SmartBoards are showing up in schools and classrooms across the country. But how many teachers really use them to their full potential? Most teachers in my school end up using them as a glorified projector! And while they are useful for projecting material, there are so many other things that can be done with them. It does take time and effort to learn, but as always, there are plenty of resources online not only to help aide in learning, but also to help teachers develop lessons and activities around the SmartBoard. The most helpful are templates: the basic settings are there, just add your own information! It makes it easy on the already overloaded teacher and fun for the students when their classroom becomes more interactive. Listed below are 5 sites that will help get any teacher started on SmartBoard inclusion.
This a great resource for me, thank you. We just recieved our first batch of smart boards and everyone is promptly looking at eachother like "okay, ummm what now haha". What they can do is a little overwhelming at first without having someone walk us through. Good stuff
ReplyDeleteGlad this can help! Hopefully you have some type of technology coach to help you through the beginning stages. If not, I highly recommend taking some time just to "play". That is how I have learned the most!
DeleteGreat post! Thank you for sharing this. I agree that a lot of the time technology is given without a lot of instruction on how to use it. I love the YouTube tutorials. I am a visual learning and this really helps for the understanding!
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of YouTube tutorials as well!
DeleteWe don't have SmartBoard by that name. My school uses Mimeo. I have the same complaint that you mentioned: time. This will be my third year teaching, and I feel prepared to begin teaching for the first time. I love the technology, but it's really hard to find time to learn it and implement it when learning the skill of teaching and the art of balancing grading. I hope to get more into the Mimeo this year. Thanks for sharing the resources. I understand that they are very similar between the two systems.
ReplyDeleteJust make small changes to start. We as educators often want to "go big or go home". But when integrating technology that is often not the case. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteNice list of resources! I particularly like the game templates. I just started Pintrest, so the link to those resources is a great find for me as well. I love using my SmartBoard and it feels like Christmas when I find some great resources that will help me use it even more effectively.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sharing this!
I had no idea how many ideas are "pinned" on Pinterest! Hopefully one day my gym will be blessed with a smartboard, as all other classrooms in my school has one. I think having one would totally enhance my lessons! - Casey
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