Today was the first day of school and I introduced my students to the Smart Board. I showed a couple of students the set-up procedure so that after many practices they will be able to connect the Smart Board, Laptop, and LCD projector. My goal is to have my students proficient in running the technology hardware and software we will be using in class.
I had the students practice aligning the Smart Board. There were many opportunities for practice because they kept bumping the board or the projector. We practiced writing on the board and many students found it challenging to make legible letters on the board. The shadows of their hands obscured what they were trying to write. To get them accustomed to the markers and erasers I had them practice playing tic tac toe. I drew a tic tac toe grid with the line feature and they put in the Xs and Os. After they got the hang of it I used the tic tac toe game to introduce the idea of writing with transitional words.
I like the idea of using the screen capture tools to save our learning moments. I also look forward to integrating literacy and other content area skills.
2 comments:
Hi Jon!
I'm a former middle school teacher currently working with a group of teachers in Arizona as part of a technology grant.
Since we'll be working with Smart Boards, I usually search blogs every morning to see what pops up! That's how I found your blog.
I'm excited about your enthusiasm with using technology in the 1st grade. Some schools don't even think about using technology until much later. I'm more impressed that you have your students help you set up and configure the technology. I've found that technology is only complicated if someone tells you it is. Getting kids started early is a wonderful way of getting kids involved in a technology-based world early!
I have a 1st grader and she just loves technology. I have a couple of great sites that work well with Smart Boards. Here's the link to my Smart Board blog with the website links...
Teachers Love Smart Boards
Let me know what you think!
Jim
Jon, Thanks for cross-posting over at principianteglobal. I had no idea you had started this cool blog. I agree with Mr. Hollis that it is so cool that you are teaching the students to setup the technology. That is so respectful and also creates ownership for their learning with technology.
It takes a little time to get used to the SmartBoard, but I hear the kids are quick to adapt.
Thanks for the link to the smartboard blog!
Post a Comment