Top six tips for using Prowise Presenter’s touch table tools in the classroom

To get started using Presenter’s touch table tools, first download the updated app for Presenter 9.  The table tools will work for those with a Pro Account – contact ELB Australia if you’d like to purchase a Pro Account licence.

When Prowise Presenter’s touch table tools were released in February 2017, I spent an afternoon playing with, learning and enjoying the variety of new and exciting games available to use.  While the table tools are all ready to go – and they look stunning, with especially crisp colours and graphics – a new classroom tool inevitably requires new boundaries for teachers to set and for students to learn.  Below I’ve shared my top six tips for getting the most out of the touch table tools.

1. Fit in the table tools as an integral part of your lesson – use ELB’s quick instructional guide for some suggestions that match the table tools with current Australian Curriculum codes. Examples include using Numbers Combi to progress in learning numbers and counting (ACMNA002: Connect number names, numerals and quantities, including zero, initially up to 10 and then beyond) and using Clocks Combi when learning to tell the time (both analog and digital – ACMMG039: Tell time to the quarter-hour, using the language of ‘past’ and ‘to’).
   
2. Draw up a set of rules first – “hands off!” is an effective signal for order when using touch technology, and “one at a time!” can be an essential command for changing activities and settings. Students will also benefit from reminders of classroom etiquette.  Efforts using touch technology should be approached with the same supportive attitude as other classroom activities; where students offer constructive criticism and praise to their peers when earned.
3. Rotate groups of students around the classroom – create an activities ‘circuit’ so that smaller groups of students can enjoy using the table tools. In my experience, small groups can help students to feel more comfortable playing competitive and collaborative games, and can give the teacher a little more control over the inevitable excitement!
4. Use the games as a quick and handy end-of-class reward – students will especially love the Table Racer and the Art Game (A.K.A. spot-the-difference).  These games are an enjoyable way to encourage healthy collaboration and relationships among peers.
5. Mathematics study can be tedious – use the table tools to make revision fun! The Sums Game and Value Couples are great for this, and can even be helpful for adults in reviewing some of the basics.  These games progress in difficulty, giving the brain a chance to ‘warm up’ and easing students into mathematical thinking.
6. Language teachers will love the Verbs game – students can learn common grammar terms and apply them to their study of a second language, as well as to further understand the inner workings of their native tongue. This is especially helpful for teachers who have been asked to teach grammar and can provide an engaging game for students to learn useful vocabulary and linguistic terms.

Presenter’s table tools are pedagogically valuable, visually engaging and fun.  I hope you enjoy using them as much as I do!

Preservice Teachers Create Literacy Lessons with Prowise

 

Thanks to Harper Collins Publishers Preservice teachers from Macquarie University were able to create digital lessons in Prowise Presenter based on the many beautiful texts that Harper Collins provided for the ELB Content Creation Workshop.

ELB Education organised the Content Creation Workshop for the Preservice teachers who had already participated in the Prowise Presenter 101 course. The participants are the first University students in Australia to be provided with free Prowise Presenter Accounts for the duration of their degree courses. They will be able to create digital lessons in Prowise Presenter which they can save to their accounts and use during their practicums.

This is an opportunity that Prowise Netherlands has made available for any Preservice teacher in Australia. Macquarie University’s Department of Education Studies saw the benefit of this offer and set up accounts for their Preservice teachers. They saw the advantage of Prowise Presenter being cloud- based and deployable on any device, interactive white board or interactive flat panel that the students might encounter on their practicums.

Like all educational technologies it is important to learn how it can be successfully used in the classroom and so the Preservice teachers have been participating in Professional Learning with the ELB Team. The ELB Training Manager, an experienced classroom teacher herself demonstrated all the features of the software and acted as a coach to the new teachers in designing highly engaging lessons.

When the Education Manager at Harper Collins heard that they would be creating content to share with other Australian teachers she was keen for them to use Australian literature texts. The students therefore had access to some of the best Australian authors and illustrators including Jackie French, Libby Hathorn and Bruce Watterly

From their syllabuses the Preservice teachers identified the outcomes they wanted to address and the appropriate approach to the text. Using the Prowise Presenter software they were able to craft lesson sequences, aligning them to the syllabus and developing a range of activities for their students. They could also access the Harper Collins’ and authors’ websites and link these to the lessons.

They were able to design the learning for their students creating collaborative activities and modelling specific text features. The Preservice teachers were asked to share their content with the ever increasing community of Australian teachers creating Prowise lessons.

The Global Community of Prowise teachers has now uploaded more than 1,000, 000 teaching resources as well for teachers to access. Teachers can also use the galleries that are part of Prowise Presenter, their own files and photos or simply search and bring videos and images from YouTube.

The quality of the learning that these  teachers will be able to bring to the classroom has been enhanced through the Content Creation workshop and having access to outstanding literature texts. To learn more about free Prowise Presenter accounts or participating in a Content Creation Workshops contact as at training@elb.com.au

 

 

 

US Districts Embrace Prowise

The Saugus Union School District is located in the Santa Clarita Valley in Northern Los Angeles County and operates fifteen K-6 schools and preschool programs across sixteen campuses.

Currently, there are approximately 10,100 students attending fifteen schools with approximately 530 Pre Schooler children enrolled. The newest campus, Emblem Academy, was re-opened in the 2013-2014 school year with a focus on Ethics, Science, Technology, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Mathematics.

This year The Saugus Union School District leadership has decided to install Prowise interactive flat panels and Prowise Presenter software across the whole district. More than 400 panels, either the 65″ or 84″ Pro Line panels mounted on Prowise lift systems will be delivered, to Saugus schools by the end of November 2016.

Teachers will have access to the cloud –based Prowise Presenter software which will allow them to create digital lesson content, establish communities and share content across the district. Teachers will also be able to access more than 1,000,000 lessons created globally.

Using the Prowise Presenter software Saugus teachers will also be able to share their screen with any student device. Tools within the software allow for formative assessment and teachers can develop quizzes and assess student understanding at the point of learning.

The sixteen preschools campuses will also be able to take advantage of content being developed for the Early Years. For instance the Codewise Tool included in the software is complemented by a physical card game which enables very young students to understand the concepts of coding.

ELB US Inc., the North America, together with Prowise interactive technologies, will work with The Saugus Union School District to enhance student learning outcomes by implementing this exciting new classroom technology. Combining the very best in interactive education technology with quality training and professional development to support the strategic learning goals of the Saugus Union School District.  Learn more here

http://www.hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-news/education/saugus-union-school-district/saugus-union-to-unveil-state-of-the-art-classrooms-176059