Tools to try in 2015: ActiveInspire
Tool: Hidden ActionWhy: Using the hidden action allows teachers to draw student’s attention to a particular area on a flipchart page. Students tend to be more engaged when anticipating if text or an image is going to appear or disappear on a page.
Favourite Use: Chunking information for students when assigning their learning task so as not to overwhelm the learners
Tool: Linking Videos - YouTubeWhy: Linking videos into ActivInspire can provide an excellent “hook” to begin lessons, provide concrete examples and increase student engagement through multi-modal learning
Favourite Use: I love linking brief YouTube videos into ActivInspire as a reinforcer and/or to motivate students with special needs to complete an assigned task. These videos can reflect a student’s special interest area and promote their engagement in order to achieve task completion
Tool: Grid DesignerWhy: Using the grid designer allows students to easily visualize grids and graphs to support Mathematical concepts. The grid designer also allows teachers to organize content on the page.
Favourite Use: Visualizing math measurement concepts such as perimeter and area using virtual manipulatives allows students to explore and build their understanding easily, independently and cooperatively on the board. Bar and other graphs are more meaningful as students create and can make modification and corrections easily.
