Blogging Roundup on Promethean Activsoftware, Inspire Edition, V4, Activarena, etc, etc, etc...

I've been trying to track the skinny on a few of Promethean's "in-development" apps, noting a great deal of confusion about software for understandable reasons I'll itemize.

1. Around the time of NECC 2007, Promethean announced that it was "PREVIEWING" something called Activarena. It's on their British website: http://www.mypromethean.com/uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.3841 or via press release at http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/6/emw535155.htm.
2. I have been to 3 tradeshows where they were showing off some features: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m98fWEYA0EU
3. Then they came out with a darling little device called ACTIVEXPRESSION - by far the mother of all student response devices and a complete redefinition of what many call a "clicker". http://theroyaltreatment.wordpress.com/2008/02/10/prometheans-activexpression-adds-text/
4. But there was a problem... Promethean launched Expression too early, so those who use it have to constantly toggle back and forth from Activstudio (Promethean's flagship curriculum software) and the Expression stand-alone software. This doesnt go over very well b/c the whole idea with these IWBs and their software is full integration under one platform.
5. This all culminates into worrisome waiting.
6. Which brings us to the present: Promethean is (hopefully) rolling out ONE software platform this year which promises to incorporate Activstudio, Activprimary, Activexpression, Activarena in one. It also has been designed "for use with any Interactive Whiteboard" which means they are about to blow crusty old SMART out of the water and you are going to see a lot of people buying Mimio and using Promethean software.
7. The catch: it is not free and it is not out yet. Europeans can get it at the BETT conference. Americans can get it at the FETC conference. After those two tradeshows, it is available for web download but like I say, I dont know what it costs.

I think that multiple-input is going to blow up - HUGE in ICT. Promethean announced it, now they need to show it. Anybody have any informacion I am leaving out?

Microsoft is a favorite punching bag in the geek community, but they were right about one important thing; the personal computer live at the center of your digital life, with other devices requiring them. This seems nearly obvious now, but it wasn't always. Similarly, I see interactive white boards as the center point of technology in the classroom. For now there are some competing ideas, like one laptop per student, but I think we've already seen their apogee. IWBs are future, so I'm going to feature some reviews that I've found online here. First up; Mimio.

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Review from ZDNet.

The bottom line: The Mimio Xi is a good choice for professionals who want to store whiteboard information directly to the capture device.

[ Entire review, with video ]

Direct 3D Manipulation on IWB

This is a great use of an Activboard. Kudos!

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=5e7c04fc6cbde68d0214

A whole new Promethean world

Thought this was a fun example of what you could do with an Activboard. Speed limit: Your imagination.

Smart v. Promethean

This is an excellent discussion of the long-running Smart vs. Promethean debate. 

http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/04/23/smartboards-vs-prometheanthe-research-starts-and-maybe-ends-here/

I really like how this guy has asked his 'network' instead of dumb searching. Gathering opinions that you trust is a crucial skill that the web can help you leverage.

Camera tool how-to

http://www.techlearning.com/quickflicks/showArticle.php?articleID=173601229

Great video explanation of how to use the Camera tool in ACTIVstudio 2.

Blogs invade classrooms

This is a great overview of the power of a blog in the classroom. Kudos to the teachers that are at the frontier of using this medium. What about you? What ways have you harnessed the power and flexibility of a blog to transform your classroom?