Smartboards in the Classroom

  "The Opera House Mouse"

Our friends at "Teachers Love SMART Boards" have brought a wonderful site to us from the Oak Street Elementary School in Plattsburgh, NY.  It has a range of interactive stories for K-5 classrooms.  Here's an image from one of the stories. Enjoy! 

The link is attached below.

Technorati Tags: SmartBoards, Interactive Story Telling, Literacy

Here's a wonderful site for math games from the UK brought to us by our friends at SmartBoard:

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/games/magic-gopher-central.swf

Technorati Tags: Math Games

Before any lesson can take place, the LANGUAGE of the lesson must first be defined.  This is the first standard of teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) or Students with English as a Second Language (ESLs) and one that I believe should be applied to all learners.

In a recent conversation with a secondary math teacher, we discussed the disparity in test scores of specific students in her class.  "I know that if the test consisted solely of numbers, my students would fly through it.  But since there are word problems in English, directions in English, notes in English, my students can't pass these exams! It's not their mathematics understanding that's being tested but their grasp of the English language!" 

Her frustration was evident and we began to strategize on how she should attack this problem.  This is an excellent example of the need for an instructional solution to a data problem.  Yes, data must drive instruction, but data is not the most important element.  The teacher is the most important factor here.  Her passion, insight, intelligence, knowledge of best teaching practices will drive her to find a way to reach her students and help them grow. 

So we separated the problem into its two key elements:  mathematics concept understanding and mathematics language understanding.  We strategized on how technology can be used to develop effective delivery systems of instruction that reach her students through their multiple modalities. The most effective tech tool she has at her immediate disposal is an interactive whiteboard.  We discussed how best to utilize her SmartBoard with her students.

Next, we started gathering web-based resources, like vocabulary.com (see link) that could help her begin improving math vocabulary development.

More to follow on her journey.  Another exceptional educator has crossed my path.

 [tag: ESL; ELL; Mathematics; Instruction]

Groundhog Day is a great favorite here in New York.  It's the day that we watch to see if a groundhog sees its shadow and predicts when Spring will finally arrive.  Not very scientific, of course, but great fun.

Here's a lesson from Jim Hollis that contains some new SmartBoard techniques.       Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: groundhog day; Smartboard; holidays  

Poetry Slam Using on SmartBoards!

Do you want to use podcasting with your Literacy lessons but your students don't have access to a computer, much less headphones or built-in mikes?  Well, here's an exciting solution because chances are ...your students all have cellphones! 

There is an excellent new book called "Toys to Tools - Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education" by Liz Kolb, 2008 ISTE.  On page 49, she has a great lesson called "Poetry Slam Podcast" that is geared towards grades 9-12.  A little adaption can make it appropriate for younger grades as well.

Here's my beginning using the SmartBoard:

The teacher starts by explaining the process to the students using the SmartBoard and screen shots of the websites. Be sure to spend time on the vocabulary slide to make sure they all understand the genres. Make sure everyone has a chance to touch the board.

Next Steps in Ms. Kolb's Process: 

1. Students explore various poetry genres using the website: http://www.beenleigss.eq.edu/requested_sites/poetry/poetryindex.html.  (Go to this site first - not all of the links listed are active).
2. Students write their own poems in several genres.
   
3. The teacher creates an account on GCast.com ($99 for the phone-in service) following the instructions and gives the account phone number to his/her students.
4. THEN -  here's the brilliant part - the students call into the account phone number from home using their cell phones or landlines. Ha!
5. The students read their poems aloud into the phone and their podcasts get recorded on the GCast site. Yes!
   
6. The next day, the students and teacher go to the GCast website, access the account number and listen to all the podcasts. 
   
7. If the students like how their poems sound, the podcasts are then published to a blog, after the teacher has reviewed them for content and graded them.
   
8. BRILLIANT! Now the students vote on their favorite poems.  A Poetry Slam, after all, is a contest.  Great fun!

Variations:

• Have the students recite their favorite poems they've memorized.
  
• Have them recite poems in different languages, translate and explain why they like that particular poem.
• Have parents join in the fun!
  

Stay tuned for the results of this Poetry Slam Podcast.  I'm going to try it with my teachers and post their poems on the next post. Great Fun!

Be sure to buy the book if you can.  There are many more really creative lessons to explore.

{Great Lessons, Literacy, Podcast, Poetry, Poetry Slam, GCast, SmartBoard, Cell Phones, Cell Phone Lessons]

Here's a website from our fellow educators across the pond at the Birmingham City Council.  Very interesting use of "twout".

BGfL - Whiteboards - Foundation Communicating via kwout

Technorati Tags: SMARTBoard, Resources

Another possible Inauguration lesson could focus on your visual/auditory learners with elements to engage tactile/kinesthetic learners.  If some of your students' learning preference is for small group presentations, this lesson is for them!

Inaugural Addresses:

Andrew Jackson's Inaugural Address (Transcript)

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr075a.html

More research:

http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/factsandfirsts/

Learning Objective: To Develop a Greater Understanding of Power of the Spoken Word

• Organization and Research:  Form teams of three students and determine presidents.
• Present: As a team, create a slide of the Inaugural speeches of three Presidents. Project them on the SmartBoard. Cite all sources.
• Research and Write: Each team member will write a brief one paragraph biography of his/her President and then present the biography to the class.
• Vocabulary:  Each team member will (1) read the President's Inaugural address in advance and identify new key words, (2) create a vocabulary slide with the new word in one box and the definition in another, (3) present the slide, defining each word, (4) scramble the words and definitions and (5) have a student come up and unscramble the words and definitions.  Team will move on when everybody knows the meanings of the new words.
• Presentation: Each team member will then present their President's Inaugural Address using the split screen window on the SmartBoard.  The presenter will read the speech aloud to the class, highlighting key words and phrases.  On the second split screen, the class will rewrite the beginning of the speech together. All handwriting will be converted to text using the inking function.
  
• Reflection and Analysis:  Each student in the class will choose a Presidential Inaugural Address and rewrite in his/her own words.
  
• Publish:  Each student will copy/paste their rewrite to the class blog in the comment section for review and publication.
  

Learning Modalities Addressed: Auditory/Visual, Tactile/Kinesthetic

Content Areas Addressed: Social Studies, English Language Arts

Standards Addressed: see "Standards" category to right for pdf

ISTE - 1. Creativity; 2. Communication/Collaboration, 3. Research and Information Fluency, 4. Critical Thinking, 5. Digital Citizenship, 6. Technology Operations and Concepts. 

NYSED ELA - 1. Language for Information & Understanding, 2. Language for Literary Response & Expression, 3. Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation, 4. Language for Social Interaction

Please give us your thoughts on this lesson in the comment box below.  If you use this lesson with your students, please let us know how they liked it.  Were they engaged?  Did they absorb the content?  Did their response surprise you?  Together we learn! 

Technorati Tags: Inauguration, SMARTBoard, SMARTBoard Lesson Plans

Here's another excellent Literacy tool to use with your students.  It allows you to build a virtual map of a word based on its definition and synonyms.  Click the comment button below to let us know how you used it in your classroom. 

One of the most time-consuming tasks with the SmartBoard used to be creating text boxes with new vocabulary, creating geometric shapes to match, changing the background color of the boxes, rearranging the order of both geometric shape and textbox and THEN grouping them together.

The object of all this effort, of course, was to create vocabulary words or labels that can be moved around the SmartBoard to show comprehension.

Well, now a new resource has come out that eliminates all this effort. It's called "Word Magnets" and comes to us from educators in the UK. Here's the link. Have fun!