Saturday, October 24, 2009
Smart Boards
I just want to comment on this neat piece of technology that some of you have already mentioned on this blog. During my observation I sat in English 12 classes taught by the same teacher. She had a lot of fun with the Smart Board and admitted she was growing attached to it. It's a step up from an LCD projector (besides just text, she also used the Smart Board to show movies and You Tube clips). I saw it in action in her writing class. She was able to show a word document, "play" with the text like highlighting, erasing, moving words around and save all the changes. During lectures, she would write on the smart board and have an e-copy of those notes so she could email the notes to the class. This allowed the students to engage in the discussion when she's brainstorming for ideas rather than busily copying what she had written. During the school's 10-minute Tag sessions, the students could draw on the Smart Board without creating havoc to felt pens and white boards. This was particularly useful to the student with learning disabilities. It was a source of entertainment for him. Over all, Smart Boards can save a lot of paper, ink, precious time and missed learning opportunities for students who can't multitask.
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2 comments:
Thanks for bringing this up! I think they're an amazing resource for students and teachers and there is a significant amount of supporting software for each subject area attached to the board to make your teaching life a whole lot easier! Here's a site with free resources: http://exchange.smarttech.com/
Another question though...My first practicum school (private school) could afford smart boards in every room. At my current school there are 2 in the whole school (possibly in the math department) and the school blocks Youtube during class hours! I have no access to youtube videos let alone smart technology!
That being said, if people have the chance, I really recommend you learn more about them...this is the way of the future people...
I also agree that if you have the chance to learn how to use a smart board, it would be in your best interest. I saw a presentation on them before observation started and thought they looked pretty useful but wasn't sure how much access schools in our area had to them. However, my practicum school did have them and I had the opportunity to watch the use of one in a grade 9 math class. It made the lesson very interactive for the kids and they jumped at the chance to work a problem out on the board!! I think it is a great new tecnology that really keeps students engaged!
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