Basics of

ActivInspire

Course Instructor:
Ashley Witman
witman@wlake.org
Handbook by Heather Hamker
Flipchart by: Ashley Witman

1 credit class

Table of Contents

Topics

Page #

Module 1: Breaking it Down

Dashboard Breakdown

Inspire Settings
Layout Tab

Commands Tab

User Defined Buttons

14

Settings Tab

16

Module 2: Where Did it Go?!

Design Mode vs. Presentation Mode

18

Menu Bar

19

Browsers
Page

22

Resource

24

Object

29

Notes

31

Properties

32

Action

38

Drag and Drop

Voting
Object Edit Box

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40
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Topics

Page #

Module 3: Actions And Other Ideas

ToolTip

44

Hide & Show

46

Grouping

48

Group & Pulley

49

Magic Ink

52

Using Colors

54

Layering Objects

56

Module 4:
Inserting Media

58

Inserting Sound

64

Inserting a Weblink

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Course Objective: By attending this course, you will have learned the basics to
ActivInspire and be able to use the software in your classroom and be able to
create flipcharts.

Course Requirements: In order to earn a credit for the class, you must attend
class each day and have a flipchart to show by the end of the week. Your
flipchart can be as basic or elaborate as you choose.

Module 1: Breaking It Down

Dashboard
ActivStudio 3 Dashboard

ActivInspire Dashboard

Click this box if you want the dashboard to pop open on start up

To open up Inspire in Primary, click here.

The dashboard breakdown:

Quick links to flipcharts

Immediately opens desktop flipchart

Immediately opens the ExpressPoll
Goes directly to Promethean Planet
Quick links for Profiles, device registration, and
updating software
Opens Prometheans Web Support
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Unless you are getting

lessons from a Smartboard
website, you wont use this
link.

Import a Powerpoint
presentation from this link.
Actions from your
powerpoint s are disabled
in a flipchart.

Open a flipchart already

saved from this link.

If you are creating a new

flipchart, you can click on
this link to open a blank
flipchart page.

Settings
This is the section that used to be the Studio Settings, Toolstore, and Customize
in ActivStudio 3. All sections have been condensed into one area found under
File.
LAYOUT Tab
You may use already created toolbars or customize toolbars for different
content areas by clicking on the Profiles drop down menu.

How large do you want the icons on your toolbar?

The main toolbox can be docked at the bottom,
top, left, or right of your program. It can also be
floating as in ActivStudio3.

You can easily switch between profiles by

clicking this icon on your toolbar.

What are the different Profiles created already?

At The Board

Authoring

This profile was

created with
the basic tools
that you would
need while
using a
flipchart during
a lesson. If you
write and erase
and use a few
basic tools, this
is the profile to
use.

This toolbox has

been expanded
to include the
Text tool, along
with some user
defined buttons
in the third
column. When
creating
flipcharts, this is
a quick toolbox
to use.

Language
Arts
The language
arts profile
includes more
writing tools
like the Text,
Handwriting
Recognition,
Tickertape, on
screen
keyboard,
and spell
check.

Math
The math
profile
switches to
include more
math tools
such as the
ruler,
protractor,
calculator,
dice, and XY
origin.

COMMANDS TAB
The Command Tab used to be called the Toolstore.
To create a profile, start with any created profile.

Open a
profile
Save a
changed
profile

Save a
new profile

1.
Delete a
profile

2.

3.
4.

Undo
changes

Adding tools to your toolbox:

1. Click on the tool that you want to add.
2. Click on Add at the bottom of the menu box.
3. IF you want to move the tool on the toolbox, click move up or move
down.
4. Dont forget to click Done when you have made your changes.
** When creating a new profile, click Save As before changing your
toolbox and change the name of the profile. That way you wont change
an already created toolbox when clicking Done.
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Some of the basic tools:

Old
Look

New
Look

Old
Look
Desktop Annotate

New
Look
Tools

Previous Page, Next Page

Start/Stop Voting & Express Poll

Pen
Old: eraser
New: Magic Ink
Highlighter

Text Tool
Page Reset
Fill Tool

Clear Tool
Tickertape
Undo/ Redo

Page Zoom

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New Tools
Desktop Tools You will use this wheel when working on a program other than Inspire or
if you want to take snapshots of pictures online.

Promethean Planet

Keyboard

Go back to Inspire
flipchart
ExpressPoll

Screen Recorder

Camera
More Tools

New Tools:
Eraser- it actually erases!
Shapes Tool- This replaces the pen modifier (right clicking on the pen)
Connector
Insert Media from file
Page Browser (The old page selector and organizer combined.)

Math Tools

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USER DEFINED BUTTONS Tab

User defined buttons are programs that you use along with a flipchart (Word,
Excel, pdf file, etc). These programs will show up in the third column on your
toolbox.
To add a User defined button, go to the settings and click User defined
buttons. You will probably get nothing showing in Button properties, so click
Program/File in the Type box and then click add, you should then be
looking at the screen below.

Step 1: Make sure the Type

selected is Program/File
1.
2.

Step 2: Search your computer

for the file you want to select.

3.
Step 3: Label the file in Tooltip

In order for your User Defined File to show up in the third column, make sure the roll
in box for main toolbox is unchecked in the Layout tab.

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SETTINGS Tab
The setting tab is similar to the Studio Settings in AS3. What can you do in
Settings?
Apply settings to ActiVote or Expression questions. (Learner Response System)
Set the clock tool to analog or digital. (Clock Tool)
Set the Spotlight and Reveal tool colors. (Effects)
Set the Resource Library to display as a grid or list. (Flipchart Objects)
Change the default web browser page. (Online Settings)
Enable the spell checker (spell checker)
Set the colors for your math tools, select a calculator, or set dice speed. (Tools)
Choose to use the system keyboard or Inspire keyboard. (User Input)
Change recording settings when making flipchart recordings. (Recordings)
Set the World color and default page scale. (Flipchart)
Show or hide the sound controller. (Multimedia)
Set visible objects in Design Mode. (Design Mode)

Profile and Resources

will most likely be set by
the district tech office.
This area tells Inspire
where your resources
are located.

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MODULE 2: Where did it go?

Design MODE vs. Presentation MODE
Some people created flipcharts in design mode in ActivStudio. Design mode
would turn off all actions while you worked. In Inspire, you can toggle between
design mode and presentation mode with one click.

Presentation Mode- Blue Star

Design Mode- Red Star

If your actions are not working on the page, check the upper right hand corner
of your screen to make sure you are working in Presentation Mode.

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Show Desktop

19

Menu Bar

Flipchart
Sizing

BE CAREFUL! The red X in the upper

right hand corner will close down
Inspire and will not ask you if you are
sure you want to exit.

Multiple flipcharts
can be opened
at once and
tabbed along
the top. To close
the flipchart,
click the x on the
tab.

Toggles between
full screen and
Windows mode.

Keeps track
of all open
flipcharts.

RESOURCE BROWSER

The Resource Library

is no longer called a library and no longer
contains only your resources. It is now called a Resource Browser and contains
EVERYTHING!

Page Browser
(Page Selector &
Organizer)

Object
Browser

Properties
Browser

New Item!

Resource
Browser

Page Notes
Browser

Voting
Browser
New Item!

Actions Browser

(Resource Library)

On the next pages, well go through each browser and how what it contains.

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Page Browser

The Page Selector and Page Organizer in ActivStudio are now called the Page
Browser. In this browser you can maneuver through your flipchart or rearrange
flipchart pages.

You can
shrink or
enlarge the
size of the
browser by
grabbing the
side of the
browser and
dragging.

Move the slider up to

create smaller
thumbnails or to use the
browser as a page
organizer.

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Within your page browser, is another drop down menu for each flipchart page.
This menu will allow you to alter the flipchart page or flipchart with ease.

Adding a blank page

between pages in easy
by clicking on Insert
Page

If you need to
duplicate a
flipchart page,
click here.
Delete a flipchart
page.

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Resource Browser

The Resource Library from ActivStudio is now called the Resource Brower.

My
Resources

Shared
Resources

Other
Resource
Folder

Browse to
another
folder

Search

The view shown above is in List View. See the next page to view it in Grid View.
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In Grid View, you can see more of your resources. Lets look at the items on this
browser more closely.

This button will Roll Up the

top half of the browser, so
you can view more
resources at once.

Toggles Transparency

or
In ActivStudio
this was a box at
the bottom of
the library.

Rubber Stamp
Select an image and
stamp it on your page
multiple times.

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Heres how to change the view mode to grid each time you open up Inspire.
First, go to File and then Settings
Then follow the steps below.

1
2

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You can also change the view directly from you Resource Browser.

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OBJECT BROWSER

The Object Browser is new to Inspire. In the Object Browser you can actually see
which objects are located on which layer of the flipchart. You can then easily
move an object to a different layer while in the Object Browser.

Heres a screen shot of a flipchart page with the Object Browser

open.

29

Heres an up close look at the Object Browser for the previous page.

These objects are

locked on the flipchart
page. To unlock, click
on the lock next to the
object. You can also
lock all objects on the
page by clicking
Locked once.

These objects are hidden

on the page and set to
be revealed at a later
time.

Notice that all the layers are separated in the Object Browser along with each
object on that layer. Any object that is locked on the page shows up with a
lock next to it. Any hidden objects show an eye with a red X.

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Notes BROWSER

By clicking on the
Format Toolbar you
will open up the text
formatting options such
as font, size, color, and
alignment.

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Property broWser

The Property Browser can be overwhelming when it is first opened. Heres the
breakdown of each section:
The Identification tag contains the
name, any keywords associated
with that object, and whether it is a
question, option, or label.

The Appearance tag shows you

which layer the object is on and its
level of visibility.

The Position Tag basically

tells you where the object
is located on the flipchart
page as well as its size.
From this menu, you can
invert, angle, reflect, or
lock down the object.

Continued.

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You can add labels to your

objects from this tag. Labels
allow you to name an object
and have the label be attached
to that object without grouping.
This is also where you can
create a ToolTip (see Actions).

Containers can now be

made in one window!

The Rotate Tag allows you

to set mobility preferences
to an object. You can set
the object to rotate in a
certain direction and also to
rotate around other objects.

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Restrictors allow you to set

an object to move on a
certain path, block other
objects, or set sizing
preferences.

Miscellaneous contains the background

properties of the object. Do you want a
certain color or background of the
object to be transparent? You can also
set Drag a Copy to be True and make
infinite clone of that object.

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Action Browser

You can set an object to contain

an action by selecting an image
and clicking on the action you
want it to contain.

Once youve set an action to

an object, dont forget to
click Apply Changes
otherwise your action will not
be set.

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New! Drag and Drop Feature

You can now drag an action

out of the Drag and Drop
menu right on top of an image
and the image will contain that
action. Or just drag the action
out of the Drag and Drop
menu right onto your flipchart
and the action will be there
ready to click.

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VOTING BROWSER
In this box you can register your voting devices and keep track of the results.
Switch to ActiVotes

Use Expressions

Toggle to anonymous voting

Device Registration

Assign students to
devices. This is also
where you can
create multiple
classes using one set
of devices.

After voting, results will show up

under this heading.
Vote Settingsclick the box if
you want the
results shown
after each
question.

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Object Edit
ActivStudio 3 Object Edit Box

3.
9. 10. 8. 6. 7.

4.

Inspire Object Edit Strip

1. Freely
Move

3. Object
Edit
Menu

2. Rotate
Object

5.
Group

4.
Transparency

Slider

7. Send
Backward

6.
Send
Forward

9. Increase
Object
Size

8.
Duplicate

10.
Decrease

Object
Size

The highlighted numbers on the ActivStudio 3 object edit box correspond to

their new icons in Inspire.

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Whats New?
The Freely Move icon is now on your object edit strip instead of on the
object itself.
The Rotate Object is also on the object edit strip instead of located on the
object.
All of the editing tools (cut, paste, copy, delete) and the properties icon
are now located in the Object Edit Menu.

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