Tons of Tools

Many of the productivity tools I have talked about here can be found at Kevin Honeycutt's Learning Tools webpage, along with hundreds more. Categories include Create Books, Collaborative Spaces, Creativity, Cite Your Sources, Ignite Writing, and Interactive Whiteboard Resources. Once the end of year craziness is done, this will be a great webpage to browse through!

Sheppard Software

This week first and second grade students are doing activities on a web site called Sheppard Software. First grade students are creating animal habitats on the Create! page. Second grade students are practicing parts of speech, punctuation, and capitalization on the Grammar page. These pages and much of the Sheppard web site are great for using with the SMARTboard and classroom laptops, not to mention at home.

Computers Help Us

Second grade students just started a three week project. This week they brainstormed ways computers help people and then wrote a rough draft of a paragraph about it. Next week they will type it in Microsoft Word, and the week after that they will spell check, format the text, and add clip art.

BrainPop Pops Your Brain

BrainPop and BrainPop Jr. (for K-3) are great resources. They have movies about many different subjects, and quizzes and resources to go with each one. Although you have to pay for many of the movies, they do have some free ones. The quizzes are great to use with a SMARTboard. I have embedded their Featured Movie at the bottom of this blog. I believe it changes daily and is free!

Calculator Chaos

Fourth grade students are trying the web site Calculator Chaos. The students have a "broken" calculator with only a few buttons that work. The have to find a way to make all of the numbers appear on the screen before time runs out. If they make it, they can put their time up on the SMARTboard.

Patterns and Symmetry

This week third grade students experimented with patterns using the web pages SnowFlaker and KaleidoDraw. They made patterns using LinoTiler and Tessalate! Teachers, all four sites are lots of fun to use on a SMARTboard.

SMART Notebook Express

SMART Notebook Express is an online tool for viewing SMART Notebook files. It is a great way for students to use Notebook on our new mini-laptops. Below are directions for opening files from the Student Shared folder.

Professional Development: Reveals and Laptops

It has been a busy time for teacher learning here at Charlevoix Elementary School. Not only did teachers have to listen to me talk about SMART Notebook last Wednesday, They had to listen again today about laptops. Here is a video reviewing Wednesday's professional development: reveals. Teachers can find copies of the Notebook files from both days in the SMART folder in the staff shared space.

Enchanted Learning

Enchanted Learning is a great web site. It has grade level information and pictures for kids and activities and resources for teachers. When printing, please print in black and white as much as possible, and please only print one copy and make the others on a copier. Most of the resources are free. Charlevoix Elementary School has a member subscription for its staff. I sent the information out earlier this year, but drop me an email if you need it again.

SMART Interactive Pull Tabs

At the SMART training last month I learned about the SMART Recorder. It records what happens on the screen along with your voice through the computer's microphone. I thought I would test it out with a video reviewing what Mrs. Keegan showed the teachers at the last staff meeting: Interactive Pull Tabs.

Getting SMARTer!

Today was day three of SMARTboard certification training. It was great and I cannot wait to pass on what I learned (and what I already knew but forgot) to the staff, not to mention use it all in my classroom. Right now I am trying to absorb it all and organize my thoughts. In the meantime, here is a great resource I found out about: Teachers Love SMART Boards! Be sure to check out the categories in the left hand column.

What's Up Doc?

When teacher laptops were reimaged, the program Notebook from SMART was updated. This changed the way document camera images are imported into it. These directions should help:

• Open Notebook
• Click Insert, Picture from Scanner
• Click Scan
• Adjust the image as needed
• Click the camera icon
• Click the "x" on the small window that has the picture

Let me know if you need any help.

Added 12/9/2010:

Here is a video showing how to insert pictures. I hope it helps!

Have a SMART Open House!

For last year's open house our SMARTboards were up, but unfortunately not running. I thought I would list a few ideas for teachers if they want to show theirs off. Many parents haven't yet seen the boards in action.

• Have each student's name typed in a text box in Notebook. They could move it from a "Not Here Yet" list to an "I Was Here" side of the board (I am borrowing this idea from Mrs. McLean. Thanks!)
• Use a Jeopardy template or some other quiz set up. Have questions about your class and when someone taps it, the answer reveals.
• Have an interactive web site up to try. Some ideas might be Starfall for lower elementary or Magnetic Poetry for upper elementary.
• If you already have a slideshow with rules, expectations, pictures, specials schedule, etc. set it up to go automatically.
• If you don't have time for much, just open your Notebook software. Let everyone sign in and maybe try the different tools.

Remember, the "pens" only work one at a time. If you think there may be a lot of younger siblings visiting your room, you may want to remove all but one pen. Just put a sticky note over the sensors for the other colors. The board will show whichever color is uncovered.

Teacher Tech Check

With the first day of school three weeks away and the open house in less than two weeks, I want to remind teachers to check your technology equipment before you need it.

• Turn on your projector and see if it lines up with your SMARTboard. The focus handle is right behind the lens.
• I also recommend aligning your board, since things may have been bumped during the summer cleaning. Hold down the two buttons by the eraser. Use a "marker" or your finger to touch the screen and "draw" to the middle of the plus signs. Let go when you get to each sign.
• Scott asked everyone to store microphones out of the chargers for the summer. When you plug them back in, please charge them for at least 10 hours before use.
• Directions were given to turn off and unplug your printer and document camera. Please plug them back in and test them before school starts.

Thanks for checking these things now, before any problems would be emergencies. Let me know if you need any help or have any problems.