the Day to good listener awards.  Once you find the certificate that you like you click on download and it opens from with Adobe reader.  Now all you have to do is type in the information hit print and the certificate is yours.  The only downfall to this is that you cannot save your completed certificates with the information filled in but you can save the template to use later.  This is definitely a time saver when it comes to the chaos that the end of the year brings.  Enjoy!

If you are looking for a website that has all the bells and whistles and amazing things that the web has to offer then don't read this!

If you are looking for a website that has all the bells and whistles and amazing things that the web has to offer then don't go to this website.  But, if you are looking for a website that will give your students ideas to write about then I would absolutely visit this site.  At first glance you would think that this website has nothing that you would be interested in but when you actually start to use it your students will thank you.  The Story Starter website is a website that provides 763,591,140 wonderful ideas and writing prompts for writers of all ages.  It is very simple to use all you have to do is click on the button that says "Click Here for a Random Story Starter Sentence" and the website provides a story starter.  After reviewing a few of the starters you will find some of them are very entertaining like this one "The hilarious airline hostess composed a song in the garage for the deadly frog."  Most of the story starters are probably for upper elementary through high school students but Joel Heffner has also created The Story Starter Jr. which provides story starters like "The superhero was walking in the school."  This website is good for your elementary school students but does not provide nearly the number of story starters as the original.  If you are anything like me this will make your job easier because I could never think of creative story starters like the ones provided on these two websites.

Wild Weather Adventure

If you are looking for a great weather review game you should visit NASA's space place.  Within the games section you will find many games that will be very helpful to you and your students. 

While visiting a classroom I was able to observe students playing a game called Wild Weather Adventure and having a great time while learning.  This game takes the students on a weather adventure across the world.  As the game starts the teacher chooses how many groups will be playing and then sets the groups.  The students now choose their group name and start the game.  As the students spin a wheel it asks them questions about weather and gives them small bits of knowledge as they play the game.  Each team has a weather ballon that they move from space to space on the board of the world.  The more answers that they answer correctly the further they move and the closer they get to the end.  The first team to move their balloon to the end wins the game.  This can be a great review for your students.  It is not only fun but they can also learn something while they play.
Note:  On the main page the teacher can click on "Click here to view the text version" and they will show all of the questions that are asked along with the answers to those questions. 

Special Thanks:  Thank you to Michelle Bernstein for sharing this link with me.  If anyone else has some good links that they would like included feel free to let me know and I will pass them on to everyone.  Don't forget to tell your friends.

Did you know that Big Bird is 8 feet 2 inches tall?

When it comes to kids they always have one thing in common and that is they all love Sesame Street.  Sesame Street has a great website with games that can be played either on their own computer or along with the Promethean Board.  While browsing their list of games I found 62 different games that range from numbers and counting to early reading.  All of the games can be sorted by subject, theme or even by the characters to make it easier to find what you are looking for. While Sesame Street is probably geared more towards the younger students, there might be a few things that even your older students might like.  All of the games are based on one of the Sesame Street characters and that character leads them through the activity that the kids will be doing.  Even if you don't teach the lower grade levels this would be a great website for any kid that may just be learning their numbers and letters up to those kids who may just be starting to read. 

Make Beautiful Backgrounds Using Science

Do you wish you could design your own backgrounds in ActivInspire? Do you possess some graphic designer qualities yourself? Are you looking for a visually stimulating exercise for your students? Need a brain break idea?

Caution: The Flame Website is absolutely mesmerizing!


We all know how important creativity is but it's difficult to find the time. The Flame Website offers an opportunity for teachers and students to be creative by using their amazing drawing tool to draw vivid images.
There are also animations, pictures, and experiments on this website. I encourage science teachers to check out the experiments as they show some awesome examples of particle behavior like the effect wind has on fire. Even if you don't get into the scientific aspects of this (I'm no chemistry teacher-that's for sure!) the kids will enjoy and learn a lot just by watching or exploring this site.
Click here to go to the Flame Website.
The program may ask you to run an earlier version of Java that's ok. Just click ok.
The first ISTE National Educational Technology Standard for students is: 1. Creativity and Innovation Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance to support individual learning and contribute to learning of others. The first IST/E standard for teachers is very similar: 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity .

To create your own backgrounds in ActivInspire: save your masterpiece by clicking the save button on the lower right hand corner. Giver your computer a minute to load. After your image is displayed go to file, then choose "save page as". Select your location i.e. pictures, documents, desktop, etc . . . This will save your masterpiece on your computer as a picture you can import.

In ActivInsipre choose Insert, then Media. Browse for your image-double click. Your masterpiece will then appear on your flipchart page as an object that you can use as a background or image.