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[TPeromsik]

I just found out about a very interesting free program that might be a good thing to use along with - or instead of - a smartboard.  It is an add-in program that works inside Powerpoint.  basically, it allows you to hook up multiple mice to one computer.  Then, the teacher creates quiz slides inside the presentation.  Kids, all AT THE SAME TIME, click on the answers.  The computer then gives a class score on the answers.
This is better than a smartboard because it involves the whole class at once, as opposed to one at a time.  The cost savings of 20 mice vs. one Smartboard is also pretty significant as well.  It's called "Microsoft Mouse Mischief," works with Powerpoint 2007 and 2010, and it's a free download.  I'm just beginning to work with it, and I'm curious as to what other people might think. 
Tuvya Peromsik

[shifandyis]

I am looking forward to checking it out. What is your setup using 20 mice/mouses (what is the plural of a computer mouse?) and making it accessible to all the kids?
You are "bavarning" my biggest problem with a Smartboard/Wii remote Smoothboard (I use both) that when one kid is using it, what are the other 19 kids doing? It is a very good tool, but not a means to itself. Whereas when I use PowerPoint, I am presenting an idea visually to the entire class...though it is not interactive the same way. I do use triggers which gives it a little interactivity and "touch screenness" but it is more for the shtick in order to keep the boys excited about it.

[TPeromsik]

I haven't tried it yet.  The ideal setup would be 20 wireless mice.  Just pass them out like papers when you're ready for the activity.  But you could save money with wired mice and USB hubs.  Also, how many actual mice are supported depends on the capabilities of your computer and its operating system.  If budget is a concern or lots of mice aren't supported, then you'd have groups of a few kids taking turns around one mouse per group.  Still better than the one-at-a-time use of the other options.  In the "old days," I would project the computer image on the (non-smart) whiteboard and have kids come up and write on the image with regular whiteboard markers.  You couldn't save it, but you could have many kids up at once.  And calibration was much easier.

[shifandyis]

I tried it with 3 mice. Either way you need a few USB hubs. My computer did (2 yrs old running Vista AMD Turion chip 2 Ghz- not dual core) experience some time lag with the mice when using corded mice. When I used a bluetooth wireless mouse it worked fine. Even if it all worked perfectly, with corded mice you are limited to several groups just because of the tangle of wires. I had a few boys offer to bring in wireless mice, which might be a solution. Either way it is another good AP trick to use. I told it to two people who were going to be presenting at the TU convention and apparently it was mentioned. One thing that worked for me (with this and the Smoothboard setup) was to make it a class project where the boys feel they are part of the figuring it out project. It made a tremendous excitement in my classroom. Thank you for the heads up and lets stay in touch to see what you can do with this.