How to Disable the Re-sizing Feature in ActivInspire

It's such a small thing, but being able to disable the re-sizing feature on objects in my ActivInspire flipcharts has been really helpful for several of my lessons. Special thanks to Clair for showing me this trick!

There are a handful of flipcharts I have for my younger students where I ask them to sort objects on the screen or make predictions with pictures. A good example is in my first grade sink and float lesson:

No need to worry -- we aren't dunking live animals in water to test if they sink or float! The rabbit clipart is the best representation I could find of a small rubber rabbit toy we test. :)

In the example above, every student moves an object or two into the spot that best represents their sink/float prediction. But because there are so many objects in such a small amount of space, it is inevitable that a handful of students will actually re-size the pictures instead of moving them. It's a minor annoyance with an easy fix. 

1. Select an image in your flipchart. 

2. Find the browser section that looks like this:

If you can't find this section (it's usually on the left side of the flipchart page), press control + b to make it visible. 

3. Go into the property browser ActivInspire. The property browser's icon is shown between the arrows below.

4. Find the section that says "restrictors." Press the plus sign if the section isn't extended all the way. 

5. Find the "can size" drop-down menu and select "no."

Now students can freely click on objects in your flipchart to move/sort them without the risk of re-sizing the image. Less disruptions = more learning time. :)

How to Get A Second Phone Number For Free

I've talked before about using Google Voice to contact parents, volunteers, substitutes, etc. instead of using my personal cell phone number, but there's a new guy on the block that may give Google Voice a run for their money: Convoi.

What is it?

Convoi is an app that is installed onto your iPhone (their website says an Android app is coming soon) and connects to your cell phone. You can use it just like you would a regular phone number: for calls, texts, and voice messages. The beauty of it is that your "real" cell phone number is never revealed, so you get to keep your privacy while still having a professional connection on your mobile device. 

Features

• No Google account needed -- just a cell phone number (unlike Google Voice)
• Free to download and sign up
• 30-second sign up
• Choose your area code (but not your phone number)
• Automatic transcription of voicemails
• Access all your contacts via your phone, but make the call from within the Convoi app to use your "business phone number."
• Free conference calling
• Option to call over Wifi or using your phone's data plan
• Individual and group text messaging
• "Do not disturb" feature lets you ignore communication during non-business hours

Any cons?

• Once you choose a phone number, it can only be changed once (so phone numbers are not disposable like Google Voice numbers are)
• If your mobile plan does not support long-distance calling (or has limited long-distance calling minutes) and you choose an area code different than that of your mobile phone number, you will be charged for calls as if they are long distance

Organize Your Life With OneNote

Are you a person that has stacks of handwritten to-do lists, meeting notes, data analysis, lesson plans, and just paper of any kind? If so, you need to read this post!

I'll be the first to admit that I never used any Microsoft product except the Office Suite until this year. A colleague introduced me to OneNote (a Microsoft product) last year, and I didn't see the value. I already had an Evernote account, so why switch to OneNote?

Earlier this year, though, I went to TCEA with several teachers from my building. One of them is a Microsoft advocate (hi, Scott!) and kept raving about OneNote, so I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about.

I can now say that I've transferred all my Evernote contents to OneNote, and I don't even use Evernote anymore! For me, OneNote is the way to go for organizing files in my personal and professional life.

In a Nutshell
The concept of OneNote is simple: create virtual binders in which you can add virtual dividers and pages for optimal organization.


Features

• Create as many binders as you want with as many tabs and pages as you want
• Color-code tabs and pages
• Use any font on your system (I'm a font snob, so that capability is import to me! Kidding...kind of)
• Add tags to notes for further organization
• Create to-do lists that you can actually check off
• Import or create tables, graphs, charts, pictures, links, screenshots, or spreadsheets so they are visible without having to click and open documents
• Upload any of the above-mentioned items -- this shows an icon with the item for you to click and open
• Record audio and video directly within the binder
• Use free page templates to easily format your pages to look however you'd wish
• Draw on a page in any color (highlight, too!)
• Insert shapes
• Export pages in a variety of formats
• Password protect sections of any binder
• Put a binder within a binder
• Share binders with others -- they can have viewing or editing rights
• See recent edits in the binder and who made them

How I Use OneNote Professionally

I have one binder all my lesson plans. It looks like this:

I have four tabs -- called "sections" in OneNote -- they're the blue, orange, pink, and purple colors you see in the picture above. Each has several pages inside. So, for instance, the "materials" tab has 26 pages -- one for each letter of the alphabet -- where I keep track of materials I have in the Science Lab and which cabinet they're in. 

After that, I have a separate section group for each of the grade levels I teach + one for PO information. When I click on a section group, it opens to what basically looks like a binder within a binder. So, for instance, this is what my 1st grade binder looks like:

In this way, I think OneNote is even more versatile than a real binder because I can't keep physical binders within physical binders. :) And obviously, you can't really put attachments into physical binders, either. 

In my grade level binders, each section contains every lesson I teach in that unit. I also have a page at the top of each section for the materials I need for that unit -- all consumables are written in green so I can make my Walmart list quickly, and any printable materials are written in red.

A look at the pages I have inside my 1st grade matter section

I also have another binder that's for teaching but doesn't have anything to do with my lesson plans:

Instead of a notepad that I'll promptly lose, I take my iPad to meetings and use the free app to take notes in the "meetings" section of this binder. You'll also notice the "PD" tab, where I take notes at any professional development workshops or conferences I attend.

I love the seemingly endless amount of capabilities OneNote has and how users can customize it to fit their life and needs!

Other Ideas

1. Student conferencing tool - Create a tab for each student. When you meet with students about, say, their reading, create a new page to document the meeting. Record a student reading and store in his/her OneNote tab so you can more easily track his/her progress. 
2. Professional development - Organize meeting, conference, or workshop notes
3. Resources - Do you have a lot of random sheets of paper you have to file away for your class? Attach them all in OneNote so they're easy to preview, find, and store.
4. Parent contact log  - Use the table option to create a log for parent contacts. You can record text or audio notes about who was contacted, what the meeting was about, the method of contact, etc. 
5. Student examples  - scan and attach student examples for big projects so you'll have something to show future students.