Promethean ActivEngage Mobile – Voting on iPads and other devices

Promethean have just released ActivEngage, which will be of interest to schools that have started to roll out iPads and other mobile solutions in the classroom. Or for schools that are looking at a “Bring Your Own Device” approach. ActivEngage is a software-based learner response system for use in schools that have invested in 1:1 laptop initiatives, computer labs and mobile handheld devices for learners. It allows students to use these devices to take part in quizzes or tests without having to purchase additional voting handsets such as ActiVote or ActivExpression.

There’s two parts to the system. First the teacher needs to download the ActivEngage Server software to their computer. The students can then download the ActivEngage client software to their laptop, iPad/iPod, Android device or other mobile solution. Both downloads are free.

If all you want to do is try it out, then ActivEngage allows for three clients to participate in an ActivInspire response session without the need for any serial numbers to be entered. So try it out and see if it works on your school network. If you do want to purchase it, then you’ll receive a key to unlock the software which will allow class sets of student devices to be connected.

I had a little play with it this morning and had it working on my laptop pretty quickly. I found I had to update my ActivDriver to be able to connect to the Engage Server. You can get the most recent version of ActivDriver for your computer from Promethean Planet here (on the right of the page).
Once the server was running on my laptop, it acted as a virtual ActivHub. When I went into device registration I was then able to add my iPhone and iPad, after installing the client software from the App Store. On registering I was able to enter a name for each device. It was pretty painless.

When I started a polling session in ActivInspire, the screens immediately showed the buttons for answering the question. This will change depending on the question style. You can choose from multiple choice, text entry, number entry, sort order, likert scales and more.

Student responses and answers are collected in exactly the same way as any other ActiVote or ActivExpression session.

If you are looking at ways of incorporating learner response systems, but don’t want the expense of a class set of handsets, then this could be an interesting option. Especially if you have already purchased iPads or iPod Touches for student use.

To download, and access user guides on ActivEngage, go here. A login for Promethean Planet will be needed to get the software, but it’s free to do so.

Socrative – class quizzes and polling via any device

Socrative is a web-based system that lets teachers and students set up questions and polling on any device with a web browser (iPads, smartphones, laptops, iPod Touches, etc.). A student clicker IOS App is also available and there’s also one for Android. And the best news is that it’s free.

To get started, the teacher would set up an account (free), then log in at t.socrative.com by entering their email and password. Here they can set up a quick question, or a full quiz. They can also download a teacher app which lets them do the same thing.
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The students would go to m.socrative.com in their browser (or open the clicker app) and enter the “virtual room number” provided by the teacher. Students will then see “Waiting for teacher to start an activity…”.

Teachers initiate an activity by selecting it on their main screen (e.g. Multiple Choice, T/F, Quick Quiz). The simplest way to ask a question is to simply ask verbally or post it on the board and then ask the students to submit their answers. This would be good for “off the cuff” questioning. For more formal assessments a teacher could load up a quiz that had been created in Socrative in advance and saved. Quizzes can be imported from an Excel template too.

When the students visit the site and enter the correct room number, they will see the quiz and be able to answer the questions. Teachers can set whether the quiz runs at the student pace or the teacher’s pace. Students’ results are visible on the Teacher’s screen or sent in an email. They can also be downloaded as an excel file which shows the students answers and overall score.

There’s also a “Space Race” feature which allows teachers to create virtual teams for answering questions or prompts and also an “exit ticket” mode which allows students to self-assess their understanding of the lesson (Assessment for Learning). This could be a good alternative to the “traffic lights” system or thumbs up/down that a lot of teachers use. The self assessment score, along with the students name, is then stored and is available to the teacher after the lesson.

For a free system, I was very impressed with Socrative. I’ve only tried it out quickly, but would like to give this a try with my students to see what they make of it. Question design was simple – but for a basic multiple choice, short answer or true/false quiz it worked well. There was no scope to add images like you would be able to do in something like Smart Response or ActivEngage, but you could run the quiz alongside a flipchart or powerpoint page with the same questions on it, plus any images. It would mean extra work, but would be possible to do.

For individual testing, it does require every student to have their own computer – but it will work on any device with a browser with no need to have anything installed. This means there’s a lot of flexibility in how it’s used and you could mix smartphones, ipads and laptops without any problems. For a Space Race you could even have students share a device.

It doesn’t have all the whistles and bells of something like ActivExpression or similar, but if you’ve already broken the bank with a class set of iPads and want to do class polling on a budget, then I’d definitely recommend Socrative.

To find out more about Socrative, and to sign up for a free account, visit www.socrative.com

Comic Master: Digital Storytelling

Comic Master is another in a long line of online comic creators that would be great for digital storytelling.

Supported by Reading for Life, it allows students to create their own graphic novel using pre-designed characters and backgrounds. The end product can be printed A4 size.

The working area is a little small, but you can zoom in and work on individual panels which does make things easier.

If you like this kind of thing you should also check out:

• Doctor Who Comic Creator
• ToonDoo
• Spore Comic Creator
• SuperHero Squad

Corkboard: Online Post It Wall

Corkboard.me is yet another online collaborative notice board / Post It wall. Like all the others it allows you to post and move post it notes on a shared wall. Embed images by pasting in their URL.

It’s very simple, and like all the others could be used for brainstorming or collecting questions or comments from a class.

Try it now at : http://corkboard.me

The market for these is getting a little saturated now, but it’s always nice to have options and alternatives.

Like this? Also check out Wallwisher, Primary Wall and Scrumblr.

JellyCam: Stop Motion Filming

JellyCam is a simple, free piece of software to allow you to make stop motion videos using a webcam. You can download JellyCam for free here.

I found it very easy to use. There’s very little in the way of whistles and bells. You hit the space bar to take another frame, and the software allows onionskinning so you can get an idea of how the new frame relates to the last frame.

You could use this with a webcam, a visualiser, or upload still photographs taken with a regular digital camera.

JellyCam produces a Flash Video file (flv) from your movie and even links straight to YouTube so that you can upload your finished video. I couldn’t see how to add an audio track – so you might have to do this in an additional piece of software.

You’ll need Adobe Air to be able to install it. Which you can download from here. If you’re looking for some no-frills stop motion software then you should definitely take a look at JellyCam: http://www.jellycam.co.uk/

Learning with Visualisers

Discover the benefits of using a visualiser with primary pupils, along with useful tips and resources in this handy video from Teachers TV.

This video shows how you can use a visualiser to take photographs, how to create videos for pupils to reference, and how to use a visualiser to encourage pupil self assessment.

Year 3 teacher and ICT Coordinator Dave Orritt travels to another primary school to get see how they use visualisers to aid teaching and learning. He observes a Year 4 teacher using a visualiser in maths and art lessons, including showing a video to the pupils, and using it to help pupils assess their own work.

After getting advice on using the technology from fellow teachers, Dave heads back to his own school to see how he can use one effectively in his own lessons.

E-Learning for Kids

E-Learning for Kids is a “global, nonprofit foundation dedicated to fun and free learning on the Internet for children ages 5 – 12.”

They offer free online courseware in maths, science, PSHE (Life Skills), literacy and computing skills.

There are plenty of online Flash-based resources here. Some would work well on an IWB (a full-screen option would be handy), but they would be good for independent study, with students working through them at their own pace too.

Looks very similar to Learning Objects