A smarter board? A smarter me!

On February 10th, I attended the Smart Board Training at MSMC.  I was overwhelmed with information! I felt it was a great experience and it expanded my knowledge about Smart Boards and Smart Notebook 11. I loved the different ways to create different lessons.  The hidden text is really awesome and will really engage students! The math apple lesson was also something that teachers can use in their classrooms.  It allows the students to come up to the smart board and use it, not just the teachers.  It's a great way to get students involved and motivated!

Interactive White Boards and Learning/ Creating Classroom for Everyone/ Interactive Whiteboards WorkBook!
These articles were extremely beneficial to my learning about Smartboards. An interactive white board is a touch sensitive screen that works with a computer and projector.  It is obvious that an interactive white board increases student engagement.  It is a great way to get the whole class involved in group lessons.  Article one states, "The functionality of the interactive whiteboard and its accompanying software allows for the development of classroom activities that are engaging for students, so they encourage greater focus, participation and interaction and improve student learning outcomes as a result." Students want to be able to touch the screen! They want to learn!

This interactive whiteboard can help differentiate instruction across the board. It can benefit students of all types of learning styles such as, visual, auditory, intra or inter personal.  It benefits those students who are gifted and talented and those with a learning disability.  It can help those students who are English Language Learners. Differentiate can take place by creating different lessons based off different learners.  For those students that need the extra work, the teacher can revise the lesson with more activities at there level.  The teacher can do the same for those students who are advanced or gifted.  The teacher can revise the lesson with more challenging information and activities.

Although Smart Boards are expensive, funding is possible! I felt that the last article was awesome! It offers great lessons and great ideas for teachers! Teaches you about virtual field trips, interactive white board in Math, in English, Science, Social Studies and Fine Arts!

I couldn't agree more with these three articles.  I feel that Smartboards in classrooms are a huge motivating and engaging experience for students of all ages, of all levels and of all disabilities! When I was in elementary school, Smartboards did not even exist! It's amazing how  much the technology world has changed in just a few years. By the time I reached High School, I only saw and used a Smartboard in my Math class.  Now, Smartboards are everywhere.  When I did my student teaching experience at West Point Elementary School, every classroom has a smart board.  As I have done fieldwork experience at Putnam Valley Elementary School, not only does every classroom have a Smartboard but each teacher get their own Mac Book lap top and starting from 5th grade on, each student gets a Mac Book laptop until they graduate High School.  I think it is amazing that some school districts are able to offer this to their students.  It is understandable that this type of technology is expensive and many school distracts can not offer this type of technology to their students but there are over 430 million web hosts out there that are free and easy to use that can also engage and differentiate for students!!!

I thought this video was simple to understand for the basics of learning the Smartboard!

Based off the resources that could load on my computer, they were extremely useful! I feel like no matter how much you know about technology and Smart Board, there is always something new to learn! The videos and websites really helped with my foundation knowledge on the subject.  The different tools and games will be extremely beneficial in my classroom!