ACTIVboard makers Promethean Ltd. on Thursday announced plans to release ACTIVstudio 2 Professional edition, a new version of the company’s group teaching software for its ACTIVboard interactive whiteboard technology, developed with feedback from elementary and secondary educators who are already use the ACTIVboard in their classrooms.
Promethean developed ACTIVboard for a variety of industrial, educational and commercial uses. The system uses a computer and a projector to display images into an interactive whiteboard. Users then utilize an “e-pen” to interact with the software displaying the image. Promethean also makes accompanying peripherals like the ACTIVslate and ACTIvote. ACTIVboard works natively on Mac OS X.
ACTIVstudio specifically was created to suit the needs of teachers and trainers; it features annotation capability, links to resource libraries, focusing tools, applications interfaces, testing and feedback capabilities and more. The new version of ACTIVstudio sports a customizable toolbox design, with new tools for drawing, measuring and creating scaled lines, angle measurement, a random number generator, and a faster and higher quality graphics engine. New drag and drop capability has been added, too, and ACTIVstudio 2 has a larger resource library as well.
What’s more, new flipchart capabilities have been added; date and time notations can be stamped; flipcharts can be exported through PDF, PowerPoint, HTML or image files, actions can be recorded and played back, and more.
Promethean is demonstrating ACTIVstudio 2 Professional Edition at this week’s Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC) 2004, which runs through the 24th in Orlando. Look for Promethean in booth 837.
The company plans to ship the new version of ACTIVstudio with the ACTIVboard beginning in March.
In related news, Promethean also introduced the ACTIVslate XR, a new wireless tablet developed for use with the ACTIVboard system that eschews the infrared technology formerly used in ACTIVslate products with Radio Frequency (RF) instead.
The company said the new ACTIVslate XR can receive input from any position and any distance in the classroom, enabling students and teachers to operate the device and the ACTIVboard without having to point the ACTIVslate directly at the board. The new slate is A5-sized, and integrates a built-in penholder.
An RF-equipped ACTIVboard can accommodate up to 36 ACTIVslates at a time, and the accompanying software enables teachers to lock out any ACTIVslates, or to call upon particular students.
More information and contact details for pricing information are available from the Promethean Web site.