Connecting the Wiimote to a Computer - Part one

This is the first step in using your wiimote to create an interactive whiteboard. It is also the step that seems to cause new users the most difficulty. However, once achieved the first time, takes only a few seconds after that.

As you probably know, the wiimote 'talks' to computers via Bluetooth (a wireless system widely used in devices such as cellphones, microphones, music players, etc). Obviously your computer needs to have Bluetooth installed before you can connect the wiimote. In New Zealand, teacher's laptops come with this feature. If your computer does not, you can add it simply by plugging in a Bluetooth dongle. These small devices plug into a spare usb port. 3Pi have tested a lot of dongles from various manufacturers and the one we supply works with minimal hassle - you simply plug it in, and on Windows XP and Vista computers, it installs itself and is ready to use. It works on Apple Macs as well. There are many other dongles that work too, but our tests show that there are also plenty that do not.

This photo shows the tiny device sticking out from the side of a tablet computer.

We will go over the actual process used to make the connection in a post soon.

New Zealand Education Gazette

We were lucky enough to be interviewed by the New Zealand Education Gazette back in November 2008 about the wiimote project and our 3Pi pens. The article has now been published in their most recent edition. The link to the article is; http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/Articles/Article.aspx?ArticleId=7797

Annotating software

One of the great features of the Wiimote whiteboard is that it can handle any software that you can run on your computer, rather than relying on vendor supplied programmes. However, those of you who have seen some of the commercial systems in action will know that they have several neat tools to help teachers and students.

One that is particularly useful gives you the ability to write over images.

The 3Pi team have found a great wee piece of software that does exactly that -Annotate!Pro (http://www.annotatepro.com/ ) . Using this programme you can write over anything on your desktop; pictures, documents, video - whatever is there. When you are finished, you can save it, email it directly, or discard it. The snapshot function is particularly good.

You can download it as a trial or purchase it for $19.95usd. (We have no connection to the company!)

If you want a functional annotating programme that is free, try EduRibbon. It is the one we started with and contains some nice features, but for ease of use Annotate!Pro is the way to go.

What's the best Mac alternative to OneNote

Undoubtedly we've found that using Microsoft's OneNote to be a wonderfully natural companion to the wiimote project and our 3pi pen. The search is now on for a Mac version that gives Apple users the same interactivity as our Windows users.
We're wondering if we've found the answer in Circus Ponies Notebook 3. See http://www.circusponies.com/videotour . It can be downloaded for free at http://www.circusponies.com/ . This will give you a 30 day free trial. We're interested to hear from anyone who has used this product. On the face of it looks as though it will do everything that a teacher could want e.g turning your apple computer into a tablet albeit projected onto a screen, whiteboard or wall!

Powering the Wiimote

As you will know if you've visited our website, www.3pinteract.co.nz , we at 3Pi believe the best use of this technology in a classroom setting, is when the data projector and wiimote are both ceiling mounted. This setup makes the system very simple for teachers to use and removes any chance of students interfering with the wiimote.

The question that we are sometimes asked though, is how we provide power to the wiimote.
Well, our first reply is "very carefully!". The wiimote is designed to run on stable DC power and that is what you have to give it. We achieve this by combining a quality regulated AC/DC adapter with a clever piece of electronics that ensures the current it receives is abolutely steady at the correct voltage.

The 3Pi power adapter does not require modification of the wiimote itself and simply clips into place where the batteries would normally go. This has the added advantage of letting the wiimote be used as a portable unit in the future, or even for playing Wii games!

3pi IR pen and MS OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is another product that works perfectly with the 3pi IR pen and wiimote. For people new to MS OneNote check out the information at http://blogs.msdn.com/onenote_and_education/archive/2008/07/07/new-onenote-resources-for-teachers-come-git-em-while-they-re-hot.aspx . Here it gives plenty of fine examples of how you can use OneNote in a classroom setting.

Essentially OneNote is a very clever multi-dimensional flipchart like programme. Teachers can organise their lessons extrememly effectively by using the programme to display their learning intentions. The use of the wiimote and 3Pi IR pen further adds to the experience. Teachers and students can work together to manipulate images, make links to websites and other documents and basically share in the learning experience.

New Zealand schools receive this software free as part of their Microsoft Agreements. This software actually works very much like the software that arrives with the fancy $5,000 Interactive Whiteboards. Why would you need to spend that amount of money on an interactive experience when it's simply at your fingertips for a fraction of the price?

Trouble Shooting - IR Pen is it working?

This is a great, simple method to see if your IR pen is actually working. Our eyes can't see the light beaming out of the pen. Your wiimote is clever enough to see the pen blinking away when you click the button on the pen. If you have a digital camera, or a cell phone with a camera then simply switch the device on and point your IR pen directly at the camera. Click the button on the side of the pen and look through the view finder of your camera. If your IR pen is working then you'll see the end of the pen lighting up like a christmas tree!
Ideally the stronger the light, the better the pen will work for you.
This is also a great way of checking out any of your tv remote controls which haven't been working properly recently.

Positioning the Wiimote

A question we are often asked is how far away from the whiteboard the wiimote should be positioned.

A rough rule of thumb is twice as far back as the image is high. For example, if the image is 1 metre high then the wiimote should be approximately 2 metres back. Luckily, the infrared camera in the end of the wiimote is not too fussy about exactly where it is put as long as it can 'see' the four corners of the image.

Positioning it off to either side of centre is fine too - in fact we usually set up from a 1m to 2m to the side (this is when using the portable kit). The 3Pi ceiling mount places the wiimote 1m to the side of the data projector which our tests have shown is optimum for a permanent setup.

Right handers often prefer the wiimote to the left of the image (while facing it) to minimise the chances of blocking its view and vice versa for left handers.

You will soon find out where the best position is with a little trial and error as you get used to the system. A useful tip to know while figuring this out, is that once the wiimote is connected to the computer and the software started, pushing button A shows the calibration screen - very handy as it saves going back to the computer.

What's The Difference?

One key question 3PI asked when we first starting working on the wiimote IWB phenomenon was simply "what's the difference between a wiimote IWB and a commercial IWB?"

It quickly became apparent that there is actually very little difference between the two - except the price.

We were at an educational conference last week where there were about 8 different types of interactive whiteboards, each trying to offer something different - but in actual fact, they did the same job. The prices ranged from $2 500 NZD - $10 000 NZD, depending on the model.

In these tough financial times, why spend so much money on a large, bulky piece of furniture when you could spend a considerable amount less on a piece of technology that does basically the same thing. The wiimote system is as effective as you want it to be. The sky is the limit in terms of its diverse uses and we at 3PI are committed to help you get set up and trouble shoot any problems that may arise.

If it's the commercial product you want, then of course they come with the added software and sometimes even training, but if you are thinking about IWB's, then we would recommend that you start with a 3PInteract solution to experiment with its uses. There's nothing worse than a large, expensive "white elephant" sitting in a room not being used.

The wiimote IWB is a fantastic solution to engage and interact with your audience and the added bonus is that the whole system will fit into your brief case or computer bag, ready to be used on any flat surface, anywhere, any time. What more could you ask for? Cost effective, portable, reliable, fun and easy to use!

Trouble Shooting - 'Crazy Mouse'

The whole wiimote whiteboard system relies on the infrared camera in the end of the wiimote being able to 'see' the infrared light from the pen. Commonsense says that if the camera is blocked from seeing the pen's light it cannot work. Actually, in real usage, this very rarely happens because users soon learn where to stand / how to hold the pen for best results.

However, there is one other way that the the pen can be blocked from working properly and that is by too much sunlight. To understand what happens you have to know that sunlight contains infrared light. The human eye cannot see this type of light but the wiimote camera certainly can. If the sunlight is very strong, it is possible for the infrared light in it to overpower the infrared light from the pen.

When this happens you get a condition we at 3Pi call 'crazy mouse' - the cursor starts hopping all over the whiteboard and random programmes start to open and shut. We haven't had it happen for a long time as it is easy to avoid, but back in the early days of testing it had us quite perplexed! The simplest way to avoid any possibility of it occurring is to stop direct sunlight streaming across the whiteboard. This is a bit of a 'no brainer' really as most data projectors don't work well under these conditions.

Occasionally the level of sunlight in general is very high. The Smoothboard software has a built in option that can help with this. Under the settings tab you will find a control that lets you adjust the sensitivity of the wiimote. You can turn it down to make it less sensitive to the sunlight. This is worth doing if you have a permanently mounted wiimote. However, in most other cases, we find that most people simply pull the curtains a bit.

Using the 3pi Pen in Powerpoint

Powerpoint presentations come and go in my book. Some are great and some are just plain ordinary. The better presentations are those that get people off their seats and up at the screen. Powerpoint presentations shouldn't be just new versions of old blackboard chalk and talk shows. The real secret is to design your show so that you're not just interacting with your audience, but relating to them. And let's face it a good presentation is also a very good show! We all love to be entertained.

The 3pi pen can be used for two things during a powerpoint show;
1. By pointing the pen towards the wiimote and clicking the button you can actually move on the presentation from shot to shot.
2. On the bottom left hand corner of each slide you can just make out two arrows and a drawing of a pen. It's amazing the number of people who never use these tools during their presentations. The drawing of the pen is the best tool to activate with your 3pi pen during your presentation. It allows you to draw and/or highlight key points made in your presentations.

I've seen teachers working in classes with 6 year old students, presenting simple stories using powerpoint. They then get the children to come up one at a time to highlight specific things that the teacher wants to test e.g asking the children to highlight words that begin with the letter P.
It sounds all very simple, and it doesn't need to be any more complicated at this level.
All done with the 3pi pen, wiimote and the power of the drawing tool in MS Powerpoint.

Has anyone used Earth Album Alpha with the wii?

Earth Album is a very cool website (www.earthalbum.com) Basically Earth album is a simpler, slicker Flickr mash-up that allows you to explore some of the most stunning photos in the world courtesy of Google maps and Flickr. To begin your journey, just click somewhere on the map, e.g. "India". Note-- since the top Flickr images are used, the images change every few weeks; bookmark this site and check back for a different experience in a month!
Imagine using this site with your class and the wiimote experience. Could be a very interactive way of making your way around the world.

Making it all work in the classroom

One of the key challenges for the 3pi team has been to make this awesome technology work in average classrooms with non-techy teachers.
Very early on in our adventures down the wiimote whiteboard path we realised that the system was still pretty 'raw' and needed to be tweaked to make it user friendly for all. Many people have been working on this and the global collaboration has been amazing.

Of particular importance has been the work of Goh Boon Jin who has only very recently released the very cool Smoothboard 1.0 software http://www.smoothboard.net/ .
This software takes the project from a beta product with possibilities, to a real alternative to the expensive commercial systems schools in particular struggle to fund.

The Mac users are catered for through the great work of Uwe Schmidt who uses a java platform to supply similar functionality to the Windows version http://www.uweschmidt.org/wiimote-whiteboard .

Welcome to our blog

It's been going for over a year now and the wiimote interactive whiteboard phenomenon isn't looking like going away anytime soon. And who could blame those for getting involved in this phenomenon that simply and effectively brings affordable interactive solutions to our classrooms and work places across the globe?



At 3Pi we're not only intent on providing package solutions for those who want them. We want to add to the experience by using our website (and this blog) to effectively support a worldwide community of wiimote users! Heck, that sounds like an enormous task! But why not I ask? Why not connect everyone by sharing ideas, solutions and innovations. Through the power of the internet it's a small world afterall!



Feel free to add your ideas and thoughts about the wiimote experience.

Let's keep the experience alive!



Steve Z

3Pi