Getting started - personal account

Let’s Get Started!

• Section 1: Uploading Activities
• Section 2: Searching for Activities
• Section 3: Playing Activities
• Section 4: Printing Activities
• Section 5: Creating and Editing Activities
• Section 6: Associating Activities and Education Standards
• Section 7: Tracking Performance

Help and Training

We know how important it is to have all the information you need, organized and in one place. The Help menu gives you access to all of the materials you will need to become a Boardmaker Online pro! Use the keyword search or browse the different topics. Step-by-step tutorials, videos and implementation ideas, are all just a click away!

Ready, Set, Go!

To start learning the basics, you will first need to log in. Since Boardmaker Online is a web-based program, you can go to www.boardmakeronline.com and log in to manage student assignments from any Mac or Windows computer.

Section 1: Uploading Activities

You can upload activities that you have already created with Boardmaker v. 6 or Studio software. During this process, you can also associate activities to educational standards. Helpful Hint:If you are currently using Boardmaker Studio, make sure that you are running version 1.3. This is a free update that will give you access to performance tracking templates. For more information, see the article titled Using Studio v. 1.3 to Create Performance Tracking Activities in the Help and Training Center.

To upload activities:

1. From the Homepage, select Upload Activities. 
   
2. Select Browse.
3. Click on the Select button to start browsing the files on your computer.
   • Find Boardmaker v. 6 activities in My Documents/My Boards.
   •  Find Studio activities in My Documents/Boardmaker Studio/Projects
4. Click on the activity you wish to upload.
5. Select Open.
6. Select Upload. Once the file is uploaded you will see “File uploaded successfully.”
7. Use the prompts on the screen to provide information about your activity. The more information you enter the easier it will be for others to find it if you choose to share it with other Community members.
   • Use the title, description and language fields to describe your activity.
   • Use the Privacy drop-down menu to allow every Community member access to this activity or restrict it to your own use.
   • Select the Associate Standards button to associate educational standards to your activity.
   • Use the check boxes to describe grade level and categories.
   • Add keyword tags that describe the activity to make it easier for you and other Community members to find.
8. Select Save and Continue. Your uploaded activity will now appear in in the My Activities list (My Boardmaker menu).

 

Section 2: Searching for Activities

Boardmaker Online allows you to search for thousands of ready-made activities. Activity types include:

• Boardmaker Sample Library (Premium Content included with your subscription)
  A large collection of academically aligned sample activities to get you started.
• Boardmaker Activity Packs (Premium Content included with your subscription)
  A large collection of complete, professionally-design instructional packages already aligned to standards.
• Boardmaker Community Sample Library
  A small collection of academically aligned sample activities provided free to the whole community.
• Boardmaker Online Community Activities
  Choose from over 26,000 free symbol-adapted learning activities that have been created by other community members.

To search for activities:

1. Select Community Activities from the Activities menu button. 
   
2. You can search by Details or by Standards. 
   
   • For Details, you will have access to filters for category, grade level, activity type, language and more on the left side of the page.
   • For Standards, you will have access to filters for standard, subject and grade level on the left side of the page.
3. Type a key word into the text box. A key word could be a type of activity, like “book” or a unit of study, like “ocean.”
4. Use the Narrow Your Results filters to find an activity that best meets your needs.  
   
   Helpful Hint: If you would like to capture performance data as activities are played, make sure to look for activities that will track student performance. These activities are identified with an icon of a computer monitor with a “P” inside. 
   
5. Select one of the activities in the list by clicking on the thumbnail picture. You will be able to view more details about the activity.
6. Click on the Add to My Activities button. 
   
7. Repeat these steps to add additional activities to your My Activities list.
8. Once you gather a collection of activities, select the My Boardmaker menu button to access the My Activities list. 
   

 

Section 3: Playing Activities

There are a couple of ways to play an activity. The one you choose will depend on the situation.
Playing Activities from My Activities
Each activity in the My Activities (My Boardmaker menu) list will have a Play button next to it. A separate window will open where you and your students will be able to interact with the activity.
Helpful Hint: This might be a good option if you quickly want to refresh your memory of how an activity works. Student performance data will not be captured.

Playing Activities from a Playlist
Your Playlist can be used in two ways: 1) if you are a parent using your Personal account with a single child, then your Playlist is where you put the activities you would like your child to do, or 2) if you are working with a number of students, your Playlist is a great place to collect and organize activities for a specific lesson or event.

Helpful Hint: Performance data will be captured whenever you play activities by selecting the Launch Playlist button.

To add activities to your Playlist:

1. Select the My Boardmaker menu button.
2. Select the Add to Playlist button next to an activity. This will make a copy of the activity and add it to the Playlist. 
   
3. To access your Playlist, select the My Playlist tab.
4. Select the Play button next to the activity or select the Launch Playlist button to play activities and capture performance data.

Playing Activities on the iPad
Your Boardmaker Online subscription includes access to the Student Center App. This app will allow you to access Boardmaker activities on the iPad. There is no additional cost for the app and it is available for download on the Apple iTunes Store. For more information, please see the tutorial titled Boardmaker Student Center iPad App: Set Up and Use in the Help and Training Center.
 

Section 4: Printing Activities

You can print activities directly from Boardmaker Online in your web browser. Activities that have been created as print activities are identified with the print icon next to the activity thumbnail.

Helpful Hint: You can print activities directly from the Boardmaker Community or from your My Activities list.

To print activities:

1. Search for a print-based activity (see Section 3).
2. Select the Print button. The Print Options dialog box will open. 
   
3. Set an option (under Print Range) that represents the pages you want to print.
4. Use the Copies drop-down list to select the number of copies you want to print.
5. Select an option under Print Size to designate the size at which the pages in the activity or project will print:
   • Actual - Prints the pages at their actual physical size. (This often results in the content being clipped.)
   • Scale to Fit - Adjusts the size of each page to fit on a single sheet of paper.
   • Center - (This is the default setting.) Each page will be centered to fit on a single sheet of paper when it is printed.
6. Select Continue. Your default print dialog will open. Make any changes in this dialog (e.g., desired printer), and then select OK or Print to begin printing.

Printing While Playing an Activity
You can use the Print Options dialog to print out any page (or all pages) of an activity (interactive or print activity) that is currently playing in the Boardmaker Student Center.

1. From the activity that is playing, select the double arrow at the top left corner of the screen to open the Activity Toolbar. 
   
2. Select the printer icon in the toolbar. 
   
3. The Print Options dialog will open. 
   
4. Set an option (under Print Range) that represents the pages you want to print.
5. Use the Copies drop-down list to select the number of copies you want to print.
6. Select an option under Print Size to designate the size at which the pages in the activity or project will print:
   • Actual - Prints the pages at their actual physical size. (This often results in the content being clipped.)
   • Scale to Fit - Adjusts the size of each page to fit on a single sheet of paper.
   • Center - (This is the default setting.) Each page will be centered to fit on a single sheet of paper when it is printed.
7. Select Continue. Your default print dialog will open. Make any changes in this dialog, and then select OK or Print to begin printing.

 

Section 5: Creating New Activities and Editing Existing Activities

You can use the Boardmaker Online Editor to create new activities or edit existing activities. New activities can be created either by drawing buttons on the workspace or by using one of the included templates. Existing activities might be those that you have uploaded from previous versions of Boardmaker software or activities that you found on the Community. The following information will be covered in this section:

• Editing an existing board or activity.
• Creating a board using a template.
• Creating a board from scratch.

Editing an existing board or activity:

1. Select the My Boardmaker menu button. 
   
2. Locate a board or activity in the My Activities list that you would like to edit. 
   Helpful Hint: You can also edit an activity directly from the Community. Just add it to the My Activities list first then look for the Edit Activity button in the toolbar above the desired activity.
3. Select the Edit Activity button. A separate window will open the Boardmaker Online Editor. 
   
4. Click on an object (e.g., symbol, label, button, etc.) you would like to edit. The “handles” around the object let you know that it has been selected. 
   
5. Use the Properties Panel to make the desired changes. The options you have available in the Properties Panel will be dependent on the object that you have selected on the page. 
   
6. Select Save. The edited board or activity will now be available in your My Activities list.

Creating a board or activity using a template:
There are two types of templates. Some templates require that you fill in the buttons (Edit in Place) on the page while others require that you fill in a table. For most templates, you will find instructions written in red that will walk you through the steps.

1. Select “Create Activity” 
   
2. Choose a template that matches the type of activity you would like to create. There are filters available to help you narrow your search. Choose the type of activity you would like to create and then identify if the activity should be Print, Interactive or Interactive with Performance Tracking. 
   
3. Choose Select. 
   
4. If the template is an Edit in Place template, the first button will be automatically selected:
   • Type in a label. 
     
   • Select the Enter button on the keyboard and symbol options will appear.
   • Click on the desired symbol, and click Select. 
      
     Helpful Hint:You can also click on the Web Search tab to find a digital image!
   • Repeat steps 5 and 6 to fill in all of the buttons on the template.
   • When you are finished, click Save. The board or activity will now be available in your My Activities list.
5. If the template is a Table template, a chart will appear where you will fill in the necessary information. 
   
6. When you are finished creating your board or activity, click Save.

Creating a board or activity from scratch:

1. From the Homepage, select Create Activities. 
   
2. Select New Blank Activity. 
   
3. Select the Button Tool and click on the workspace to drop the button. 
   
4. Use the button handles to resize the button. Click and drag to the desired place on the page. 
   
5. Click on the Spray Tool. 
   
6. Place your mouse cursor on the button just placed on the page. Click and drag across the page to spray a grid of buttons. 
   
7. Click on the background of the page to deselect all of the buttons.
8. Click on the first button in the grid.
9. Type in a label (Edit in Place). 
   
10. Select the enter/return button on the keyboard and symbol options will appear.
11. Click on the desired symbol, and click on Select. 
    
12. Repeat steps 9 – 11 to fill in the buttons on the page.
13. Select Save. The board or activity will now appear in your My Activities list.

Section 6: Associating Activities with Education Standards

You can associate your Boardmaker activities with educational standards. To associate an activity with an education standard:

1. Select the My Boardmaker menu button.
2. Select Manage  Standards  next to the desired activity. 
   
3. Select the drop down menu arrow next to the question and answer, “What standards would you like to associate this file with?” 
   Note: Common Core standards are set as the default. If your state does not show up as an option, make sure to select it in the My Settings menu. You can find this menu by clicking on the pull-down arrow next to your account name in the upper right corner.
4. Select the Grade level.
5. Select the Subject Area.
6. Scroll down until you find the standard that you would like to associate to the activity.
7. Select Add next to the desired standard or standards. You can select more than one.
8. Select Save.

Section 7: Tracking Performance

As activities created with performance tracking templates are played, data is being collected.

Helpful Hint: In order for data to be collected, your child/student must play the activity after you choose Launch Playlist for them.
Helpful Hint: All activity usage information will be captured, however only those activities that were created using performance tracking templates will produce an actual score.

To view detailed performance information:

1. Select the My Boardmaker menu button.
2. Select the Performance Results tab where you will see session-based performance information. Work sessions are shown by date, time, and duration. 
   
3. To see more detailed information (e.g., % correct, right and wrong answers, etc.), click on the expansion button beside a particular session and then a specific activity. 
    
   Note: If you have the desire to track performance of multiple students, explore the Boardmaker Professional subscription options.

Congratulations! You have just completed the Getting Started Tutorial. Don’t forget to visit the Help and Training Center for additional training videos and tutorials.