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November 2007

November 30, 2007

SMART Board - Notebook Basics Video

Here's a training video on Notebook Basics from Interactivewhiteboard.net.au.

Interactivewhiteboard.net.au aims to be the leading authority on interactive whiteboards and their use in education in Australia. This website is not about sales of products. Rather its aim is to encourage and support teachers and other educators who are committed to interactive learning environments in today’s 21st century classrooms.

November 29, 2007

Teacher Resources: TeacherXpress

While not directly related to SMART Boards, I have been meaning to share this teacher resource page for some time.

The site is called TeacherXpress and it contains hundreds (if not thousands) of links to valuable resources for teachers. The site is too comprehensive to discuss in one post.

Please take a look but be careful on how much time you spend exploring.

Sharing is Caring!

November 28, 2007

Smartboard and Primary School Reading

I would like to share two great Primary School Reading Websites that are perfect for your SMART Board. The first site is called Children's Storybooks. It has wonderful stories and wonderful illustrations that are sure to motivate new readers. This site also has stories for the older kids but I find the early reader stories the best.

The second site I want to share is called The Fable Library. It also has some wonderful stories to use with new readers. In addition, you can download six wonderful Flash-Based stories that run directly on your computer. These are outstanding resources to use with your Smartboard! I've included three of them here for you to take a look or you can download them directly from the Fable Library Website.

Please share these sites with others!

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November 26, 2007

EDCompass Feature Article - Measuring Up the Senteo Interactive Response System

Heather Ellwood writes this week's featured article Measuring Up the Senteo Interactive Response System. She provides a wonderful analysis of how the Senteo can benefit teachers in the classroom and help them meet the federal government's increased demands for accountablilty.

Because the feedback with the Senteo is instant, I am able to address any errors or misconceptions immediately. This is so effective. The old expression ‘nip it in the bud’ certainly rings true here. I find I can put a stop to misconceptions while they are still in early development, and so many of the errors that often occur later, will disappear.

Caleb Courtney, senior high computer engineering teacher

Find out where the future of assessment is heading and how the Senteo works seamlessly with your SMART Board and Notebook software.

EDCompass Newsletter November 2007 - Best Practices

This week's EDCompass newsletter focuses on Best Practices in using the SMART Board Interactive Whiteboard in the classroom. Personally, I find that documenting and sharing best practices in the classroom the best method of improving your ability to instruct. Learn how one teacher scans homework so correcting work becomes an interactive while another teacher uses the SMART Board to change the way she teaches vocabulary.

Also included in the newsletter are three in-depth case studies that are sure to inspire creative and effective uses of SMART Boards in the classroom.

A note from the editors:

Educators employ best practices every day. In this issue of EDCompass™ newsletter, we’ve gathered best practices from teachers like you on how they are using SMART products to achieve teaching and learning goals. You’ll also read about a new research study that concludes the use of interactive whiteboards positively impacts student achievement. And learn how to start using the SMART Learning Marketplace, our new content subscription service.

As usual, this month's EDCompass newsletter is packed full of wonderful information and outstanding resources for all teachers who use SMART Boards.

November 20, 2007

Teachers Love SMART Boards Email Sign-Up

Did you know that you can receive blog posts from Teachers Love SMART Boards directly to your email?

Every time I post a new entry, you can have that post sent directly to your email formatted exactly like you see here. You can unsubscribe from this service at any time and your email address is completely safe and is never shared with any one else.

Worldmap002To subscribe to email updates, look for the sign up box on the right-hand side of every page. Just type in your email address and click the Subscribe button. You will then receive an email asking you to verify the subscription.

I will be vacationing in Virginia for the next four days and will be without Internet connection. Look for my next post this weekend.

Peace and love to all!

Sharing is Caring!

Jim


November 19, 2007

SMARTBoard Thanksgiving Resources

Teachers in the U.S. who are looking for some wonderful Thanksgiving resources for their Smartboard, don't need to look far. I have three wonderful websites that can help keep the kids focused.

For the Middle School and High School students, here's a summary of events presented in a wonderful timeline called Thanksgiving Timeline: 1541 - 2001

Here's a great site from Scholastic called The First Thanksgiving. It's a wonderful resource that has audio, slideshows, animated timelines, and a Web Qwest. This is a must see!

You may as well have a little fun before the break! Here's a Thanksgiving activity called Picture Perfect Turkey Day where the kids come up with words that create a fun story. Great for practicing parts of speech and reading in the earlier grades.

Wants some Turkey Games for the younger kids?

If you know of any fun sites for the holidays, please let everyone know!

Sharing is Caring



 

November 18, 2007

SMARTBoard Lesson Podcast - 100th Episode

They did it! Joan and Ben have completed the 100th episode of their SMARTBoard Lesson Podcast.

Here's the 100th episode summary:

In Episode 100:

Links You Can Use:

Our Roundtable:

  • Joan and Ben share info about upcoming features in SMART Notebook which is in pre-beta form. Hint: shape pen, active alignment, and tables.
  • Ben and Joan host a round table discussion about SMARTBoard use with Chris Betcher from Australia and Tom Barrett from the United Kingdom.  We discuss:
    1) Is there a SMARTBoard/iwb pedagogy? 
    2) Does SMARTBoard/iwb uncover or amplify other pedagogies?  What does it show and when?
    3) What does effective SMARTBoard/iwb usage look like?
    4) What is the next step for SMARTBoard/iwb usage for: a beginning user, an intermediate user, an advanced user?

You can listen to the podcast at their site or you can subscribe to their podcast in various places including iTune and Zune.

You can Follow me at Twitter too.

Enjoy! Sharing is Caring

November 16, 2007

Smart Board and Visuwords - A Great Combination

Please take a look at the ICT In the Classroom blog post on Visuwords for an in-depth analysis of using this incredible tool with your SMART Board. 

From Tom Barrett:

My favourite web based tool I am using in my classroom at the moment is Visuwords. It is a dictionary/thesaurus/etymology visualisation tool which uses Princeton University’s  WordNet, an opensource database built by University students and language researchers. It works wonderfully with a SMARTBoard as you can move the nodes about and shift things around to help clarify a connection. There are many many applications for this in the classroom and here are just a few I have been pondering.


Go to Tom's site for the full analysis. You won't be sorry!

My sincere thanks to Tom for writing such an incredible article on using Visuwords in the classroom!

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Smart Board Games for a Friday Afternoon

As a teacher, I saw too many other teachers use a Friday afternoon to watch a movie. Instead of a movie, how about some fun strategy games to play on your SmartBoard?!

Here's a game called Blox2. The object is to eliminate the gem blox from the board. It's a lot of fun and easy enough for your 4-8 grade students.

Here's a game everyone should be familiar with called Connect4.

Enjoy!

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