I have never really liked interactive whiteboards. Let's get that out of the way. If you do love them, then this post isn't for you. This post is for:
1) those who want an interactive board, or
2) those who want an updated overhead projector.
Wow, I miss that old beast of a machine sometimes. I loved how I could interact with the students when I used it. You could diagram or write notes all without ever having to turn your back on the students. They also used to love writing on it and seeing the results up on the screen.
I think I have finally found a replacement for the old machine thanks to a combo of Notability, an Apple TV, and my Bamboo pad. I will admit, this is a bit of a costly one, but for under $200 I feel that I have a solution that is superior to interactive whiteboards, and far cheaper.
1) those who want an interactive board, or
2) those who want an updated overhead projector.
Wow, I miss that old beast of a machine sometimes. I loved how I could interact with the students when I used it. You could diagram or write notes all without ever having to turn your back on the students. They also used to love writing on it and seeing the results up on the screen.
I think I have finally found a replacement for the old machine thanks to a combo of Notability, an Apple TV, and my Bamboo pad. I will admit, this is a bit of a costly one, but for under $200 I feel that I have a solution that is superior to interactive whiteboards, and far cheaper.
The first piece of the puzzle is the Apple TV. I have it hooked up to the projector in my room that the school provides. With the Apple TV I can mirror my computer screen with a quick button push (you may need an addition program if you're running a Windows machine). Next is the combo of Notability and my Bamboo pad working together. Notability provides a great environment for marking up PDFS, images, or creating notes from scratch. The Bamboo pad allows me to use a stylus and write in a natural way. What results is an interactive document on the board. This note can then be exported at the end of the lesson and shared with students.
| As an example, I worked through a lab report with students to give them formative feedback on the process. We filled it in together and even did multiple graphs before deciding which was the best. At the end of the lesson I exported the note as a PDF and put it in our class shared folder (on Google Drive). Students can now access it any time they want. In another class we are using Notability to document their class notes. Most of our notes in this unit come from various movie clips. We watch the clip and they try to fill in the blanks. Then we put the PDF up in Notability and I fill it in. The natural handwriting seems to stand out more to students. I also, will use this as a starter quiz by calling a few students up to fill in the blanks in the next lesson. They love writing with the tablet, and then their answers become part of the class set of notes. |
Notability overall is a great app. It allows the easy import of multiple PDFs, so you could use it for marking up student work. You can record audio along with your note if you're taking minutes at a meeting. The pen feels natural, and the colors are great!
My only complaint about the program is that there are no auto shapes. If there was a line tool I would love it. If there were also arrows and simple shapes it would be amazing! Currently you will need to import an image if you want any simple shapes. I recommend using the still-in-demo version of MyScript if you want to draw the shape, then screenshot the image to paste into your note.
Happy note taking!
My only complaint about the program is that there are no auto shapes. If there was a line tool I would love it. If there were also arrows and simple shapes it would be amazing! Currently you will need to import an image if you want any simple shapes. I recommend using the still-in-demo version of MyScript if you want to draw the shape, then screenshot the image to paste into your note.
Happy note taking!