http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz interact with your whiteboard Sun, 25 Nov 2007 16:16:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Okay, so the truth is that I haven't updated this blog in a very long time. What I've been doing in the meantime is designing an onscreen scientific calculator for interactive whiteboards...  and here it is! My calculator not only looks like the real thing, but can evaluate complex mathematical expressions using order of operations, for example (7+4)×5.2–3.9÷8. Trust me, ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2007/11/25/my-scientific-calculator/ Another useful feature of ActivStudio is the ability to make a background grid invisible without switching it off. This makes it possible to align objects to a grid even when the gridlines are hidden. If you want your gridlines to be invisible, select the cursor arrow and double click somewhere on ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2007/01/30/making-the-background-grid-invisible/ If you're anything like me, you probably get really tired of always writing the date on your flipchart pages. On the plus side, ActivStudio does feature a timestamp function. Whenever you click the Timestamp icon (shown opposite) you end up getting something like this: Unfortunately this is far too small for ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2007/01/30/automatic-flash-dates/ All background grids in ActivStudio initially start the same size and colour, but thankfully is possible to resize the grid and change the colour of the gridlines to one of your own choosing. To resize the grid, select the cursor arrow from the main toolbox and double click on an empty ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2007/01/30/changing-grid-size-and-colour/ By far the most useful feature of background grids is the ability to make objects automatically 'snap' to the gridlines. Although this feature is initially turned off when a grid is added to add a flipchart page, it can be switched on in a few clicks of the mouse. After adding a ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2007/01/30/making-objects-snap-to-a-background-grid/ When creating flipchart pages, it is often useful to be able to automatically align objects to a grid. There are lots of different types of layout grid availble in ActivStudio, all of which can be found in the resource library. To access background grids from the resource library, click on the ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2007/01/28/adding-background-grids-to-a-flipchart-page/ The basic range of colours in ActivStudio is not very wide, and also not often ideal for use with a data projector. If you want to get the most out of your toolbox, a good starting point is to increase the range of available colours. Start by clicking on the Promethean man ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2006/12/20/customising-the-colour-palette/ Although there are only three basic Layers in any flipchart page, it is also possible for objects to be stacked on top of each other within the same layer. For example, in the image below all the objects are on the Top layer, but some objects are stacked above others within ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2006/12/20/moving-objects-within-layers/ An extremely useful feature of ActivStudio is the ability to arrange objects on different layers. Layers make it possible to place objects either in front of, or behind one another along the user's line of sight, as shown in the diagram below. Every flipchart consists of three main layers, Top, Middle and ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2006/12/20/moving-objects-between-layers/ Hmmm. No new blog posts in over a week then two at once! It must be nearly Christmas or something... The main advantage that PowerPoint has over ActivStudio, and the only reason some teachers still use it, is the ability to reveal information or solutions one step at a time. This is ... http://edubuzz.org/blogs/timschmitz/2006/12/10/goodbye-powerpoint/