IWB Meeting Notes - 6th July 2010

Here are the notes from the IWB meeting held at Parkside Federation, Coleridge Campus on Tuesday 6th July 2010.

Apologies: Mike Furness (Soham), Louella Prince (Netherhall), Simon Palmer (KEVI), Alice Creswell (Parkside Fed)

Present: Andy Evans (Impington), Lydia Prosper-Grant (Kingsbrook, Northants), Richard Stuart, Fran Wilson, Jenny Everton (Parkside Fed), Sam Taylor, Richard Hunt (City of Ely), Ewen Chamberlain (Manor), Ella Kaye, Mark Dawes (Comberton)

Focus
For this meeting we focused on using the IWB for Number topics.

Richard S
On the ActivInspire software, objects can be given permission to go into particular containers. This allows exciting possibilities where numbers or shapes with particular properties can be moved to certain groups. Richard demonstrated this with factors and multiples of 6. Others were excited about using this to create Venn diagrams. This does not appear to be possible on a SMARTboard.

Prime primitives at www.ptolemy.co.uk/primitives are a visual way to show prime factorisations. They are like using an iPad up on screen!

Richard is also exploring the NRICH number plumber at http://nrich.maths.org/6926

Sam
Sam showed a number of useful SMART notebook techniques, which can also be replicated on the ActivInspire software.

These included:
using Infinite Clone
creating Venn Diagrams.
In the box – setting up a “box” into which certain numbers can be placed (this is done using layers)
Directed numbers – where hot and cold cubes are added to a pond and the temperature is adjusted on a Flash thermometer (which involved using two pens simultaneously!)
Hidden things – changing colours of text to be the same as the background. When the answer is believed to be correct the colour of the background is changed and text that gives the answer (and which was previously invisible) now appears.

Sam gave some feedback on an idea that cropped up in the last meeting. She is finding Prezi to be really fun to use.

Fran
Fran showed us the Dropbox website at www.dropbox.com which she is using (for example with Heads of Maths across the county) to share files.

Fran reminded us of the Standards Unit materials on the Keele website at www.iwbmathstraining.co.uk and then shared with us a similar file she had made that showed different ways of combining diagrams of fractions to demonstrate adding and subtracting. Promethean’s ability to snap to grid was particularly helpful here.

Fran gave a brief tutorial in how to make an “In the box” file. She likes to be able to take the front off the box to see what was allowed to go inside. On Promethean boards ‘order’ and ‘layers’ are different things.

Fran had hidden “zoomed” parts of a numberline by scribbling over them in white. Erasing this enabled the extra information to be seen.

Mark
Mark showed that a rudimentary “Snap to grid” does exist on SMART and that this is particularly useful for aligning one object with another. Richard pointed out that a hidden set of squares could therefore provide a work-round for the absence of proper snap-to-grid.

We discussed that in many situations low-tech is good, by looking at alternative ways of demonstrating how to multiply fractions.

SMARTnotebook v10 will import Promethean files directly, without needing them to be converted to PowerPoint first.

AOB
Thanks to Fran for providing refreshments.
Next year we will follow a similar pattern of meetings: Autumn, Spring, Summer i, Summer ii.

Meeting Tuesday 6th July 2010

The last meeting of this academic year will take place from 4:30 - 6pm on Tuesday 6th July and will be hosted by Fran Wilson at the Coleridge Campus of the Parkside Federation:

Coleridge Campus
Radegund Road
Cambridge
CB1 3RJ

Everyone with an interest in using an IWB in teaching and learning of maths is welcome to attend.

IWB Network Meeting - 11th May 2010

Here are the notes of the IWB Network Meeting held on 11th May 2010 at Parkside Federation (Coleridge Campus), with thanks to Fran for hosting.

Present: Fran Wilson (Parkside Fed), Nick Wong, Kate Bell (Longsands), Ewen Chamberlain (Manor), Mark Dawes (Comberton), Sam Taylor, Lisa O’Hora, Richard Hunt (City of Ely), Simon Palmer (King Ed VI, Bury St Eds), Chris Gratten (Netherhall), Rachel Clarke (Cottenham)

Apologies: Cecilia Freer, Sarah Pattison (Swavesey), Mike Furness (Soham)

1 Apologies

Amongst the apologies was a message from Cecilia, which was shared:

Please accept my apologies as unfortunately I can’t make this or the next meeting. I really enjoyed the last one and have been using some of the ‘reveal’ tips regularly.

2 Promethean/Activ

Fran has been trying out a new board and software that allows 2 pens to be used at the same time on a Promethean board.

Rachel asked how to use the magnifier on Promethean:

- press and hold to zoom

- zoom in on a protractor

Simon likes to customise the toolstore to include the tools he uses most often. You can also change the settings for the magnifier function:

studio settings à Tools à Page zoom speed …

If you click & hold right-hand button then it will zoom out slowly.

Simon sometimes sets up his slides with other things off the screen and brings them on using the zoom function.

We are not sure if this is possible in SMART …

3 Prezi

Tom showed us the website www.prezi.com , which does a similar job.

The user sets up the material they want to include and arranges it so it can be zoomed, rotated, etc. This gives some of the functionality of PowerPoint but has the advantage of not being linear, so people viewing it can go to particular parts of the presentation.

It was felt that there was considerable scope to use this with pupils, who could make their own revision materials, etc.

Using it online gives this its full functionality but it can also be downloaded.

4 VLE

Sam shared the ways she makes SMARTnotebook materials available for pupils to use at home. Pupils can download the student edition of SMART. The drawback of this that there is reduced functionality.

At City of Ely they have the full SMARTnotebook on the VLE for pupils to log into. They can open files but can also make their own and can save work directly onto the VLE. The students can type answers and finish diagrams, etc, or create their own files from scratch. These can be projected in class.

Pupils are able to use ICT at home and the lack of ICT access in maths lessons is less of an issue.

5 Websites

Richard showed us the National Learning Grid for Wales (which is available in English!). Either search for NGFL Cymru, or go to www.NGFL-Cymru.org.uk

• e-Chalk – Richard showed us rotations. It will show the construction lines too, if wanted.
• There is a nice protractor.
• Lisa likes the enlargements on NGfL Cymru. When using the negative scale factor the pupils respond particularly well.
• There is also some particularly nice material on Physics and Humanities that might be useful for maths lessons.

Mark showed www.colmanweb.com

• This includes a presentation of the investigation Frogs.
• Following on from last meeting (and the travel graphs), there are graphs showing how footballers run. These are accessed via the ‘geometry’ link.

Mark also showed the NCETM Mathemapedia entry called “Board Desk Head”. www.ncetm.org.uk/mathemapedia/BoardDeskHead

This includes Fran’s picture and links to lots of the Keele materials we have looked at in previous meetings. This was felt to be an important article.

6 Ways of using the board

Mark’s pupils have been learning how to use the functionality of the IWB, such as cloning. From an initial file that consisted of 9 pages of axes, the pupil were asked what happened to the equation of a straight line if the line was reflected in each axis, reflected in the line y = x, or rotated about the origin by 90°, 180° or 270°.

The pupils wrote up their ideas and cloned lines which they then reflected or rotated to back up their arguments.

This puts the pupils in control of the lesson.

Fran pointed out that the key thing – as with BoardDeskHead – is the maths that is going on. Sam shared data from her Masters work, where pupils remembered much more when the IWB was used.

Fran suggested that while “whizzy” is nice, the thing that helps the learning is the good use of the board to support mathematical learning.

We also discussed the idea that the dynamism/movement is what makes the use of an IWB so powerful. Moving something on the computer is different from moving it up at the board. There is more involvement if the board is being used.

Fran has the whole class working on the same task up at the whiteboard, solving one problem collaboratively. The pupils pass the pen between them and the teacher isn’t involved.

Sam does “pass the pen” with her SMARTboard, even though a pen is not required (because pupils could write on it with their fingers!).

7 GeoGebra

Nick showed a GeoGebra file to demonstrate expanding quadratics. The brackets are shown geometrically (like the grid method for multiplication) and when a point is dragged up at the board the algebra and the diagram change together.

Nick was worried that this might be too ‘busy’ and the group discussed ideas about simplifying it and whether having a particular numerical value for x was useful or not.

It was agreed that the interactive nature of the file was particularly nice.

IWB Network Meeting - 17th March 2010

Here are some notes about the IWB Network Meeting held on 17th March 2010.
Thanks to Sam for hosting this at City of Ely.

Present:
Sam Taylor, Lisa O’Hora, Richard Hunt, Luci Maltby (City of Ely CC), Rachel Clarke (Cottenham VC), Steve Gales (Sir Harry Smith), Louella Prince (Netherhall School), Graham Willis (Neale-Wade CC), Fran Wilson, Richard Stuart (Parkside Federation), Mark Dawes (Comberton VC), Tabitha George, Cecilia Freer (Swavesey VC).

During the meeting several people shared ideas/methods/materials.

Sam demonstrated the use of some of the features of the SMART notebook software.
• Use animations to reveal answers. Click on an incomplete diagram to show what should come next.
• Four possible answers are shown. Clicking on incorrect answers makes them fly out. The correct answer spins in place to highlight that it is correct.
Ideas that work with both SMART and Promethean included:
• Use the “recorder” to replay ideas for pupils. This was felt to be particularly useful for pupils who might not have fully understood a multi-step method the first time around – they can watch it again.
• Use the reflection tool to make ‘bugs’ from pupils’ names. The pupil writes their name on the board, this may be rotated and is then reflected and grouped. The pupils can then add different features (eyes, antennae, legs, etc) to make it look like a bug. Sam had then animated them, which was time-consuming, but the pupils loved it!

Richard has been making extensive use of resizing. As an alternative method to hiding and revealing an object (one difficulty with this is remembering where to click!) Richard makes diagrams and text very small (using the handles in the corners of the image). He can see enough of the diagram to recall what it is, but the pupils can’t read them from a distance. Anything that is needed can easily be enlarged.

Mark showed a use of the camera tool that keeps the picture taken on the same page as the original. The copy can then be manipulated to highlight a particular issue. For example, to help determine whether a series of Russian Dolls really are similar to each other the smallest was photographed and then enlarged next to the largest.
He also recalled something that Fran had mentioned several years ago, which is that parts of pictures can be made transparent (right-click) on the SMART notebook. This made it even easier to see.

NCTM Illuminations. These have recently been updated. Mark likes:
Isometric drawing tool: http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=125
Pythagoras Proof: http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=30
Line of best fit: http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=146
Other materials here: http://illuminations.nctm.org/Activities.aspx?grade=3&grade=4

NRICH. There are a number of interactivities that are worth looking at. For example, the Factors and Multiples Game. http://nrich.maths.org/5468

Fran has been using the Cogs starting point on NRICH [http://nrich.maths.org/810 ]. One of the Keele University sites is now free to access: iwbmathstraining.co.uk
This has all of the Improving Learning in Maths (Standards Unit) materials in SMART and Promethean format. Fran demoed the files attached to A5; these featured vehicles passing each other and showed how this was related to the graphs of motion.

Richard was then reminded of Wisweb www.fi.uu.nl
Building houses was agreed to be a particularly impressive applet.

Question:
Is it possible to convert Promethean Files to SMARTboard …
This was only thought to be possible by exporting as PowerPoint. This loses any functionality.