Techno Teacher

ActivClassroom has many resources available for improving your classroom.  State-of-the-art technological advances combine to make a more effective, more interactive classroom.  The following four are just a few we thought would be the most useful to learn the basics about.

ActivSlate

What it is: The ActivSlate is a small, wireless board that fits easily on a student desk, or can be carried around to various parts of a classroom.

How it is used: Students write things on it with the stylus-type pen provided.  Teachers can activate their boards, and their work will be shown up on the ActivBoard at the front of the room.

Teacher Benefits: Teachers can control whose board will show up on the ActivBoard at any given time.  Teachers can also choose to turn student boards off or on whenever they want, such as when the student isn’t paying attention to the lecture, therefore it becomes a classroom management system in and of itself.   The ActivSlate also makes it quite easy for teachers to quickly check work of all students and assess.

Student Benefits: Students can easily interact and participate in the lessons from the convenience of their seats.  This is especially useful for kinesthetic learners.  Students are required to interact with each other more, as only 16 boards are capable in one classroom at a time.  Collaborative learning is proven to be effective, so that’s a great benefit.

Cost: Typically about $400.

ActivBoard

What it is: The high-tech version of a white board!  This ActivBoard shows projections of anything that can be seen on a computer screen.  This can include video, audio, images, and writing.   It has built-in speakers, USB ports, and an amplifier.  There are different types and sizes of ActivBoards that can be purchased and installed in your classroom.  Although some definitely have capabilities to do more, they are all equally effective in the way they engage students and make learning exciting and something new.

How it is used: The ActivBoard is installed in the front of the classroom.  Students can come up and use the pen to write on the board, or they can pipe in using their ActivSlates.  You can use lesson plans or activities from your computer,

Teacher Benefits: Dual-User capability.  All students stay engaged, and it’s easy to learn how to use.  The board comes with ActivInspire Professional Edition software, which includes thousands of free lessons and games and activities at the touch of the screen.   The board comes classroom-prepared… you can touch the screen, lean on it, etc. and it will not be damaged.

Student Benefits: The ActivBoard caters to all types of learning styles: from kinesthetic to auditory to visual.  Motion, color, and intereactivity are combined to create one great interactive experience for students.

Cost: $1,795 – $2,000

Learner Response Systems

What it is: Learner Response Systems come in two different types: ActiVote or ActivExpression.  It is a voting system where students can type in responses to questions posed by the instructor.

How it is used: Each student has an ActiVote or ActivExpression at their own desk.  With differing voting and response capabilities, students send in their answers to questions posed during instruction. Answers can be downloaded at the end and used for further assessment or progress tracking.

Teacher Benefits: Learner Response Systems provide a simple, quick, and user friendly way to assess and involve students throughout the lesson.  Students will be able to see if they are getting it wrong, so they will be motivated to participate so they know the right answer. Students are more willing to risk answering questions if they know everyone else is answering too – it turns class participation into a game.  Question leveling can differentiate the question difficulty for all abilities.

Student Benefits: Cast your vote with your ActivExpression or ActiVote contraptions.  When you vote, your progress is tracked and can be reviewed at the end.  You will know if you understand the concepts correctly.  ActiVoting, for a lot of students, is easier than having to speak up in front of the class.

The difference between the two: ActiVote can be used for A-F capabilities only.  ActivExpression can be used to send in sentence answer, true/false, multiple choice, math equations, symbols, numbers.  ActivExpression is also capable to write complete quizzes and alter lengths of time for answering.  The best part about ActivExpression is that it uses types of technology and texting-like capabilities that they are already used to and familiar with.

Cost: Class set of 32 starting at $1800.  Class set of 32 ActivExpressions starting at $2700.

ActivSound

What it is: A set of easy-to-use tools that are installed into the classroom to amplify sound.

How it is used: The teacher wears a microphone that is amplified through speakers carefully installed into the ceiling.  There is also an option where speakers aren’t installed into the ceiling, but just loosely attached, so if you are in a more temporary location you can still use the product just as effectively.

Teacher Benefits: Voice fatigue is reduced.  The pendant microphone is easy and comfortable to wear.  Volume can be adjusted to your liking or classroom needs.  Sound system can also connect to computers and DVD players.

Student Benefits: When students hear better, they connect more easily, becoming less distracted by all the classroom noise.  When the sound is amplified, all students can pay attention better.  Whether in the back or front of the classroom, the teacher voice comes out in better sound and quality.

Cost: Starting at $2,000.

For more information on these products or to try out interactive activities of examples of these technologies, visit: http://www.prometheanworld.com/.