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

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]

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 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. 

Interactive Whiteboards (Smartboards and other brands) have become increasingly common in our schools.  Unfortunately, they can be intimidating devices to many teachers.  This course supplements the introductory "Out of the Box" course and explores how to use the device and its software resources to create interactive, engaging lessons that address specific academic needs of our students.

This session focuses on:

• Review of Howard Gardner's book "Theory of Multiple Intelligences"
• Reviews recent research on the "Effectiveness of Interactive Whiteboards on  Learning"
  
• Discusses the teacher's role in utilizing the tool through the eyes of a teacher
• Reviews set-up of the whiteboard and use of tools.
• Establishes basics for the six slide lesson
• Explores the gallery and "Essentials for Educators"
• Reviews how to use online resources.
• Shares comments and best practices
  

In this session, we will explore an existing literacy lesson that can be found in the gallery under "Essentials for Educators" - English and Language Arts.

Content Strand:

• Poetry & Biography - "Stopping by a Wood on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost.  Includes glossary of poetic terms, author biography and supplemental lessons.
  

We will:

• Locate the lesson in the gallery "Essentials for Educators"
  
• Project the lesson and discuss classroom best practices
• Explore the lesson in depth
• Share our pros/cons of the lesson and reflect on how best to use the lesson with our students.
  

In this session, we will:

• Locate four existing SB lessons from the "Essentials for Educators" section on the gallery as well as the Smarttech website.
  
• Explore and save to our desktops.
• Discuss intellectual property and how to avoid plagiarism.
  

Lessons:

1. Poetry & Writing - "Writing Concrete Poetry", an interactive, creative writing system that is appropriate for all reading levels.
   
2. Writing - "How to Give a Speech".  Includes a timer and structured writing time.
3. Listening and Writing -  Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech.
   
4. Research and Writing - "Mark Twain".  Includes locating lesson on the smarttech.com website.
   

In "Understanding by Design" by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (ASCD, 1998), the authors discuss the theory of "Backward Design" or "Reverse Planning".  Very briefly, that means that we as teachers must first identify a concept that our students don't understand and then write our lessons to address that specific concept or need. 

This session of the course focuses on (1) reflection and group discussion of common ELA concepts that our students in middle school have not acquired, and (2)  designing a Smartboard lesson that teaches that concept in an engaging, interactive way. 

Key Points:

• Reverse Planning
• Writing to Address an Academic Need
• Practical Guidelines in Creating a SB lesson
• How to create a 6 slide lesson
• Using a template
• Making a text box
• Changing font color
• Textboxes, boxes, changing box background color, order and grouping
• Sharing our work - Exploring how our fellow teachers have created SB lessons to meet their students' needs.