ActivInspire Power User How To 1
Flipchart Set up The ideal size for a flipchart is 1024 X 768. You can also make a view other fundamental changes to make your working space a little more accommodating to your style. In the top right hand corner, you ll notice a bunch of icons. The first tells you what flipchart you re on. The second one that looks like snowflakes tells you whether your actions are turned on or off. When actions are on, all your buttons will work and all your objects will be locked if they are set to be locked. If you click on it, it will turn red. All actions will be shut off. Everything can be moved. You can also set how the flipchart will be viewed. You can change that through the drop down menu. Finally, the X is if it is a full page. It is always a good idea to design in the same way you will be showing it. If you are taking the flipchart to another computer, make sure you are using the same properties on your flipchart, so it will appear correctly. Some other properties you may want to set are under Settings. Click on File Settings Flipchart. This will give you the default settings for the flipchart. Under this section, you can change the background color, the page color, and other default settings. There are many other settings available under this Edit Profiles. 2
Inserting or Embedding Sound 3. Click on to search your hard or flash drive for files 1. Click Resource Browser 2. Click on Resource Locations 4. Sounds will appear down below. You can simply drag them into your flipchart. ALTERNATIVE METHOD: You can also click on Insert Media and choose them from your hard or flash drive. 3
If you would like to hide the icon for the sound, you can do that in a couple ways. You can either choose to hide the icon on the screen, or you can have an object appear to have it play. Hide the Sound Icon Once you have the speaker icon for the sound on the screen, you will want to make it transparent. To make any object transparent, you will want to click on the object. The transparency icon is the fourth icon in. It is the one that looks like a sun. Slide it to the left to make an object less visible. Slide to the right to make it visible again. Hide the Sound on an Object If you want to hide the icon with an object, you will want to first put the object on your flipchart. Then, you will want to lock it in place. Insert the sound then resize the icon to the same size as your object. Place the icon on top of the object Then make it transparent as above 4
Working with Video You can either embed or link to a video in a flipchart. If you link the video to the flipchart, you will have to make sure that your video is available online and the site is not blocked prior to using your flipchart in the classroom. Sources: You can use YouTube or TeacherTube to find videos. Linking to a Video Find your video on the Internet Copy the URL to the video. If you are given a window somewhere on the page that says to Link to this Video be sure to copy that information. You can triple click on the URL to select all Copy by either right-click-copy or Ctrl C on the keyboard Return to your flipchart Create or Insert the object you would like to make the link to the website. This object can also be text. Open the Browsers by going to View - Browsers Click on the object Click on the top or the Action Browser Click on Open Website In the URL section, paste the URL you copied from the video s website. Underneath the URL field, be sure to click on Apply Changes. If you do not click on it, it will not save. You will know you ve done it correctly, if when you hover over the object, a gold play button will appear. (a triangle pointing to the right) If you do not have the play button, you will want to double check that you: 1. Selected the correct object 2. Hit Apply Changes after pasting in the URL 3. Have your flipchart in presentation mode 5
Embedding a Video Before you can embed the video, it is necessary to capture the video. The following technique works on both YouTube and TeacherTube Videos. First Time you Embed a Video IMPORTANT!! The first time you embed a video, you must install two codec files. This is just a fancy word for a file that needs to be placed on your computer. You can get these files on your own by doing a Google Search for the words techsmith and codec. Or going to http://www.techsmith.com/codecs.asp. The files you are looking for are called tscc and ensharpendecoder. After you have downloaded the file, you will simply want to double click on it to run it. The file is also available from the Instructional Technology Educator. Capture the Video using Zamzar Find your video Copy the link as you did above Go to the website: www.zamzar.com Under Step 1 click on URL then paste in the URL Under Step 2 convert your files to.flv Under Step 3 put in your email address Click on Convert You will be emailed a link where you can download your converted video *Note: If you want only the sound of the video and not the video itself, you can convert to an.mp3 and you will receive only the sound. Open the flipchart where you would like to embed the video Choose Insert Link File Add link as the Placeholder Store in the flipchart 6
Show controller Change Placeholder Image icon allows you to use the camera tool on the controller to change the icon that appears on the flipchart. You can also take snapshots as the video is playing and move them into the flipchart by using the camera tool on the controller. 7
Desktop Tools/Options There are three types of tools you may want to use when you are not working within ActivInspire flipcharts. These tools allow you to have many of the capabilities that you have when working with flipcharts, but using other applications. Annotate Over the Desktop When you annotate over the desktop, the entire toolbar will remain open while you are working on your desktop. You can then write or create shapes on any program you have open. This is called a Desktop Flipchart. When you choose the Annotate Over Desktop icon, it will open a new one. You will be asked if you want to save it when you turn it off. To turn off this function, you click the same icon. Caution: The annotations will stay put. They will not move or change based on the program you have open. If you wish to scroll down or open a different program, you will have to clear your screen first. Desktop Tools Another option you have available to you are the desktop tools. These are very specific tools that are available to you outside the ActivInspire flipchart. These do not create a desktop flipchart. 2 1 7 6 1. Internet Browser 3 2. Onscreen Keyboard 3. Camera Tools 4. Tools (Ticker Tape, Clock, Sound Record, Calculator, Dice) 5. Video Recorder 6. Express Voting 7. Return to Flipchart 4 5 Using Activmarker with MS Office Products Activmarker works with Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. It allows you to keep your annotations in place, so you can scroll down and still have the annotations remain on the line you put them. 8
Turn on Activmarker Click on Start Programs Activ Software Activ Inspire Activmarker A white box will appear in the middle of your screen that simply tells you about the product. It will disappear on its own. In the tray, an icon will appear. This icon tells you that Activmarker is turned on. Using Activmarker The Activmarker box will appear whenever you open a Microsoft Office product. For PowerPoint, it does not appear until you are running the slide show. You can either write with the pen or highlight You can also use the software as you would normally by not clicking on any of the tools. To activate a tool, simply click on it. You can change the width and size of your pen and highlighter. Remember that all changes that are made can be saved. You can also scroll down through your document and your annotations will stay where you put them. Turning Off Activmarker Click on the icon in the tray Click on Exit PDF Importer In order for your annotations to stay with your.pdf file and allow you to scroll, you can import a.pdf file into ActivInspire. It will then become a flipchart, so you have all the capabilities of a flipchart available to you. Simply, click File Import PDF. 9
Cool Tools! In this section, the most popular tools of flipcharts will be covered, as well as how to add tools to your toolbar for easy access. All of the Tools that are available can be found under the Tools menu. Once you ve access the Tools menu you can choose from the tools available there or you can click on either Math Tools or More Tools for additional tools. We re going to begin at the bottom of the Tools Menu. 1. Revealer: This tool allows you to change your entire screen to a black shade and pull from any of the four sides. Simply click on any of the four sides and begin to drag toward the opposite side. If you would like to turn it off, simply drag it all the way to the opposite side. 2. Spotlight: The spotlight tool allows you to have only a small amount of the screen either open or shaded. You can choose to have either a square or circle spotlight. You can move the spotlight around by clicking and dragging it around the screen. In order for you to be able to move it, you must have the cross arrows. Otherwise, it will simply resize. 3. Camera: The camera tool allows you to take pictures of any object that is on your computer screen and save it to your flipchart. You can do so in several different ways. You can also access the camera tool from two different places. If you are taking a picture of something within ActivInspire, you will want to launch the camera tool from the Tools menu. If you would like to take a snapshot of something on outside of the ActivInspire environment, you will want to access the camera tool via the Desktop Tools icon. When you click on the Camera tool, you are given several options: Area: allows you to choose a specific square or rectangular area for the snapshot. Point to Point and Freehand: allow you to draw a specific area without a background. Window: will take the snapshot of a specific window that is open. Fullscreen: will take the entire viewable area 10
After you have chosen which type of snapshot you would like to take, another window will pop open giving you additional ways of dealing with the picture you have taken. You can copy your snapshot to the current flipchart page or a new flipchart page. You can also copy to the clipboard, so you can use in other programs. It can also simply save the image to your My Resources or Shared Resources folders. *You can also save images from the Internet to your computer by clicking locating an image. Right click on the image and do a File Save File As and save to your computer. You can then put into your flipchart by using the Browse function under the Resource Browser. 4. Math Tools: Math tools is an additional set of tools that are available for you to use. The Ruler, Protractor, and Compass, are all tools that are added directly to your flipchart. You can use them to complete simple geometric functions directly on the screen. They can be removed from the flipchart by dragging them into the trashcan. Remember, to rotate, you will see a curved arrow, to resize, a double arrow, and to move, a crossed arrow. The XY origin tool allows you to rotate an object around in a circle, using that point as the center. The Dice Roller will randomly roll dice onto the screen. This tool is great for math practice because you can set the number of dice, as well as have the result copied to the flipchart. The Calculator is simply an on-screen calculator. You can chose between a scientific or standard calendar. 5. More Tools: Under the More Tools menu are additional tools you may find useful. 11
The Sound and Screen recorder, allow you record sound and/or video directly from your computer. If you are interested in doing so, you will have to have a microphone attached to your computer. On-Screen Keyboard opens a keyboard and you can click on the letters and numbers. The Clock tool allows you to display a clock on the screen. You can choose from different types of clocks. You can also set it to be stop watch or a countdown clock. You can also set it to give a sound or do an action when a certain time is reached. The Tickertape tool allows you to put a message scrolling across your screen. There are many options available for the tickertape. If you close this box, the tickertape will close. You can move it around, so it is not in your way. You can also control the speed from here. This window gives you the many options for your ticker tape. You can save tickertape files to have them available for other times by clicking on either of the floppy disk icons. On this window, you can control your message, the font, the background color, and position of the ticker tape. Both the Web Browser and Spell Check tools do exactly what they day. 12
Using Resources In order to add color and creativity to your flipchart, you will want to add backgrounds, images, objects, and sounds. Sharing Installed Resources You will want to start with your Shared Resources. Your Shared Resources are stored at: c:\documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\ActivSoftware\ActivStudio3 if you have ActivStudio installed. ActivInspire does not come with as many resources, so it may be necessary to share. By simply copying resources to this folder, they become available. Accessing Installed Resources ActivSoftware comes with many resources that are pre-installed and ready to use. You can access them by launching your Resource Browser. To launch the Resource Browser, simply click on its icon in the main Toolbar. You will get a strip at the bottom of your flipchart. To open the Shared Resources, you will want to click on the up arrow. You will then have access to all the shared resources available. If it is a graphic or picture, a thumbnail will appear at the bottom of the screen. If it is a sound or activity, a blank icon will appear. Either way, you will want to click and drag the icon into your flipchart to add it. Be cautioned that not all backgrounds are listed under a folder called backgrounds, etc. You may have to search around to find what you are looking for. Accessing Other Resources If you have resources that you have saved on your hard drive, you can also insert them into your flip chart. You will simply want to click on the ellipses button and you 13
will get a browser window. You can search for the resource and then insert it onto your page. Loading Resource Packs from Promethean Planet There are two types of files you can download from Promethean Planet. There are Lesson Plans and Resources Packs. Lesson Plans are simply flipcharts. These files can be save anywhere on your computer. You can save them to your My Flipcharts folder, but that is not necessary. Resource Packs however, must be imported. The reason why is the fact that Resource Packs are actually multiple files, including sounds, backgrounds, graphics, etc. 1. Download the Resource Pack to your computer 2. Open ActiveInspire 3. Open Resource Browser 4. Open Shared Resource Window 5. Click on Shared Resources 6. Click on the paper looking icon to the right 7. Click on Import Resource Pack Here 8. Choose your file 9. The Resource Pack will now appear in the list 14
Special Effects ActivInspire has many tools that allow for magic in a flipchart. It is these effects that give flipcharts a functionality that is lacking in Powerpoint and other presentation tools. Transparency Tool One way to make things look like they appear and disappear is to use the transparency tool. Make sure your two objects are the same size and one is on top of the other. Simply click on the top object and adjust and choose the transparency tool. You can slide it to make it appear and disappear. Magic Ink You can use the Magic Ink tool to erase images. Make sure the object that you are going to erase is bigger and on the top layer. Activate the magic eraser tool by choosing it from the Tools menu. Revealers Revealers are only available in a Resource Pack on Promethean Planet. You must download and import the pack. You will then have many graphics that will reveal hidden images. You will want to set up your flipchart the same way as the Magic Ink. You will want two objects on your flipchart; the one to be revealed and the one covering the revealed object. You will want to make sure your covering object is on top of your revealed image. Simply move the revealer over top of the image and the image underneath will be revealed. *Google Earth has a timeline tool that allows you to show an exact location in present day and then at a time in the past (as shown above Heinz Field). Changing an Object s Order on the Flipchart In order to get the special effects to work, it is necessary to understand the layers of the flipchart and how to change them. Open the Object Browser. To do so, you have to click on View Browsers. The first icon is the Object Browser. 15
The window that appears shows you the layer of each object and annotation on your page.to change an object s layer, you simply drag it to a new layer. Anything on the Background layer cannot be moved. The top layer is where you will want to place images for containers and objects to be erased. Properties of an object You will also want to make sure that you understand the Properties of the object. To access the properties of an object, simply click the Properties icon on the selected object. You can open both the Property and Action browsers from this menu. The Transform menu allows you to make changes to the selected object, such as flipping it. The Reorder allows you to send it to the back or move it forward Locked allows you to lock the object into place Hidden will hide the object on the flipchart Drag Copy will allow you to duplicate by clicking on it Grouping Objects When you have several objects that you would like to have move as a unit (such as an object and a label), you will want to group those objects together. This is also helpful when creating containers with labels. 1. Create all the objects and/or annotations 2. Use the Select or Arrow tool 3. Select all the objects you wish to group 4. You will get the dots in the four corners of all the objects you are grouping 5. Click on the Group button that appears in the object menu 16
If you want to ungroup, you will click it again. It will show up in red. Working with Containers You can use containers to create interactive activities. You can use containers to pull things out of or as games to check if your answer is correct. All the containers begin with an object that is identified as the Container. Make sure that you container is big enough to contain all the objects. You will then need to decide what type of container you are interested in: Pull Things Out Create the objects you want to pull out of the container. These objects may be words to put in a sentence, numbers, pictures, story characters, etc. Place them on the Middle Layer. Then create an object that will cover all the objects. Place it on the Top layer. You will also want to Lock the container, so it doesn t move when you pull out the objects. Containers Containing Objects Create the Containers. You will also want to create the objects that will be contained within the containers. The Containers will need to be on the Bottom Layer. The things to be contained will need to be on the Top Layer. Stuff to be Contained Top Layer Click on View-Browser Open the Property Browser window Containers Middle Layer For Containers Containing only One Object Click on the Container object Click on the Container tab Can Contain change to Specific Object Contain Object put the name of the object (Text2) or use the ellipses to choose from the list of objects. If you would like to put a sound, you can set the Reward Sound to True and choose a sound. Click on the Object Click on the Container tab Return to Container set to True. This will return the object if it is not correct. For Containers Containing Keyword objects Click on the Container object Click on the Container tab Can Contain change to Keywords 17
Under Contain Words type the keyword (noun) If you would like to put a sound, you can set the Reward Sound to True and choose a sound. Click on the Object Click on Identification Enter the keyword under the Keywords section Click on the Container tab Return to Container set to True. This will return the object if it is not correct. Actions of Objects You can also create special effects by having objects do certain actions. For example, creating a sound, opening a website, appearing, turning a page, etc. You can also use ones that have already been created by simply dragging a graphic to your flipchart. All of these actions are available under the Action Browser. The Action Browser is opened by going to View Browsers then clicking on the top looking icon. You will have to first create the object by clicking on it. Then you will scroll through the list under the Current Selection tab. Some of the more popular ones would be Open a Website or Open a File. After you have selected the action, you will be asked to supply additional information. For example, the URL. After you have added that information, be sure to click the Apply Changes. You can also use the Drag and Drop list to simply drag actions into your flipchart. 18
Other Assistance Promethean Planet is an excellent resource for not only finding additional lesson plans and resource pack, but also for getting help. ActivTips ActivTips are a series of short videos that will assist you with specific tasks. This section is located at Professional Development ActivTips. Here is the URL: http://www.prometheanplanet.com/server.php?show=nav.1147 ActivLearning ActivLearning has online training tutorials and classes to assist you. Some are free, so you will want to make sure you are choosing ones that do not cost any money. You access these from Professional Development ActivLearning. Here is the URL: http://www.prometheanplanet.com/server.php?show=nav.20252 Forum You can also post a question or search the Forum for help. They generally will get back to you in a couple hours. You can accesses the forum from any page on the website in the top right hand corner. Here is the URL: http://www.prometheanplanet.com/forum/ 19