Kathe Santillo. Instructional Technology Coach

Creating a Half-Graph/Half-Blank Note Screen for Your

ActivBoard How can I use the skill explained below?

The display screen on your ActivBoard will be half graph paper for graphing problems and the other half will be a blank white area for writing notes.

How does this benefit my teaching/students?

Addresses multiple learning styles Encourages student participation

HOW TO MAKE A HALF-GRAPH PAGE

1) Open the ActivStudio Professional Edition software on your laptop. 2) Click on New Flipchart on the Dashboard (big menu). A blank Flipchart page

will open. 3) Click on the Resource Library icon. It is on the far-right side of the screen and

is a stack of books. 4) When the Resource Library opens, make sure the Shared Resources option

is selected. It is the icon of two people at the top of the menu. 5) Click on the Shared Grids icon. Several thumbnail examples of grids will

appear, as well as a branched menu with specific choices, such as graph paper, x-y lined, etc.

6) Choose the style of graph you want to use. Move the cursor over the thumbnail example and drag the thumbnail to the main blank Flipchart page. The background of your page should now be the graph or grid you selected.

7) Close the Resource Library. 8) Double-Click your cursor on the grid background on your Flipchart page. A

Page Edit box will appear. 9) Select the “Snap to Grid” icon. It looks like a square from a grid with an

arrow in it. This will make any line you draw automatically snap straight to the closest grid line.

10) Close the Page Edit box.

September 14, 2007 Volume 2 Issue 2

CFF : Step-By-Step Tech

11) Hover your ActivPen over the Pen Tool icon in the main toolbox. Click the button on the pen while you are hovered over the icon (this is like a right-click of a mouse).

12) The Pen Modifier box will appear. 13) Select the rectangle from the Pen Modifier box by touching the picture of the

rectangle. 14) goes to midpoint on the page for width, and extends to the bottom of the

page (e.g., the left-half of your grid page). 15) Close the Pen Modifier box. 16) Click on the Fill Tool (the paint bucket) on the main toolbox. 17) Click on the white color square on the main toolbox (as if you were changing

your ink color). 18) Touch your ActivPen inside of the rectangle you drew. The rectangle should

now be filled with white, making your screen appear as if the grid only covers half of it.

19) Hover your ActivPen over the white rectangle. Right-click the ActivPen by pushing the button on it while hovering over the white area.

20) A pop-up menu will appear. Select EDIT – LAYER – LOCK ON BACKGROUND so your white rectangle cannot be accidentally moved if your drag your ActivPen across it.

21) Use the Pen Modifier toolbox to draw straight lines, arrows, point-to-point lines, semi-arcs, and more when writing on the graph paper side.

Now you can write on the white rectangle area by selecting the Pen Tool and whatever ink color you choose. To create an entire Flipchart of blank pages like the one created above, follow these directions: 1) Select the Page Organizer icon on the far-right side of your screen. It looks like

four pages next to each other, forming a square. 2) A page will appear with the slide you just created on it, with a Page Organizer

toolbox. 3) Select that slide by clicking on it. 4) Select the Duplicate icon (two pages, side by side) from the Page Organizer

box. Each time you click on the Duplicate button, another copy of your page will be added to your Flipchart.