The ActivePanel 9 – Promethean’s next-generation interactive panel – comes preloaded with six essential classroom apps. Created by teachers for teachers, the six classroom educational apps were designed to engage students, enhance instruction, and integrate seamlessly into the classroom. Learn how to elevate your lessons with Promethean’s essential apps for the classroom below.
Screen Share
What is it?
The Screen Share app enables you to quickly connect with any web-connected device and mirror the connected screen on your interactive panel. Once connected, you’re in control of each device. You’re able to share the screens of up to four devices at once, with a “waiting room” space allowing for 39 devices to connect when ready.
Students can connect easily by using the desktop download or the myPromethean app for any Android or Apple device.
How to use it
The Screen Share tool gives you an easy way to share content, demonstrate processes, and engage students in interactive activities.
Use the Screen Share tool to:
- Allow students to share their work and ideas with the rest of the class
- Share slideshows, charts, images and other presentation material to make your lessons more visually engaging
- Facilitate group brainstorming sessions, problem-solving, and collaborative activities
- Demonstrate how to complete specific activities or processes, guiding your students through the steps
- Host guest speakers via video conferencing, allowing them to share their presentations with the class
- Provide real-time feedback on students’ work by editing their work while sharing your screen
- Record screen-sharing sessions for students who miss class or for revision purposes
- Conduct interactive exercises where students respond to questions or solve problems directly on the shared screen, encouraging active participation
Learn more: Head over to our YouTube channel to learn more about connecting devices to the Screen Share app and using touchback.
Whiteboard
What is it?
The Whiteboard app enables you to easily write, draw and annotate on a virtual whiteboard using a stylus or your finger. The helpful classroom application gives you the ability to resize, drag and move content seamlessly around your interactive panel, and includes a suite of commonly used backgrounds, such as graph paper and music notation paper, as well as a collection of charts and templates, like the Periodic table. You can also access the Internet from the Whiteboard app, pulling in content, which can then be manipulated, saved and distributed to your students.
How to use it
The Whiteboard tool gives you an interactive and dynamic way to present information, encourage collaboration, and assess student understanding.
Use the Whiteboard tool to:
- Create interactive presentations, drawing diagrams and charts in real-time to visually explain complex concepts
- Annotate over documents or images, highlighting key points or adding explanations
- Create interactive concept maps, linking ideas and showing relationships between different concepts
- Solve problems step-by-step as a class, allowing students to see the process visually
- Deep dive into a topic, finding relevant information on the Internet for discussion and analysis
Learn more: Head over to our YouTube channel to learn more about using the Toolbar in the Promethean Whiteboard app.
Annotate
What is it?
The Annotate tool allows you to highlight, underline, and add comments directly over any content displayed on your interactive panel. The Annotate app includes pen, highlighter and eraser tools with different point sizes and text colours.
How to use it
The Annotate app enables you to create more interactive and visually engaging learning experiences. The Annotate app is one of the handiest classroom apps for students, especially for visual learners.
Use the Annotate tool to:
- Facilitate interactive lessons and presentations by highlighting specific parts of diagrams, charts, or images during lessons
- Facilitate problem solving by annotating the steps
- Enable students to annotate texts collaboratively, encouraging class discussion
- Provide detailed feedback on assignments by annotating directly on the students’ work
- Facilitate class discussion and brainstorming sessions, allowing students to jot down ideas collaboratively
Learn more: Head over to our YouTube channel to learn more about using the Annotate app.
Screen Capture
What is it?
Screen Capture snaps an image of what is displayed on your interactive panel and allows you to crop and save it. The captured image can then be opened in the Whiteboard app for use in your lessons.
How to use it
The Screen Capture tool can be used to transform your lessons into interactive and visually engaging experiences.
Use the Screen Capture tool to:
- Create visual aids by capturing visuals, diagrams, graphs and infographics from digital textbooks, websites or programs
- Capture important paragraphs, quotes, or sentences from articles or documents, emphasising key points during discussions
- Better demonstrate step-by-step processes by capturing a series of screenshots for student tutorials. This is especially useful when demonstrating how to use specific programs or complete specific processes
- Pair the Screen Capture tool with the Annotate tool by capturing images related to the lesson topic and encouraging students to annotate and comment on specific parts of the image
- Capture thought-provoking images and use them to spark class discussion
- Create interactive flashcards by capturing images related to a specific topic and adding annotation. These can be used to help your students study
Learn more: Head over to our YouTube channel to learn more about using the Screen Capture app.
Spinner
What is it?
The Spinner tool allows you to randomly pick from different items by spinning a virtual spinning wheel. The Spinner tool has built-in templates or can be easily customised. You can include up to 44 different items on the one wheel.
How to use it
The Spinner tool keeps students engaged by adding an element of surprise to your lessons.
Use the Spinner tool to:
- Randomly select students to answer questions, encouraging active participation from everyone in the class
- Form groups or pairs, ensuring random and diverse collaboration among students
- Generate random discussion topics related to the lesson
- Assign random presentation topics to students
- Randomly select quiz questions to add a touch of excitement to review sessions
- Select a word of the day. Encourage students to use the chosen word throughout the day
- Generate random story prompts for creative writing exercises
- Generate a list of short physical exercises or stretches to break up your day and get your students moving
Learn more: Head over to our YouTube channel to learn more about using the Spinner app.
Timer
What is it?
The Timer app contains a timer, stopwatch and clock. One of Promethean’s classroom management apps, the timer is an invaluable tool for managing your classroom, timing assessments and activities, and adding some excitement to your lessons.
How to use it
The Timer tool can be used to create an organised and structured learning environment, keeping your students motivated, focused, and actively engaged throughout the lesson.
Use the Timer app to:
- Time specific tasks or activities, encouraging students to manage their time efficiently
- Signal transitions between activities, keeping your class on schedule
- Use a technique like the Pomodoro method to enhance concentration and productivity. Encourage your students to cycle through timed periods of focused work and short breaks
- Add a sense of urgency and excitement to quizzes, limiting the time students have to answer questions
- Keep students energised and focused with short exercise and brain breaks. This could be some time set aside for stretching, exercising or relaxation
- Time student presentations, teaching your students how to manage their speaking time effectively
- Timing structured debates, allowing students limited time for arguments and rebuttals
Learn more: Head over to our YouTube channel to learn more about using the Timer app.
Create immersive lessons with Promethean World
If you’d like to learn more about using technology and class apps to enhance your lessons, get in touch. Our suite of EdTech tools, including next generation interactive whiteboards, teaching software and classroom apps, can elevate your lessons, keeping your students motivated, focused, and actively engaged throughout the day.
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