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Here's a great example of student engagement using the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. Watch as a fourth grade student from New Hampshire demonstrates how to add fractions using the SMART Board, the Smart Recorder and a flash-based fraction object in Notebook.
Please read the blog post Adding Fractions - Flash - Student Explanation to read more about the importance of the SMART Board. No other comments necessary!
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Shhhhh. I have a secret. Make sure everyone has left the room.
Did you know that you can save and share your favorite
websites with other people? You can! And one great way to do this is by using del.icio.us. del.icio.us is called a social bookmarking website.
You can use del.icio.us to:
* Keep links to your favorite articles, blogs, music, reviews, recipes, and more, and access them from any computer on the web.
* Share favorites with friends, family, coworkers, and the del.icio.us community.
* Discover new things. Everything on del.icio.us is someone's favorite -- they've already done the work of finding it. So del.icio.us is full of bookmarks about technology, entertainment, useful information, and more. Explore and enjoy.
So what's the big deal? Well, a lot of people who use SMART Boards save their favorite interactive whiteboard websites using del.icio.us. Here are two great del.icio.us sites to browse through if you're looking for some good resources:
If you're going browsing, I'll see ya in a couple hours!
Sharing is Caring!
I know a lot of teachers are looking for some fun activities for the SMART Board this week. I am very disappointed with many of the Internet games I've found for the Spring/Easter holiday due to the number of advertisements contained on these websites. Therefore, I'm going to share with you another fun site that will allow your students to create, share, and save pictures using a "Lite Brite" online simulator.
You could have your students create a fun holiday picture or use it as an educational tool by having your students design patterns or different types of shapes. I think it's a simple and fun tool to use on your SMARTBoard interactive whiteboard.
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Here are some fun Easter holiday befuddled pictures for your students to unscramble.
1. Easter Basket Befuddlr
2. Easter Eggs Befuddlr (more difficult)
3. Easter Chick Befuddlr (more difficult)
Check back this week for more holiday resources.
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Check out this wonderful video created by Matt Granger showing how to use the Smart Spotlight tool. You will need to make sure you're computer is connected to your SMART Board before you can use the spotlight.
[Click Here to Go Directly to the Video]
If you want to network with other SMART Board users like Matt and me, make sure you join the SMART Board Revolution Ning!
Sharing is Caring!
Recently, I posted a short article called "Sharing is Caring" on the new Digital Learning Environments website. In this article I discuss why teachers should share what they know and I provide some great examples of how other teachers are sharing resources.
The easiest way to keep up-to-date with what other teachers are sharing is to subscribe to their resources so you're notified whenever they make updates. Here are a few of the places I visited this week that I believe are worthy of a subscription:
1. The Whiteboard Blog by Danny Nicholson: This blog contains "Hints, tips, news and discussion about the use of Interactive Whiteboards and other technologies in the classroom." Click Here to Subscribe
2. ICT and Learning blog by Ross Hampton: His latest post talks about a good online photo editor. Click Here to Subscribe
3. ICT in my Classroom blog by Tom Barrett: Always a great blog to add to your Google Reader. Click Here to Subscribe
4. The EDCompass newsletter from Smart Technologies: This month's issue is very informative. Definitely subscribe to this great online magazine.Click Here to Subscribe
5. The SMARTBoard podcast from Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger: I haven't mentioned this podcast lately but Ben and Joan have been in top form and their weekly podcast is a must for any SMART Board user. Click Here to Subscribe
6. Teaching with SMARTBoard from Scott Miller and Dave Sladkey: Their new video podcasts are great. Please check it out! Click Here to Subscribe
By the way, don't forget to subscribe to the Teachers Love SMART Boards blog. If you need help subscribing to my resource or any of these resources, please don't hesitate to send me a quick message.
Sharing is Caring.
Check out what Danny Nicholson from The Whiteboard Blog found as a replacement for Geosense...
It's the Travel IQ Challenge from Travelpod.com. Since they allow you to embed the game into any website, I'm providing the game on one of my pages so it's free from advertisements. I'm certainly glad Danny got back from his vacation so he could share this. Don't forget to check out his blog as well as his company's website, Think Bank Ltd, that contains all sorts of great resources for your interactive whiteboard.
Here's a screenshot of the game:
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Update: This site is no longer recommended by Teachers Love SMART Boards. One of my very astute readers (Donna) noticed that the game has a chat board that cannot be turned off and appears during game play. If you decide to use this game, please take extra caution.
Here's a great game to play on your SMART Board called Geosense. You can play it alone or against other people. The game tests your knowledge of world geography (or U.S. or Europe) by giving you the name of a city and you have to locate the city on the map. Your score is based on how fast and how close you get to your target.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Cool Cat Teacher for sharing this link on your blog!
Here's a screenshot of Geosense using the World Map:
In this shot, it asked me where Sacramento, USA was located on the map. It took me 5 seconds to guess and I was 240 kilometers off my target (I know, pretty pathetic. You can enlarge the screenshot by clicking on it.)
This site has been SMART Board tested and Hollis approved so enjoy yourself. Once again, thank you Vicki for finding this and sharing this on your wonderful blog!
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I ran across a wonderful blog post entitled, How the SMART Board has Changed My Teaching from author James Tubbs on his blog misterteacher.com. This post highlights his initial experiences in using the SMART Board interactive whiteboard in the classroom. I think James captures the excitement of having a new SMART Board in the classroom and he keenly identifies some of the new challenges that come along with having such a fun and effective tool.
Also, if you want to hear about the first night I spent with my iPhone and why that has anything to do with a SMART Board, read my blog post entitled, The Wow Factor and the SMART Board Interactive Whiteboard: "Do You Got Wow?" on the Digital Learning Environments website.
Have a great weekend!
Sharing is Caring!
I ran across this wonderful (although slightly dated) article on interactive whiteboards in the classroom entitled, Boards Get Brains, Chalk Vanishes by David Cohn. It comes from Wired online magazine and it does a great job explaining how interactive whiteboards can help differentiate classroom learning to make it more engaging.
Here's a a short piece from the article:
...the real virtue of the interactive whiteboard is in showing students how to use the computer.
"Instead of handing a kid a laptop and saying 'good luck,' it's nice to be able to model something for them," Bang said.
And because the system works like a computer, most teachers have little problem picking it up right away and using it to teach their students.
"That is part of what is ingenious about Smart Technologies' board -- it is immediately familiar," said Columbia elementary school's Mishler.
These articles can be used as great ammunition for making your case of getting a SMART Board in the classroom.
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