EdTech @ ADW

This is the second in a series of blog posts that looks at Promethian Boards and how they can be used in the classroom. This post focuses on the flip chart, a very simple to use, but important tool.

The flip chart is an electronic version of a regular paper flip chart. The idea is that all the board can be used as the first page of the chart and then by clicking the next page button, a new blank page appears. It can be used for note taking, drawing, giving instructions in the same way as a regular paper chart is. However, there are a few significant advantages over a paper chart that shouldn’t be overlooked.

• Using the flip chart means that you aren’t using paper.
• Everything that you write on the flip chart can be saved for future use.
• Flip charts can be sent to students by email as a record of what has been done in class.
• Flip charts can be prepared in advance by teachers, saved and opened in class during a lesson.

So, having read some advantages of using the flip chart tell me how you use the flip chart and what you think of it.

The most frustrating problem I’ve seen with people trying to use the Promethean Board is actually getting connected. The docking stations should provide an easy interface - and they do after you have first used your Tablet PC with a Promethean Board. When you first put your machine in the docking station you will find a dialogue box continually trying to install the driver for the USB mouse. You need to restart your machine for this to disappear. You may also then have to restart again to get the computer to recognize the hardware.

Another tip is to keep all the files you will need to use on your Tablet PC - not on T or G drive because sometimes the wireless connectivity may not work and you will lose access to your network drives.

As the beginning of the new academic year dawns, it is appropriate to consider the steps that faculty can take to use Blackboard Vista in their classes.

Firstly, check and see if a course already exists on the server. To get access to existing courses, please contact the Blackboard administrator who will arrange access for you. Alternatively, if a course doesn’t exist, a blank course can be set up for you.

Once your site is ready for students to be registered, contact the Blackboard administrator who will add your students. Any updates to your student registrations are automatically handled by the system so that you can be assured that all your students will have access to the correct sites.

Students and faculty automatically have access to a training site, where they will view and interact with training videos to learn how to commonly used tools. They can also use the site to practice using the tools before they work on their coursework.

Make use of the student vista training site to help you and your students get started with Blackboard vista. And don’t forget to tell us about what you think about the videos and activities.

To my surprise, it was very easy to get an internet connection installed in our house in Ireland. One call to the company, an appointment was arranged and can you believe it, it was completed on time. There was also no minimum contract so a 2 month rental was no problem. No connection fees, no modem purchase. In fact, Cablevision in Dungarvan, Co Waterford can’t be recommended highly enough.

I noticed that the internet speed was much faster that what I was used to here in Abu Dhabi so I did a speed test.

This meant that a 30 min tv episode could be downloaded in 5-6 mins. Also, streamed TV worked perfectly. It really opened new possibilities for the merging of TV and the Internet. The olympics were available on demand as were other sporting events. It meant that the programs hadn’t to be recorded or I hadn’t to be stuck infront of the TV while the games were on. All in all an excellent solution for TV viewing.

On my return to Abu Dhabi, I couldn’t help but notice that things weren’t as fast using the Internet (but I knew that). I dod another speed test.

The speed in Abu Dhabi is more that 10 times slower so streaming video doesn’t work well and downloads are quite a lot slower. However, the most surprising part is the price. In Ireland I was paying about 260 Dhs per month (unlimited usage) for the faster speeds. Here in Abu Dhabi I pay 189 Dhs. Hopefully, speeds in Abu Dhabi will increase and prices won’t. Am I hoping for too much?

I’ve been using Xobni for Outlook. It helps you organize, search, and navigate your email. Excellent for finding conversations you have had with anyone and files exchanged in emails. I thought you’d find it useful. Here’s an invite to download it.

Xobni has:

1) Lightning fast email search
2) Threaded conversations
3) Useful social networking features
4) Quick attachment discovery
5) Automatic phone number extraction

To download a free copy, click here:

http://www.xobni.com/download/6576656265702A75717661776C6D446C67702A65672A6561/6575717661776C6D35446C67702A65672A6561/38

Enjoy!

As you know, it can be incredibly difficult to keep up with all the different websites and blogs that you like to read regularly. Often, even remembering which pages you have checked can be difficult - especially while on holiday and away from your regular computer. This is where feed readers come in.

Basically, you subscribe to the webpages and blogs that you regularly read using their RSS feeds. As new stories are added to the webpages and blogs that you read, your feed reader will automatically have been updated with that information. Therefore, you only have to check your feed reader and browse through the stories that are new and read the ones that are of interest to you.

Google Reader is my feed reader of choice. It is easy to use and is web based, which is an advantage when you are travelling. I will blog more about Google Reader over the next few weeks. Here is a screenshot of how it looks.

Happy Reading!

Yet another reason to use only IE when reading SharePoint (it grieves me to say it).  When you’re uploading files to a document library, the ‘upload multiple documents’ option is only available when using IE.  Apparently this command relies on an ActiveX control only available in IE.