Teachers Love SMART Boards

SMARTBoards and Notebook Training: Revealing Information Using Animation - Series 1

I've just released a new course on my SMART Board Learning Management System called Notebook Techniques: Revealing Information Using Animation - Series 1.

This short-course will guide the participant through the process of using object animation as a way of providing instant feedback during a lesson.

In addition to learning how to apply the animation property to objects, participants will practice/learn how to place an image inside a color rectangle, group objects together, add and modify text object properties, and change the ordering of objects on a page.

This is a self-paced course and requires version 10 of the Smart Notebook software.

Participants receive 60 minutes of Professional Development Credit for completing this course and meeting course requirements.

Come Learn. Come Play. Come Share!

SMARTBoards and a Table Object Up My Sleeve

I love incorporating tables using the SMARTBoard interactive whiteboard. However, many teachers are still a little shy about using them in their Notebook lessons. Here are a few tips and tricks for using the new Table Object in Smart Notebook v.10 that might make your Notebook lessons a little bit more exciting.

The tutorial will cover:

1. Moving a Table

2. Changing Your Row Heights

3. Using the Cell Shade

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SMART Boards and the Tips-and-Tricks Phenomenon

A really awesome phenomenon about the Internet is the viral nature of sharing information. In other words, good information spreads quickly throughout niche areas.

A case in point...yesterday, I ran across a relatively new blog called elearnr (cool name!) that had a post called Ten Ways to Use Your Interactive Whiteboard More Effectively. It is a very well written post by Doug Belshaw that expands on a Google Docs presentation called Thirty-Seven Interesting Ways to Use Your Interactive Whiteboard (see below).

This incredibly useful presentation was an idea conceived by Tom Barrett and it contains tips and tricks for using your Smartboard interactive whiteboard. The really cool thing about this presentation is that it was put together by educators from all around the world, including "yours truly."

Why I am talking about this being viral? It just so happens that this morning I woke up to find a message posted by Carol from Smart Technologies on the Smart Exchange that mentioned this exact post. I am also spreading the information through this blog and hopfully other bloggers will link to it from their site as well. Wow! Good information travels fast!

While I've already written a post about Tom's Google Docs presentation, I'll present here again. I would also like to share Tara Crewe's wiki that contains various Smartboard tips as well as remind my readers that I have a SMART Board Tips and Tricks category here on my blog.

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(There's a lot of Caring going on these days!)

SMART Boards and Notebook v.10 Video - Reveal Correct Answers

I believe the best way to describe how to do something comes through the use of video. I love watching how other users do things and I believe emulation is a great technique to increase your skill sets.

That being said, here is a video tutorial on how to use layering inside Smart Notebook Version 10 (NBX) to reveal correct answers. This is a great activity to use on your SMART Board and it can be modified in a myriad of ways to improve learning in the classroom. For example, this technique could easily be extended or modified to become a powerful lesson on sorting information.

If you have a request for a video tutorial on using the Smartboard or Smart Notebook, just let me know and I'll get it posted as soon as possible!

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SMART Boards and Notebook v. 10 Tutorial - Customize

Here is a short video tutorial on how to make basic customizations to the Tab Bar and the Tool Bar in Smart Notebook Version 10. (If you are viewing this post in your email system or using a RRS reader, you may not see the video. To see the video, you will need to go to my blog by clicking on the title of this blog post.)

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SMART Boards and Notebook - Using the Table Object

The table object is a wonderful addition to Notebook Version 10. However, you have to learn a few things in order to take full advantage of using the table object.

Here's a quick video demonstration of how to use tables. After watching this video, you should be able to insert a new table, insert a new row, merge cells, modify the table properties, and incorporate other objects into the table. To demonstrate these techniques, I will create a Tic-Tac-Toe game. (If you are viewing this post in your email system or using a RRS reader, you may not see the video. To see the video, you will need to go to my blog by clicking on the title of this blog post.)

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SMARTBoards and Wordle

I have a draft about a website called Wordle that I was planning on posting next week. However, I found a much better post about Wordle that also has a fun lesson plan. The post called Wordle: Using Word Clouds in a Lesson comes from one of my favorite blogs called Box of Tricks. I highly recommend that you subscribe to the blog. In his post, José describes how he uses an interactive whiteboard to help with the lesson.

If you come up with any cool ways to use Wordle, let us know!

Here's the "word cloud" for my last post on Smartboards and Algebra. See if you can guess what my post is about before you read it.

Thanks José for another great post!

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SMART Board Notebook Tip: Reveal Correct Answers

Here is video demonstration on how to use Smart Notebook to create a move-and-reveal effect for displaying correct answers and hiding incorrect answers.

                             

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SMART Board and the Spotlight Tool

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!

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SMART Board and Travel IQ Challenge

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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