Permalink Reply by Liz on November 16, 2007 at 4:49pm
I have used my smartboard many times for shared writing activities. We complete the graphic organizer together to plan our writing first. Students dictate to me what I should write while I type. The students are then in charge of using the interactive pens to edit and revise our work.
Smart/Activeboard alternatives if cost is an issue:
Mimio's - $450
eBeam's - $750
These devices are a fraction of the cost of the "boards" and use any surface (if cost is an issue) - if you already have a projector they are great low cost alternatives:
We use LCD projectors (10' x 8' screen in my room, can be made larger or smaller), love it, can be attached to student computers as well, we're a 1 to 1 laptop high school, greatly accelerates group activities
I have a promethean board, which is simalar to a smart board. I use it for EVERYTHING!!! I love it! I teach first grade and one of the things that I started using it for was my calendar time, I created a calendar and I added music and all sorts of fun stuff that helps with learning, I even did research on it and it uped my kids math test scores! I also use it for reading, I put all my reading lessons and math lessons on the board, that way all the worksheets and everything is on there so after we go through the lesson, they are able to write on the worksheets and everything.
Permalink Reply by John on January 26, 2008 at 7:32pm
This is my fifth year having a SMART Board in my room. I have used it in every subject, probably math more than anything. This year I am teaching only language arts, so I find myself trying to find new ways to use it in reading. We do a lot of graphic organizers on it, as well as viewing websites that apply to our studies.
Last week we read a fiction story about a young boy having to save his farm before a tornado. I always incorporate a reading skill of the week with our reading, in this instance it was predicting. I found a great predicting website that dealt with tornadoes and the Fujita Scale. We viewed different tornadoes and determined what scale they would be (F0, F3, F5, etc).
School for me starts in a couple of weeks and I will be having a Smartboard permanently setup in the classroom. What should be the first things I do with my grade 6/7 students? I have had about two hours training so far, but have not written any lessons to use with it. As I am in Australia, I would love some great websites with Aussie content for history and geography but any other great websites especially for reading and writing.