https://ormiboard.com■ Retail Price: Freely use up to 10 boards with 30 students. Cost for GO version is $89 per year per classroom with up to 50 students; $20 early launch discounted price available. Pro Edition is $599 for a perpetual license with up to 50 students.
Quality and Effectiveness: Ormiboard’s beautiful design features encourage teachers to spice up most curriculum lessons with moving images, graphics, games, audio, video, polls, and collaborative areas. Teachers can create ten boards for free. More options and features are quickly being built into this new product.
Ease of Use: When visiting the Web site, a clear overview with detailed options immediately opens, which can be navigated quickly or closed for later viewing. Templates are available to copy, which reduces the learning curve for most tools and template settings. The list of templates includes Interactivity with Ormiboard, with step-by-step instructions to create simple or more advanced lesson components. Help guides, with increasing detail, are always just one click away. Templates include floating text, images, clip art, sounds, and tiles to save much preparation time.
Creative Use of Technology: Ormiboard GO is completely Webbased and can be smoothly used on most devices and computer platforms. The Pro version can be used on a local network without an Internet connection; this functionality would be a great help in schools with less-than-optimal wi-fi or wired bandwidth. Teachers can choose from over 13,000 images and 230 country maps. Control My Devices allows remote control of a device, interactive panels, laptops, or PCs by another device to allow instructors to roam the room while instructing. Ormiboard is rapidly expanding its features and functions.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: Ormiboard can be smoothly integrated into classroom and school settings. Teachers can get creative with existing materials, including most interactive whiteboard file types, including SMART Notebook, that can be easily imported and modified (a file must be in IWB format to import). Quizzes and exams can be created in several formats that will randomly present the options or answers to students so viewing screens are not likely to be identical. An interesting plus is that students can collaborate on curriculum lessons.
OVERALL RATING:
Ormiboard stands out as the first cross-platform learning environment with an expanding searchable library of templates, content areas, and tools to help teachers engage students in unique and visually attractive ways. Teachers can simultaneously view two boards, which is a great feature if multiple levels of information must be presented, such as basics and advanced, at the same time.
TOP FEATURES
• Ormiboard is the first cross-platform whiteboard and collaboration learning environment, making it easy to create, edit, and share content and ideas regardless of BYOD or multiple classroom devices.
• Ormiboard jumps into the future with beautiful tools for teachers to engage students in unique ways on multiple platforms, including games, sorting activities with drag and drop, matching activities, polling, and video grids.
• Ormiboard Pro allows teachers and students to connect via a local network instead of through the Internet.
