I have to have one of these! Today in my 21st Century Learning class we are learning about SMART Boards. They are AMAZING! There are so many great ways to use it in the classroom. It is big, easy to see, and can be used for an incredible variety of lessons. It's something that would also be fun for the kids because it is so appealing visually, and allows for plenty of interaction. Here are some examples of lessons and some more info:
A lesson on factors and multiples:
http://www.education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+Activities/Browse+Notebook/United+States/Elementary/4-6/Math/Factors+and+Multiples.htm
Area of a rectangle:
http://www.education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+Activities/Browse+Notebook/United+States/Elementary/4-6/Math/Area+of+a+Rectangle+SMARTcreated.htm
The water cycle:
http://www.education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+Activities/Browse+Notebook/United+States/Elementary/4-6/Science/The+Water+Cycle.htm
We even saw an example of a virtual frog dissection that was very real looking. It actually supplied you with the "materials" and you touched the board to pick up the "pins" and pin the legs to the board, along with all of the other "tools". For language arts there are some great word games and even some great ways to create lessons on things like sequencing.
Impressive! Of course, this costs a small fortune as far as classroom budgets are concerned. (I believe I'd be looking at about $2,500, for the SMART Board and for a ceiling mounted projector.) I wonder if I can find some grant money out there...
We've also been discussing Clickers, which is another great tool for engaging students in lessons in the classroom. I am glad we covered this because I know my school has a set of Clickers that we can check out, but I have yet to do so because I had no idea how to use them. I'm excited about using them regularly now.
Both of the these technologies could be useful in any classroom, grades K-12, and for any subject area. I see younger children being a little more excited about the SMART Board, but I think that it could easily be geared toward high school students as well. I probably wouldn't use the Clickers much with kindergarten or first grade... That would present some challenges as they might get frustrated with the Clickers (they don't work unless you point them at the exact right spot, and it would be easier to use them with children who are able to read, though you could always read what is on the screen for them.)
Here are some links for the Clickers: http://jdornberghandouts.wikispaces.com/CPS+Clickers+in+the+classroom
1 comment:
I would make sure you talk to you principal because schools receive Title money from the government and that money has to be used for technology. Maybe something you could do with title money is purchase one of those. Or make it a fundraiser! Good Luck!
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