Hey all! I finally got to see my classroom today and it has a SMARTboard! I almost peed my pants in excitement! I had a SMARTboard in my student teaching placement but we only ever used it as a projector screen. Can anyone give me some tips on SMARTboard 101 or point me in the direction of some resources? Thanks!
They are an awesome teaching tool! There is so much you can do with them, my district offers free workshops maybe your district will do the same?
Congrats on the new addition! I :wub: my Smartboard! The Teacher's Toolbox included with the Smartboard is wonderful. Since your school bought the boards, you should be able to download the software on any computers. I have mine on my home computer as well as my classroom and I highly recommend this. It is so nice to be able to work on a lesson at home, save it to a flash drive, and be able to use it at school the next day. I used to have a ton of websites, but I can't seem to find them. I will post them if I can locate them. Have fun! Take time to PLAY with the board. You will be more likely to use it in your classroom, if you know what it can do! Have fun!
This saddens me. There are so many teachers would love to have a SMARTBoard and your mentor used it as a projector screen. What a waste. I have one in my room for the first time and am super excited to learn everything it's capable of!
There are many threads here on A-Z. I have had mine since the middle of the second semester. I taught summer school without it and hated it. Can't live without it. It is awesome to have. Also if you google interactive white board you should get lots of places to go look at.
I have one and love it also. You can go to smarttech.com (?) It's the official Smart Board site. There are lessons divided by subject/grade/state standards. Google is a really good resource.
There are lots of websites that help by having games and activities already done and/or you can enroll in them and use them to create your own. Places like Quia and BrainPop. One of the real big appeals of the SB, to me at least, was that if I created something that worked (like a great sequencing activity, or a long vowel skills game) I could save it, and use it again later.
I just received an email from a friend. She sent me a new website that has some premade lessons for the smarboard. I haven't really looked through it, but it could be helpful. Here is the website: https://www.blossomlearning.com/Resources.aspx?ty=1
What brand of SB do you have? We have the Promethean boards & the software it comes with is ActiveInspire. I can't downloaded on any pc that is not setup for it. Would be interested to know how yours work. Here's a link that has SB lessons: http://exchange.smarttech.com/index.html#tab=0
I didn't realize that Promethean boards were part of the Smartboard "family". I don't really know what brand I have, but the software is Smart Notebook.
Oh yes, they are. Some districts (not mine ) all the schools have these & they are refer as smart boards.
Congratulations! That's so exciting. The school I did my internship had them and they were an amazing addition to the classroom when the teachers knew how to use them. One teacher created mini lessons and used them as a center. Another great idea is to check out some online educational games and project the website on the screen. Since it's a touch screen, students can use their fingers as the pointer and "click" on correct answers or whatever the game involves. Because the screen is so big, it really brings in a tactile element to the game.
My VP said that our school has SMARTboards but I didn't really know what that meant. We had an ELMO projector in my CT's room. I'm wondering now if there is one in everyroom or if it available upon request, since I've never used one, but holy WOW, I would love to!
Do any of you have the portable Smartboard? I do and am constantly tripping over it or moving the computer and having to reorient it. Am I the only one having this trouble?
I used to have a portable too. It was such a pain. I suggest anyone that has one to mount it. There isn't much to it. I got mine mounted last year. Seems like you have to reorient it on a constant basis.
I teach teacher in my district how to use the Notebook software. You can download the presentations we use at this site: http://smartconference.wikispaces.com/Day1 They are very helpful! There are videos attached to a lot of them showing you how to use different features. There is a beginner, intermediate, and advanced presentation. Not sure how long the site will be up so get them fast! Our SMARTconference was last month so I'm sure it won't be up for much longer.
My aunt has to deal with a portable also. Since she was the one who used it the most, she petitioned the principal to have it mounted. She said she lost a lot of instructional time having to hook it up and orient the thing. Definitely a mounted board is the way to go.
Does anyone know how I would mount it? And then, don't I have to get different projector because mine is not attached to the Smart Board. I would LOVE to be able to mount it
I have a Promethean Board, and Promethean Boards are not part of the SmartBoard family. It is a different company. They do work about the same, but I know with Promethean Boards, you have to use a special pen on the board. The students can't use their fingers. The software is different also. It is called ActivInspire. Now, with Promethean, you can bring in SmartBoard presentations and change them over to Promethean flipcharts. Other than that, I am sure they are very similar.
My projector is not attached to the board. It has a mount that hangs it from the ceiling. I am not sure where our Tech guy got the mounts, but they were especially for the Smart Board. However, I can't imagine it being very expensive because my district wouldn't have spent the money on it. But, I am not sure. I will ask around at the school and see if I can come up with the company they ordered the stuff from.
I learned one piece at a time from someone who knew SMARTBoard well. The easiest and something I use daily is the 'magic pen.' I pull something up on the Internet. Touch the magic pen. Circle something on the internet page. Anything that is not circled, stays transparent.
Sue35-- I haven't forogot about you! Our tech guy has not been in yet. But as soon as he comes in I will let you know!
We got our Smartboards last year. I have no patience for making games so I just use what's out there already. The best thing about it is........You Can Play Regular Online games on your SmartBoard!!!!! Our favorite sites are: http://www.abcya.com/ http://www.starfall.com/ http://pbskids.org/ There are tons of online educational games out there and they are great for the Smartboard. We set a time aside each day (after lunch) to "play" games on the SB. Enjoy
