I have been reading some of the blogs that won EduBlog awards for 2008. Some will join my Google Reader list and some will become popular with my spring semester instructional technology students as they read and comment on blogs. One of the blogs —Teachers Love Smartboards— will become popular in another course I teach and in which we use a Smartboard. The archives go back to August 2007, so I have a lot to explore! Topics include art, games, history, language arts, logic, mathematics, science, lesson plans, tips and tricks, training videos, social studies, and special education. Blogger James Hollis shares the purpose for his blog… The mission of this blog is simple. Share information and resources so teachers will utilize their SMART Boards in a way that increases learning in the classroom. That's why I end each of my posts with "Sharing is Caring!"
Hollis shares many resources for Smartboards on his blog. Frequently, he summarizes what he has written in lists... lesson activities, lesson resources, 2008 top five lists. Those lists and his categories make it easier to find ideas to use in the classroom.
If you use a Smartboard--or will soon be--this blog should be a good resource!
Photo: http://flickr.com/photos/barretthall/2870833301/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
It’s funny how we remember some details from events. One incident that stays in my mind from my first year of teaching is the day that I gave a particular spelling test. I said each word and then followed with a sentence using the word. The students wrote the word—hopefully spelled correctly—on their papers. Circus. We saw elephants at the circus. Circus. C-i-r-c-u-s. Oops! The students—not the teacher—were supposed to spell the word! I managed to read the remainder of the spelling words that day without spelling the words for the students. But, my slip guaranteed that everyone had at least one of the words spelled correctly!
Well, it’s still important for our students to spell words correctly. And not just in spelling class. Every subject—at every grade level—has its own vocabulary. Teaching our students how to use and spell each discipline’s vocabulary is necessary. Technology can help that process.
Teachers can post their spelling words on the SpellingCity.com web site. Students can then hear the words spoken one-by-one. They can listen to sentences that use the words. They can play games using the words. And they can take practice tests.
I learned about this site on a Tech Chicks podcast. When they’re excited about a spelling site, I know I should check it out. And I am impressed!
Students…
- can take practice tests
- can play games (online or on paper) to help learn the words
- do not need to register to use the site
- can type in their own words and practice and play with them
- can practice with existing spelling lists
- can find their teachers’ lists and practice them
- can print a certificate with their name and test results after they complete a practice test
Teachers…
- can post their spelling lists
- can register for free
- can put a link on their web sites for their students
- can sign up for a newsletter
- can suggest words to be included in the SpellingCity database
- can access SpellingCity’s forum
- can import lists
SpellingCity.com lists these features…
"... contains over 25,000 words, including plurals, contractions, future and past tenses
... uses a REAL human voice that says both the word and the word in a sentence
... a 'Teach Me' function that spells out the word using both visual and auditory input to improve retention
... teachers and parents can enter and save their own spelling lists for their students/children
... students can play games with their words or any saved lists
... teachers and parents can save and share their lists
... the forum allows teachers and parents to share lists and ideas"
Sample lists include…- grades K through 8
- big numbers
- dinosaurs
- Dolch - sight words – PreK through 3
- Harry Potter words
- state capitals
- states
- words of Arabic, Dutch, French, or Greek origin
- middle school US political terms
Interesting notes…
- obscene words are not permitted
- the site might be very useful for special education and ESL in addition to other classes
- this site would work well with interactive whiteboards
- SpellingCity knows blog but not wiki
- it’s free
SpellingCity.com is fun and useful and would work well with an interactive white board. That's quite a combination!
Earlier this month (10.8.2007) I listed some interactive web sites I had found in recent research. Here’s the remainder of that list, covering grades kindergarten through 12 and many of the subjects taught in those grades.
http://www.fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmc/content/interactivesites.html
Resource Materials and Technology Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Interactive web sites for language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and general
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/month2month.htm
Kindergarten Literacy and Math
Online interactive web sites for mathematics and literacy, includes additional links for activities for grades 1 through 8
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=interactive&Submit=Search&sp-a=000a20eb-sp00000000
internet4classrooms search results for “interactive”
includes interactive sites for grades 1 through 8
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/smart_board.htm
SmartBoard Resources
Interactive web sites and lessons for using SmartBoards
http://www.edina.k12.mn.us/creekvalley/staffdev/Internet%20Sites/studentsites.htm
Internet Math Web Sites for Students and Teachers
Links to many good sites for mathematics
http://www.theteachersguide.com/interactivesites.html
The Teacher’s Guide
Wide variety of sites, rated
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx
Primary Interactive Whiteboard Resources
Mathematics, literacy, science, other subjects for primary grades
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/science.html
Free Elementary Science Activities
Interactive science web sites for elementary grades
http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/curtech/interactive/interactive.htm
The Interactive Classroom
Pre-K through 12, ready, spelling, mathematics, language arts, art, foreign languages, music, science, social studies, multimedia
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/humanbo.html
Human Body
http://www.lhs.logan.k12.ut.us/~jsmart/statinter.html
Interactive Web Sites for AP Statistics
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/
Interactivate: interactive Java-based courseware for science and mathematics
http://archives.math.utk.edu/cgi-bin/interactive.html
Topics in Mathematics
Interactive web sites, mathematics
http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/professional_development/Interactive/Interact.html
Transforming Teaching Through Technology
Fine arts, health, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, financial literacy for elementary
http://www.globalclassroom.org/2005/inservice/reading.html
Interactive Websites - Reading and Language Arts
http://explore.ecb.org/education/surf_report?subject=0
Economics and Financial Literacy
As I've looked for good, interactive web sites that can be used on Smart Boards and other interactive white boards, I've found that these web sites are more likely to be accessible in groups rather than singly. So, most--although not all--of the web sites listed in today's blog entry are locations where you can browse and choose the web sites most useful to you. I think you'll find some very helpful sites in this list!
TeachersFirst (http://www.teachersfirst.com) shares an interactive web site that can be used to help study Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, The Raven. Literary devices highlighted are alliteration, assonance, internal rhyme, and vocabulary words. I think this is a very interesting approach for studying this poem, but I do have to admit that Poe is my second-most favorite poet!
http://www.teachersfirst.com/share/raven/index.html
While still at TeachersFirst, check out the featured sites for the week of September 30, 2007. You’ll find several interactive web sites that look very useful…
- BBC-GCSE Bitesize English, recommended for teaching writing in grades 8 through 12
- and other web sites: reading, upcoming elections, oceans, music
http://www.teachersfirst.com/feature.cfm
Teacher Magazine (http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/) features the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives which has more than 100 free digital games, tutorials, and virtual manipulatives. PreK through grade 12 students can practice a variety of mathematics concepts aligned with the standards. Activities range from playing with virtual blocks to programming a “turtle” to navigate a maze.
http://www.nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
Readers of Edutopia in a survey taken in 2006 (http://www.edutopia.org/best-site-download-free-lessons-and-materials) considered Marco Polo as the best site for downloading free lessons and materials. Marco Polo is now known as Thinkfinity: Literacy, Education and Technology
(http://www.marcopolo-education.org/). I think the easiest way to search for interactive sites at Thinkfinity is to use the Search Thinkfinity search engine (http://www.thinkfinitysearch.org/MPSearch/Basic_Search.asp) with interactive as the keyword. This search engine finds the interactive web sites and indicates which professional organization (e.g., NCTE or NCTM) is responsible for them. You’ll find some very good sites here.
To learn about the Constitution, try http://edsitement.neh.gov/ConstitutionDay/ where you can interact with information gathered from documents, background essays, and a bibliography. You'll be able to read George Washington’s annotated draft of the Constitution, visualize the Founders by using an interactive painting, and participate in other interesting activities.
The NetSmartz interactive web site teaches students about Internet safety. Many resources, including videos are available… and the site is up-to-date.
http://www.netsmartz.org/
Interactive Websites for Grades PreK-12 in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and assessment are available.
http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interactive.htm
teacher tap has interactive web sites, games, and activities for a variety of areas.
http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic86.htm
Interactive Websites for the Primary Grades as compiled by Sue LeBeau for mathematics, literacy, science, and miscellaneous topics are available.
http://www.suelebeau.com/priminteractive.htm
Elementary Mathematics Sites can be found at http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/ekowalcz/math/elementary_web_sites.htm.
Ten Cool Sites provides some interesting sites at the Exploratorium when you do a search for interactive.
http://apps.exploratorium.edu/10cool/index.php?searchtext=interactive&cmd=search&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
SMART Boards--and other interactive white boards--continue to increase in popularity as classroom technology tools. Ideas for using SMART Boards in all grades and subjects can be found (http://www.waukesha.k12.wi.us/WIT/SmartBoard/specificapps.htm).
- Save lessons for students who have been absent.
- Record short tutorials for using various software packages and then burn these tutorials to CDs.
- Prepare lectures and training sessions and then burn them to CDs to use as lesson plans for substitute teachers.
At least one school district suggests having students use the SMART Board to present their research projects. If these presentations are recorded, they then can be played for parents during parent-teacher conferences. And, in fact, if the students are involved in the conference, the students could go to draft presentation to make modifications so parents could see the teaching/learning process in action.
YouTube has some interesting videos showing SMART Boards. At http://youtube.com/watch?v=6owh452aJCI you don't have to understand the speaker's native language to appreciate his demonstration of Google Earth. And the simulation at http://youtube.com/watch?v=1l2tDiyRWvw&mode=related&search= is very interesting to watch.
Some of the videos do a very nice job of illustrating the possibilities for using SMART Boards to enhance teaching. I recommend watching these three...
And, finally, I cannot close without listing some additional web sites to visit for lesson plans, activities, and templates. Enjoy!
“How about some good web sites for primary grades in reading and math… connected to the smart board… thanks.”This request from a friend who is a second-grade teacher led me to four web sites (three, actually… but you’ll see) that have some very good lessons that primary teachers can use. The unexpected blessing is that these sites also have good lessons for other grade levels in K-12!The first two sites come from Amphitheater Public Schools in Tucson, Arizona. Their teachers (K-12) have written some high-quality lesson plans that help them--the teachers--to embed technology into the curriculum. Some of the lessons involve ways--both innovative and effective--for students to use the Internet, and others use higher-level thinking along with technology integration.They also list other useful resources. For example, I found the Literacy Center (http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm#), an early literacy site for primary teachers. It has games that can be played on the SMART board.http://www.amphi.com/departments/technology/whiteboard/eleminteractivesites.htmlhttp://www.amphi.com/departments/technology/edtech/lessons/second.htmlThe next web site comes from Hillside Elementary School in Needham, Massachusetts. The Cyberventures page (http://hillside.needham.k12.ma.us/cyberventues/index.html) contains a variety of information worth examining. However, the web site I chose for this blog entry contains activities (K-5) especially for SMART boards.I had fun with the Virtual Geoboard (http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_277_g_1_t_3.html) and I like the chart (http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx) that maps web sites appropriate for use with an interactive white board based on subject and age group.http://hillside.needham.k12.ma.us/cyberventues/smart_board_activ/smart_board.htmThe last web site I’ve chosen with SMART board lesson plans and activities (K-12) is from the pdtogo web site that I mentioned in a previous (December 8, 2006… http://teaching21c.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html) blog entry on SMART boards. These pdtogo podcasts began in January 2006 and still continue. The URL that I’ve bookmarked for you is the lesson archive page. It allows you to look over the entire list of podcasts up to this point… or to examine them based on categories such as “math lessons” or “reading lessons” (see the right-hand column). These podcasts are fun to listen to and/or watch and they include bits of other useful information in addition to SMART board lessons.Two examples of the lessons available from pdtogo include these literacy lessons for primary students. SMART Board Lesson 56 has a SMART Notebook file (chickachicka.notebook) that can be downloaded for a primary lesson for matching sounds, pictures, and letters. Lesson 62 includes a file for a jeopardy-style game for an early years lesson about letter sounds. Both of these lessons were developed by a kindergarten teacher in Canada.http://pdtogo.com/smart/?page_id=28As I examine lesson plans from each of these sites, it is obvious that they are designed by teachers who know well both their students and the content they are teaching. The web sites are chosen especially for the fact that they contain good lessons for the primary grades. However, the quality doesn’t stop there. Check out these sites even if you teach other grades.
What technology that was developed in 1991 has become the popular “emerging technology” for today’s classrooms?
The first blackboard was used in a Philadelphia school in 1809. The blackboards were made from lumber. Their covering was a mixture of egg white and carbon from charred potatoes. Chunks of chalk were used to write on the surface and the erasers were cloth rags. “Blackboards” later became “green” boards, although they still required chalk.
Black/green boards eventually became “white” boards and we used markers to write on them.
What eventually replaced black/green/white boards?
The answer to both questions is the interactive white board. Although there are several versions of this tool, the best-known one is probably the SMART Board.
Whether you want to learn more about how to use SMART Boards before you have one in your classroom or you’re searching for resources to use with the SMART Board already in your classroom, you will find lots of information on the Internet. Here are a few sites to get you started.
If you know of some other great sites, please share them!
RESEARCH...
I looked for results of research concerning the use of SMART Boards in the classroom. I expected to be able to create a list of advantages and a list of disadvantages discovered when using SMART Boards. Well, the two lists are a bit lopsided!
Web sites examined to learn about the research…
http://www.waukesha.k12.wi.us/WIT/SmartBoard/benefits.htm
http://www.mirandanet.ac.uk/pubs/smartboard.htm
http://www.techlearning.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=51200657
http://tusdstats.tusd.k12.az.us/planning/surveys/online/exsums/smrtbrd.asp
Advantages
• collaborative
• easy to use
• effective for whole class instruction
• enthusiastic and positive classes
• improved overall student learning
• improved student attitudes
• improved student behavior during class
• increased student engagement
• increased students’ levels of participation
• instruction is more organized
• interactive
• lessons were clear and dynamic
• points could be highlighted using the pens
• proved successful in many subjects
• quick to learn to use
• reliable
• students received more attention from the instructor
• students were motivated
• visualizing complex phenomena may help some students
Disadvantages
• initial problems, such as classroom movement and setting up of the SMART Board
• initial cost and eventual replacement cost of computers, data projectors and their replacement bulbs, and the SMART Boards themselves
LEARNING HOW TO USE SMART BOARDS…
http://www.atomiclearning.com/smartboard
Atomic Learning has a series of tutorials for the SMART Board Notebook for Windows computers. Two of the videos in the series may be viewed by anyone; the remainder of the series is available to subscribers.
http://smarttech.com/trainingcenter/macintosh/trainingmaterials.asp
SMART training center, training materials for Macintosh users
http://smarttech.com/trainingcenter/windows/trainingmaterials.asp
SMART training center, training materials for Microsoft Windows users
http://wiki.monroe.edu/index.php?title=SMART_Board%2C_Introduction_to
introduction to SMART Board
http://pdtogo.com/smart/?page_id=28
SMART Board lessons podcast
RESOURCES…
http://client.cant.ac.uk/gii/home.asp
great information and communications technology ideas
http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/
SMART – educator resources
http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/SAP/default.htm
SMART – accredited software
http://www.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/SB/SB.html
SMART Board resources
http://www.d131.kane.k12.il.us/Bardwell/smartboard.html
SMART Board ideas
http://www.iwb.org.uk/
free interactive whiteboard resources
http://www.juliethompson.com/SMART.html
great K-3 SMART Board sites
http://www.taconic-learning.net/b2evo/index.php?blog=10&title=search_strategies_for_finding_web_sites_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
search strategies for finding web sites useful for SMART Boards
I have been reading some of the blogs that won EduBlog awards for 2008. Some will join my Google Reader list and some will become popular with my spring semester instructional technology students as they read and comment on blogs. One of the blogs —Teachers Love Smartboards— will become popular in another course I teach and in which we use a Smartboard. The archives go back to August 2007, so I have a lot to explore! Topics include art, games, history, language arts, logic, mathematics, science, lesson plans, tips and tricks, training videos, social studies, and special education. Blogger James Hollis shares the purpose for his blog… 
