Teachers can customize or create new activities in IgnitePanel by Hatch™ by using the Make It Your Own Template option. The activities in IgnitePanel are customized using RM Easiteach. This software offers many tools that teachers can use to make activities engaging and fun. You can find some of the most important tools and their functions in the RM Easiteach Quick Guide following the Customizing Activity Example below.
Customizing Activity Example
1. Start by finding the activity you'd like to customize. (All activities in IgnitePanel can be customized.) In this example, we'll look at customizing the Classroom Helpers activity. Click the Additional Resources button on the right.
2. On this page, you'll find a button labeled Make It Your Own Template. Click this button.
3. This will open the customizable activity in RM Easiteach. The first slide of the activity is where you can add a title and instructions to help you and others use this activity in the future.
4. To edit elements on the slide, you first need to click the selection pointer in the toolbar.
5. To change text, double-click on the text element. You will need to delete the existing text and then add your own. Right-clicking on the element or clicking the round arrow button (seen in the image below) will give you more editing options. In this example, we've changed the font of "New Title."
6. The second slide in the example activity gives you some optional steps to follow to help you customize this activity.
7. On the third slide, you will find the blank template. Here you can add your custom classroom tasks by replacing "Classroom Helper" with your text. Double-click on "Classroom Helper" and add your task.
8. You can also add photos to the tasks using ones from your files or by searching through the media bank. The media bank can be accessed by clicking the purple camera icon in the top toolbar.
9. Resize the photos by dragging the corners in or out. Hold the shift key as you resize to avoid stretching or squishing the photo. Remember, if you want to see more options for an object, right-click or click the rounded arrow button to see more options.
10. If you want to add audio to an element, right-click or click the rounded arrow button to see more options. In the drop-down menu, click Actions, then select the option to Play an audio file. You will be prompted to add the audio file. In play mode, you can tap the object and the audio will play.
11. Once you have your images and titles where you want them, lock these objects by right-clicking for more actions. Select Lock / unlock selected object(s) and then click Lock selected object(s) from the drop-down menu.
12. After you've made all your changes, click the "e" button in the top toolbar and then click Save as.
13. Your Documents folder will appear. Find the folder labeled My Content-[Your Name]. Open this folder, and give the file a name. Change the file to an etnt (template) file before clicking Save. Etnt files are templates that only allow for "Save As" and preserve the original file. The default etng files can be saved over, which may not be intended.
14. To view and play your activity, go to the IgnitePanel Teaching Guide and click My Content in the menu bar. Here you will find all the content you have created.
RM Easiteach Quick Guide
The RM Easiteach menu bar is the main navigation bar and appears at the top of the screen. From this menu bar, you can launch different functional areas to the left-hand side of the menu bar and common function buttons to the right-hand side.
Functional Areas
"e" menu button
In this menu, you will find options to save, open, or print files. You can also find different viewing modes for the activities as well as additional settings.
Drawing menu button
This menu includes tools that allow you to add to slides. For example, this menu includes the pen tool, the shape tool, the erase tool, and more.
Text menu button
This menu includes tools to edit text. You will find options to change font sizes and styles and more advanced text tools, like those for text alignment, highlighting text, and adding symbols.
Special effects menu button
The special effects menu can be used to apply actions, effects, or animation to objects.
Widget bank button
RM Easiteach comes with a set of curriculum‐based tools called widgets. These widgets aim to aid teaching by helping teachers perform a task digitally or by providing easy‐to‐create games and activities. Note: Some widgets may not work as expected because they are built with Flash, which Adobe and Microsoft have discontinued.
Multimedia bank button
The multimedia bank enables you to search for and add multimedia assets to a page.
Scrapbook button
The scrapbook is an object transfer facility. You can add any individual object or group of objects from your page to the scrapbook and transfer it to another page or an RM Easiteach document.
Common Function Buttons
Select mode
Clicking this button updates the mouse pointer to show that you are in select mode. You can now select objects and perform actions on them. To select multiple objects while within select mode, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the required objects.
Play mode
Clicking this button will put you in play mode. Use play mode to allow students to interact with objects without the editing tools or to access interactive elements, such as widgets or Flash files, more easily.
Keyboard
This option opens the on‐screen keyboard that comes with your operating system.
Delete
To delete an object from the page, you must have an object selected, so the delete button is only active when an object is selected. The object does not get copied to the clipboard. The object can also be dragged onto the delete icon to delete it.
Back one page
To return to the previous page in the current document, you can select this button. It is only active if there is a previous page to navigate to.
View storyboard
This will display document pages in a page sorter. You can activate storyboard mode from the page sorter. You can see thumbnails of all the pages in the document; add and delete pages; and cut, copy, and paste pages. In storyboard mode, if you click twice on a page, the page will display in full. You may change the order of your pages by dragging and dropping them on top of existing pages.
Forward one page/add page
To progress to the next page in the current document, you can select this button (right-facing arrow). The button is only active if there is a next page to navigate to. If there is no page to navigate to, this button will become an "add page" button (plus sign). Clicking the "add page" button will add a new page directly after the currently selected page.
General Object Properties
The general object properties buttons are always present on the right‐hand side of any secondary menu. Some of these properties can be applied to multiple and single objects. To select multiple objects, hold down the Ctrl key and select each object, or you can draw a marquee around the objects you want to select.
Lock/unlock
This allows you to lock the position of an object on a page to prevent editing by mistake. Clicking the lock button will lock the selected object in its position on the page. An object cannot be moved when it is locked. When the lock button is clicked a second time, the object is unlocked and can be moved around the page once more.
Lock and allow copies
This allows you to lock the currently selected object and turn it into an infinite cloner. This means that when you click and drag the object, a copy will be created automatically. This feature is useful when creating drag‐and‐drop elements on your page.
Lock and allow rotation
This button locks the currently selected object but allows the object to be rotated in place.
Locking to a plane
This locks the currently selected object but allows you to move it horizontally or vertically on the page. This is useful for creating interesting hide-and-reveal pages. You cannot resize the object once it is locked to a plane.
Group/ungroup
This allows you to group selected objects together into a single object. You can ungroup objects again by clicking the ungroup option on the same menu.
Object alignment
You can use this feature to align the currently selected object with other objects on the page.
Object ordering
You can use this feature to adjust the layering of the currently selected object, which allows you to send it forward, backward, to the front, and to the back. Select an object and click one of the options from the object ordering menu.
Object reflection
You can use the object reflection feature to create a mirror image of the currently selected object, including all of its properties. You can also flip the object. Select an object and click one of the options from the object reflection menu.
Duplicate object
To make a duplicate copy of an object, select it and click the duplicate object button, which will create an exact duplicate of that object, including all of its properties.
Object transparency
To make an object transparent, select it and then click the object transparency button. A slider will display, which allows you to adjust the transparency settings.
Color picker buttons
Click on this button to display the color picker. This enables you to change the fill, border, or text color of the currently selected object. You can use the preset colors, select a new color using the color map, or use the eyedropper tool to select a color from an object already on the page. You can also change the opacity of the fill, border, or text color and the line thickness of the border. If you want the color to be transparent, select the transparent option on the color picker.
Once you have the color you want to apply to your object, click the check button to apply it or the cross button to cancel and close the color picker menu.
Learn more about the tools available in RM Easiteach by downloading the attached guide.