She gave us a fabulous tutorial, which left us all basically drooling for a SMARTboard. However, the reality is that we only have SMARTboards in the science room, computer lab, and library. Our principal recognizes that many teachers have an interest in utilizing this great resource, however, it just hasn't been in the budget yet! So in the meantime, we are going to start implementing a "sign up" system for anyone who wants to use the SMARTboard, during the free periods in those rooms (unfortunately, there aren't many free periods!).
While browsing through SMART Exchange, a website where teachers can exchange SMART notebook lessons, I found tons of ideas for what I'm teaching in 4th grade! Its so incredible and useful to be able to share lessons so easily with other educators.
I came across a great lesson about the "Parts of Speech" (submitted by Erin Cole) which we just did in my 4th grade reading and writing workshop. I was blown away by this lesson and it really highlighted how powerful a SMARTboard can be in a classroom. In an attempt to create "interactive" lessons (without a SMARTboard), I've probably spent hours writing on sentence strips and chart paper - taping, coloring, laminating, etc. But to be able to download this lesson, and tweak it to make it my own, is just incredible to me! Even if I had created this lesson in SMARTnotebook from scratch, I'm sure I would've saved tons of time!
But even more importantly, this lesson truly engages students! I love how the students can click on a button to reveal the definition of the different parts of speech. On top of that, the many "word sorts" really help students see examples and build an understanding of the types of words we are talking about. Then, when students are asked to apply their knowledge, they can drag a "star" above the nouns in the sentence, underline the verbs, place checks above the adjectives, etc., This makes the teaching point very clear for students! The creator even included a little "hint" button on the side of some of the pages to re-define the type of word, in case students got stuck, which I thought really would help to support kids who struggle.
Finally, the inclusion of a Sentio quiz (where each student has a hand-held interactive response keyboard), helps the teacher assess student understanding and allows for participation from all kids, which is essential. We don't have a Sentio system at school, but my friends have told me about them and they sound really cool and useful. It's funny, because they remind me of those little hand-held things that the audience used at the end of "America's Funniest Home Videos" when they were voting for their favorite video in the final round!
So, I'm loving playing around with SMART notebook and SMART exchange, but I'm still kind of bummed that I don't have a IWB in my classroom! I think it will be nice to use the one I can "sign up for" every once in a while, but I don't think I'm really going to be able to realize the full potential of this tool until I have one in my classroom and can really play around with it. I'm hoping that day comes sooner than later!
It is great to hear that you are finally being exposed to the wonders of SMART board... and can sign up for one. That is definitely a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of schools have a hard time budgeting in these tools. Has your school ever written any grants? If not, I suggest giving it a try. You would be surprised how many schools have received technology off grants and not school budgets.