The ActivPanel is a front-of-class display designed to empower teachers, but that doesn’t mean students don’t benefit as well. In fact, our customer stories about the schools and communities we support consistently show the many different ways students value and enjoy using the tool. Here are some of their favorite features.
Real-time, simultaneous collaboration
The multi-touch function allows collaboration rather than being limited to one user. “Our students love being able to go up and touch the board, and are excited that more than one student can interact with the board simultaneously.” (Becky Cook, director of technology, Texas)
Interactivity
The user-friendly display, with its sense of an “infinite canvas”, engages students right away. “The whole interactive piece is so cool. It’s not just something they’re projecting, it’s a more powerful learning tool.” (Corrie Kozacek, education technologist, Denver)
“Students love the interactivity because it’s not just a static board, where an educator is simply projecting something onto the screen. They’re also able to utilize existing tools such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops to engage with the subject matter and share their content wirelessly. Promethean is constantly updating its solution and providing new ways to improve student engagement.”
Jason Hillier, administrator of information technology services, Ontario
Presenting
With the press of a few buttons, a student’s project can be projected up on the big screen for all their classmates to see, integrating the students into the solution. “All eyes were focused on this student’s project. She was just so excited that she could share her work.” (Justin Michaud, senior program manager, Southcentral Alaska)
“The panel gives my kids a stronger voice. They want to show how they did something or went somewhere, and show how they completed it on the panel by explaining their thinking process and what they’re doing. They’re teaching their buddies and showing them, ‘Hey, this is how I did it and my thought process in real time’. Then others come out of their shell to show how they wrote another word or sentence.” (Michelle Farque, elementary teacher, Louisiana)
Active classes
The ActivPanel helps keep energy high and students active. “It’s an exciting new tool that the kids are totally engaged with, and it’s changed the flow of the traditional classroom. It’s not just every child at the desk stationary for eight hours. It gives them freedom to get up and move.” (Hillary Thompson, reading interventionist, South Carolina)
Involving students in a classroom community
Bringing students up to the panel to solve problems is a great way to help them see things on a larger scale, learn from each other’s thought processes, and discover solutions together. “When they’re sitting at their desks, they don’t get that opportunity. Having them up at the board, they’re seeing it, and then the whole class is seeing it. It has led to so many great discussions. They’ve become so much more involved in each other’s way of thinking than they would have otherwise.” (Katherine Benner, fourth-grade teacher, Florida)
Lightbulb moments
The multimedia functions bring concepts to life to create more of those all-important moments when a student finally grasps their learning. “I think when you add visuals, we have a lot more success than when kids are just hearing directions or a passage read to them. I think that creates a whole bunch more learning. They say: ‘Ahhhh!’ That’s the greatest sound a teacher could ever hear.” (Heidi Jones, fifth-grade teacher, Wisconsin)
To find out all the features of the ActivPanel you can use to improve your students’ experience, join us for an online demo, or read more of our customer stories.