Best forum in the world (probably) [Archive]

Peter Lambert

07-03-2006, 08:43 AM

By the way, this by far the best and most community-like forum I've ever come across. Genuinely useful and helpful.

Because of the success of the forum we are developing a User Community website at PrometheanPlanet.com. We are in the process of developing this portal and at some stage the forum will migrate over. In the meantime may I remind anyone who wishes to sign up for news and notifications about the new portal and for membershp transfer, please visit http://www.myiwb.com (http://www.myiwb.com/) and add your details. (There will be a free gift for all who join :) - we haven't decided what yet, :( and whether it would be something posted out or something to download - hey! it could be both ;) )

What do you think of the forum?

Margaret Allen

07-03-2006, 11:28 AM

I LOVE IT [clap] [clap]

BUT maybe I am not allowed to answer :eek: :( :rolleyes: :D

Seriously I love the way that people respond and contribute. It took a while to get going. I can remember there being posts up there for weeks and although people looked they didn't necessarily respond! BUT now it is lovely that we have a group who actively (no pun intended :D ) answer and support forum users! It is so much richer for users to be sharing with practitioners ie people using the products in schools up and down the country and all around the world.

Fantastic!

Those of you who are regular voyeurs.... go on type a response, this is supposed to be a non threatening environment. Tell us if you think it is!! ;) ;)

daverosthorn

07-03-2006, 11:49 AM

Even though I think this forum is absolute quality, I'm a solid believer that anything and everything can be improved, given a little thought and time.

Heck, nothing's perfect!

Btw, will we be able to comment on people's additions to the resource area? "I gave this resource 3/10 because blah de blah"

sartley

07-03-2006, 12:41 PM

I too love the way people contribute to the forum, but I'm not sure about the "I gave this resource 3/10 because ..." If people share resources in good faith, having them knocked down is not encouraging. Even a star rating might not be helpful, unless it was awarding just one star for a really good rescource. An accumulation of lots of single stars from various users could then lead to a Highly Recommended resource award.

Perhaps a better approach in terms of commenting might be:
These are the things I liked/found useful about the resource
It would be helpful if ...

daverosthorn

07-03-2006, 12:59 PM

Charlotte

07-03-2006, 01:19 PM

:) What do I like about the Forum

People are prepared to help you even if you think your question is daft!
You get great ideas from the stuff people share.
You pick up new tips and tricks from listening to what others are raving about.
It's friendly.
It's fast moving - lots of contributions on a daily basis.
There's nothing else like it - someone a REAL smartie must have come up with this idea!! +wave+

Cliff Farrand

07-03-2006, 02:48 PM

We used to have a rate this resource link and it allowed you to do just that - it stood there for two years and not one person ever rated or reviewed a resource - so I removed it.

As you may know I am currently building the new community portal and a new resource exchange system - I am considering how useful it would be to have a rating system when from expereince people are too busy to bother and excellent resources dont get rated yet someone might rate a more average resource and because it gets rated then it may appear above a 'better' resource.

One of the US requirements is that all resources will be mapped to the US state standards and be searchable by those standards - these are broken down into further into all 50 states where it is relevant so a user gets to see exactly how the resource submitted ties in with the curriculum.

We are in discussions about doing this also for UK resources but this may not be in place for the initial phase of the new system.

What is the opinion of user about being able to rate resources - would you take such a rating as an indicator that the resource offered was of high quality if the rating was open to all?

Cliff Farrand

07-03-2006, 03:07 PM

Hi Charlotte

Guess I'm the smartie! ;)

I introduced the forum way back in 2001 and spent an awful long time talking to myself - it got confusing when I actually answered myself and even worse when it got into a three way discusion with myself :confused: Sometimes I got into conversations with Pete - that was worse! :p

The forum did slowly start to attract a few comments and it really started to take hold when I bullied and battered Margaret into championing the use of the forums - I didn't really - she was then and is now very enthusiastic ( +wave+ hi Margaret)

it is now a real joy to watch the community of users start to talk and help each other - it is very rewarding for Margaret, Peter and myself plus of course other staff who get involved on an day to day basis and a few who get involved now and then but nonetheless their posts are very welcome.

So a big thank you to our forum members - there are loads of you lurking who read but do not post - thats fine but please feel free to post something if you want to contribute - as Margaret says we are a friendly lot and all posts are welcome and it does not matter a jot about your level of expertise with the ACTIV software - this fourum is for all levels - go on use the expertise you can tap into here - you know it makes sense!

Cliff Farrand

07-03-2006, 03:12 PM

Hi Dave

Come on then suggestions for improvement - happy to listen

jprsantos

07-03-2006, 03:18 PM

Yes, it's really a wonderful forum! The best one, indeed...

But there's a negative point. Now that Promethean crossed the frontiers, you have to pay more attention to those who would like to answer in their own language.
I'll be more specific: here in Portugal, we have already a growing community working with ACTIVboards. We need this support (forum) from Promethean, but in portuguese language.
Could we create a forum for each country? It would be nice... I can moderate the portuguese one, if you want... Remember that the portuguese language is spoken all over the world, in every continent! See Brazil, for ex, or Afrique...

For this purpose, I create recently (one week) the blog http://interactsite.blogspot.com/ (visit us and let us know about your experiencies in your school/country - in english, of course)

Another thing: I have many teachers that already made wonderful, amazing flipcharts, but we need a specific site to upload them, with a good broadband... Some of the flipchats have ore than 10Mb!!! This site should be in multilingual; and a curriculum for each country!

Thank you, Promethean! Thanks to Guillaume Chatagnon, to Mark Bardoe, to Margaret, to Stephen Jury, to David Fairbairn-day and to Georgia Kalkanis!!! Did I forgot someone?

You have also the best Interactive Whiteboards... and I know what I am saying... ;-)

José Paulo Santos
Interact Project Coordinator

Cliff Farrand

07-03-2006, 03:34 PM

Hi José

Can I take it that you have a working relationship with Promethean?

We are planning to improve and increase the scope of the forums along with other community related topics by introducing a dedicated community portal that will boast a new resource exchange system, a forum and other items we will keep under wraps for now. English will be the language supported initially but we do intend to extend this portal over a period of time to provide multi-lingual support - we would not want to do this without our partners support in other countries.

daverosthorn

07-03-2006, 03:40 PM

Hi Dave

Come on then suggestions for improvement - happy to listen

I'll get back to you when you've sorted your new portal - sounds great - you've probably thought of everything while doing that. :D

Cliff Farrand

07-03-2006, 03:52 PM

Better to think about it now Dave - otherwise it may not get done - still at a stage where we can be influenced - you'll be telling us next it's just too perfect as it is!

Dug

07-03-2006, 03:55 PM

I'm a relative newcomer but have been very impressed and gained some wonderful ideas and resources. Thanks to all contributors.

jprsantos

07-03-2006, 03:58 PM

Hi, can I suggest some gifts?[clap]
It would be great if you could offer an iPod or a 1Gb Pen Disk (with Promethean new logo); or Activtablets or Activpens... I can suggest many other things...:D

José Paulo Santos

Because of the success of the forum we are developing a User Community website at PrometheanPlanet.com. We are in the process of developing this portal and at some stage the forum will migrate over. In the meantime may I remind anyone who wishes to sign up for news and notifications about the new portal and for membershp transfer, please visit http://www.myiwb.com (http://www.myiwb.com/) and add your details. (There will be a free gift for all who join :) - we haven't decided what yet, :( and whether it would be something posted out or something to download - hey! it could be both ;) )

What do you think of the forum?

jprsantos

07-03-2006, 04:16 PM

Margaret Allen

07-03-2006, 05:11 PM

Hi Jose, (don't know how to put an accent on!) ;)

Can I also just say, that although it would be good to have different "language" portals, the trouble with that is that the content then gets diluted. Only the ideas of each country get shared with that country. If you understand what I mean.

At the moment, if someone in New Zealand comes up with an idea, then everybody gets it! If someone in Portugal never goes to the New Zealand portal they would miss out.

I appreciate this is a tricky one, but I have similar concerns to the forum being categorised into different subject areas, because then a geography teacher will not see the great idea that the history teach shared, even though they could easily use it in their subject teaching area!

Not sure what the answer is, as translating the lot would be tricky.....:rolleyes: :confused:

sartley

07-03-2006, 05:36 PM

I was in Portugal last week - I wish I'd known about you Jose - I could have come and done some training! Never mind, I watched flocks of flamingoes instead!

jprsantos

07-03-2006, 09:56 PM

Hi, Sharon! Yes, it would be great... We'll meet for a next time!

garyafcb

07-03-2006, 10:44 PM

Sorry - just had to vote for the possibility of improvement
nothing is perfect
not sure what I would change though
I contribute to several football message boards (the afcb bit of my user name refers to the mighty afc bournemouth [clap] ) and a couple of music boards
they all have an off topic board where people can get to know each other, argue, tell jokes etc.
that might be fun!

AirSkeeter

08-03-2006, 02:48 AM

Great board, great folks.

I am a member of several boards that drip with acrimony, sarcasm, and treat newcomers like lepers.

This is the best because of the respectful learning environment that is fostered here.

Oh and Pete is OK as well :) , even if he didn't pick me as his Mardi Gras queen...... :(

Later folks, back on the road tomorrow..... +wave+

AirSkeeter

08-03-2006, 03:29 AM

Cliff,

The nettrekker program that will be featuring our lessons in their own tab has a type of rating system.

Great job...... [clap] [clap] [clap]

Cliff Farrand

08-03-2006, 04:45 PM

Hi Gary

I would have no objection to offering an off-topic section - I will discuss with others this idea for the new community portal.

What we don't want to try to do is replace the more well known teacher forums - we want to keep people fairly focused on the use of the solution to further enable your teaching goals.

Cliff Farrand

08-03-2006, 04:49 PM

HI Bill

Oh yes I am now very familiar with the Netrekker system and this is my main focus at this time - we are going to use a similar tagging system to Netrekker where we will indicate with an icon if a resource has audio or video or maybe inlcudes assessment via Activote.

I am in discussion with Andy in the states on rating and we have mixed views all round at the moment - why not send your viewpoint on rating to Andy Ryff?

Still look forward to meeting you Bill I did go to Atlanta briefly but I know you spend most of your time on the road - we may catch up sometime :)

Cliff Farrand

08-03-2006, 04:52 PM

I am very happy for people to express their genuine view on the poll - but it would help us to improve the forum if suggestions were also put forward on what we could do to improve or add to the user experience please.

Mike Dawson

08-03-2006, 08:30 PM

Imagine my surprise when the forum showed up Orange in my browser? Not sure I like that change. May just need to grow on me. :eek:

Anne W

09-03-2006, 10:41 AM

Like others, I am impressed with the speed of replies and the breadth and quality of information exchanged by users. If you're looking for improvements, I wonder what happens when a thread's topic becomes redundant or very outdated; there needs to be some management, clean up or archiving process to keep the clutter down.

I rarely go beyond the current page and new listings, yet some threads have several pages and each of the forums has many pages... perhaps there will come time some system of categorization might help. For example, I liked it when the distinction was made between Mac and PC forums for ACTIVstudio. When I was a first-time user, I could go straight to the Mac threads; now that I'm helping others, some of whom use PCs, I intend to browse the PC forum for topical stuff. Perhaps some way of sorting on topics etc. might be useful.

Margaret Allen

10-03-2006, 04:53 PM

Do you know Anne,

I kind of agree with you, and once I thought I would do just that, but actually it was pointed out to me that if you start to "cull" posts, some people may be offended, as it may well be all they have ever posted.....

We do occasionally close threads in an effort to stop it growing too big, but currently the very long ones are soooo topical that we are allowing them to continue growing.

The forum icons do indicate new posts and you can also set your profile so that you receive a response to anything you have posted on.....

BUT having said that - feedback is always helpful..... so thank you +wave+ [clap] [clap]

John Fearn

12-03-2006, 09:52 PM

As others have already mentioned, it is great to see the forum go from strength to strength as the range of topics expands and the number of active contributors (ACTIVusers ???) increases. Particular thanks are due to Cliff, Pete and Margaret (from the Promethean side) and to the more proliic posters from the users' side for keeping things going.

What I would say to everyone is "Keep reading". There will come a time when you feel you want to contribute something to a topic, and one of the nicest things about this forum is that your contribution will be welcomed and not shot down or scoffed at - as happens on so many others forums.

Cliff asked for comments on rating schemes for user-contibuted resources. In my opinion, such a scheme is doomed to failure, for a number of reasons. To a reader, a "good" resource is only good if it suits the need of that reader. A reader may download a resource and then not use it or even view it for days, weeks or months - they are unlikely to go back and post a rating. If the scheme is compulsory, it may put readers off from "just having a look". Worse still, it may encourage false responses.

Cliff Farrand

13-03-2006, 01:33 PM

Hi John

Words of wisdom indeed John - I agree entirely with your opinions on rating - I dont think it will be something I include - we have in built rating system on all our content so we may use that as a means of getting the best resources to the front.

Thanks for your comments - it has been a long time coming but its great now that the level of interest has increased and people brave the waters in posting - I too have come across other forums were you are indeed shot down in flames if your post is considered unworthy! This will never happen on this forum - and that is a promise I can keep!

Westlake

22-03-2006, 01:29 AM

This is the only Forum that has inspired me enough to get involved, and now look what's happened to my social life!
One point - some of us were pretty new to this kind of environment when we first joined, and unaware of some of the protocols of Forum life. How about a 'welcome' letter when a member first registers, including a suggestion that people use the Search function to check existing threads before starting new ones, and some information about the other good stuff that can be found in the FAQ area etc.

Hilary

Cliff Farrand

22-03-2006, 12:32 PM

Hi Hilary

I do agree that we should review the welcome message and point out a few options available to users - but to me I don't think we should insist that users do a search before they post something that may have been posted before - this could lead to people not wanting to take the plunge and post.

If a discussion on the topic has alreay been posted I would rather someone more experienced who can search out the answer, did that and offered the 'new' poster a link to the thread were this was raised before. This does happen already - my thanks to those that do this in a supportive way already!

I use the Google Earth forums quite often and I am amazed at the reaction of some people who are quick to condem if you post something that has already been discussed - not very friendly!

101325

16-06-2006, 09:28 PM

Hello to everyone, and thank you all for building a tremendous forum.
Like most newbies, I'll ask daft questions and leech resources out of the forum and website, but I am aiming to soon be contributing flipcharts to the website, and being able to help colleagues in school with their presentations.