Introduction to Promethean Boards and ActivInspire

1. PROMETHEAN BOARD 101
WELCOME TO

2. GETTING STARTED
▸ Turn on Promethean Board on the left hand side of the board. The
light should be green not red.
▸ Turn on the projector using the Epson remote.
▸ Connect USB cable.
▸ Connect VGA cable to your VGA adapter.
▸ Connect VGA adapter to your computer.
▸ Log into your computer
▸ Click on your ActivInspire Icon in your dock
▸ The ActivInspire dashboard will appear.

3. SOUND
▸ System Preferences —> Sound —> Output
▸ Select Promethean USB Audio

4. THE PEN
▸ Your ActivPen is like a mouse – it performs the same left and right click functions and
enables you to control the cursor as you touch, click and draw directly on the ActivBoard.
▸ By holding the pen in close proximity to the board, or sliding it gently over the board’s
surface, you can achieve the same effect as rolling the mouse to move the cursor.
▸ The pen tip is the equivalent of the LEFT mouse button. If you normally open
applications by double clicking with the mouse, two firm, rapid taps or pushes on the
board produces the same effect.
▸ The side button is the equivalent of the RIGHT mouse button. To access menus and
features that you would normally get to by right clicking, hold the pen close to the board
and press the barrel button.
▸ Using this function allows you to use context sensitive menu commands, such as copy or
paste

5. CALIBRATING YOUR BOARD
▸ Do I need to calibrate my board?
▸ With both the ActivBoard and the computer switched on, hold the
ActivPen lightly on the ActivBoard, without pushing in the ActivPen
nib. The cursor, on the ActivBoard, should line up with the tip of
the ActivPen. If it does not, you need to calibrate the ActivBoard.
▸ How do I calibrate my board?
1. Hover the ActivPen over the Calibration light in the top-left corner of
the ActivBoard for a few seconds.
2. Follow the on screen instructions.

6. THE DASHBOARD
▸ The Dashboard will pop up when you open ActivInspire.
▸ You can also access the dashboard by clicking on view
while ActivInspire is open.

7. USING FLIPCHARTS
▸ You can create your own flipcharts in ActivInspire or
download them for free from Promethean Planet.
▸ They are also available for purchase on Teachers Pay
Teachers.

8. PRIMARY VS STUDIO VIEW

9. PRIMARY VS STUDIO VIEW

10. SWITCHING FROM STUDIO VIEW TO PRIMARY VIEW

11. FLIPCHARTS
USING

12. ANNOTATING OVER THE DESKTOP
▸ Use this to project worksheets, text, images etc.

13. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 1. Signing in. When students come into class in the
morning they can sign in through your interactive
whiteboard. Students click on their name if they are in
class today. These attendance boards are a fun morning
routine for students.

15. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 2. Music in the classroom. Your interactive whiteboard is
great for listening to music. Music is perfect to listen to
during work time, as brain breaks, and for relaxing at quiet
time. The two websites that are popular among teachers
are Spotify and Pandora. These websites have hundreds of
songs that are appropriate for young students.

16. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 3. YouTube. There are great videos on YouTube that are
perfect for learning. These videos can be displayed on
your interactive whiteboard. They are awesome for
introducing concepts and reviewing tricky concepts.

17. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 4. Brain Breaks. Go Noodle is an awesome tool for the
classroom. The website has brain break videos you can use
in your classroom. Access Go Noodle through your
interactive whiteboard to play these videos for your
students.

18. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 5. See Saw. Sharing your class feed on your whiteboard is
a great way to spark discussion amongst your class.

22. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 6. Noise Management. Your interactive whiteboard is
great for visual displays. Two websites in particular are
perfect for monitoring the noise in the classroom.

23. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 7. Read Alouds. If you are a teacher you can use Epic for
free in your classroom. Epic is an online website that gives
you access to thousands of children's books. These books
can be displayed on your interactive whiteboard, then you
can use them as whole group read alouds. Some of the
books are recorded readings and others you will have read
to your students.

25. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 8. Anchor Charts. You can display your anchor charts through your
interactive whiteboard. Take a picture of you anchor chart, then
display them on your whiteboard. This is great if you have limited
space to store or hang your anchor charts. You can also use the pen
tool to write on the anchor charts and save the notes for future use.

26. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 9. Hook it up to your iPad. There are great apps on the
iPad that are perfect for the classroom. You can display
these apps on your interactive whiteboard by connecting
the iPad to a VGA adapter. It is also great if you have
classroom management apps you can only access through
your iPad.

27. 10 WAYS TO USE YOUR INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
▸ 10. Websites. Do your students have fun websites they
access through your classroom computers? During whole
group you can have them use these websites on the
interactive whiteboard. They are perfect for a fun reward or
to work on key math and reading skills.

28. SIGN UP ON PROMETHEAN PLANET
▸ www.prometheanplanet.com
▸ search for topics that relate to your classroom.
▸ download the flipcart and try it out!