Online Presentations

Webinar: Going 1:1 with Google for Education

I watched a webinar that talked first hand with educators from Hillsborough Township Public Schools in New Jersey, who have gone 1:1 with Google for Education solutions across their District. District is committed to providing a superior education for its students, to build their passion for learning and prepare them for future careers.

With Google for Education the children use technology to collaborate their learning through devices such as tablets, laptops, and smartphones. Another great thing about Google for Education is that it is completely free providing schools with a tool that is easy on your wallet. 

Teachers everywhere have been transforming their classrooms into ones in which are technology friendly. I chose this webinar because through observation hours, my teaching practicum, and other classroom experience I have viewed the transformation of technology in the classroom first hand. Students wanting to become teachers today must learn all they can about technology, because children today are growing up with technology all around them and therefore know much more than we do and we need to keep up! 

Open technology is the key to education at Google Education and their key is to help students become open to different possibilities. Google Education and Google Play has four tenants: empowerment, choice, teamwork, and scalability. These will make a a student more rounded in technology. Google Play for Education is designed for learning, made in the classroom. It has never been easier to deploy, discover, and deliver. However, teachers will need to adapt the way that they teach to interact these devices by having reliable and secure devices. 

I found this presentation very useful for planning my future classroom. Like the video said, in the beginning technology is growing so rapidly that by the time I start to teach there may be more classrooms that integrate technology in the classroom (by having tablets, smartboards, laptops, etc.) 

They talk about technology of becoming part of the educational norm, and that we need to use the tool for the better. Hopefully I can use tablets, laptops, and other forms of technology to preform virtual lessons and to globalize the curriculum (e.g. field trips to museums, art galleries, parks, etc. ). Having technology in the classroom would be very useful and I hope to someday have the ability to use it in my future classroom. 

Want to watch the webinar? - Here's the link...

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/02/25/going-11-google-education-firsthand-experience-tablets-chromebooks/

What Have Other Teachers Done?

• One of the most important aspects of a professional learning network is the ability to view what other teachers are using and coming up with to use in their classrooms.
• In this blog post I will post examples of activities other teachers are using with the SMARTBoard using SMART Notebook. 
• On the SMART Notebook website - SMART Exchange - a teacher can download content created by other teachers, share creations of your own, or go through training to enhance your SMARTBoard skills. 

SMART Notebook Lessons:

1. Morning Calendar:  This colorful, interactive morning calendar allows the students to become the teacher. The notebook includes weather, attendance, patterning, graphing, number words, shape recognition, addition, and place value. This allows the students to review everything that they have learned so far, and it can be changed based on what the students are learning. 

The first lesson I would like to share was uploaded by katykennedy on April 17, 2010.

2. Classroom Feud: This template can be downloaded and used for any grade level and any subject area. The focus of this game can be used to review content areas for a subject. The teacher would download this template and modify it to create a game for the children to review and learn the content.  

The second lesson I would like to share was uploaded by Lynn on October 1, 2009

3. Gumball Math: This fun, interactive game is played by sorting and graphing gumballs. This lesson also includes several word problem pages for adding and subtracting gumballs. This will help children kindergarden-second grade have a fun way of learning to add and subtract in math. The template also provided for easy creation of your own word problem pages.

The third lesson I would like to share was uploaded on May 12, 2010. 

Using the SmartBoard!

A number of teachers may not be aware of the benefits of using a Smart Board in the classroom as a teaching tool. While the traditional white board already has everyone’s attention, the electronic device is a new technology that is slowly gaining popularity due to its interactive power.

The digital screen allows images from the computer to be displayed on a board. It can also be modified on the screen itself, using a pen or a highlighting tool. Its touch screen feature allows teachers to run programs directly from the screen simply by tapping the application with her finger and even makes scrolling easy.

Smart Boards are becoming an essential component of every classroom. Some reasons for this trend is that:

• It can accommodate different learning styles:
• Tactical learners can use the screen and learn by touching and marking at the board
• Audio learners can have a discussion
• Visual learners can observe the teaching on the board.
• It is neater and does not have the cleanliness hassle and is therefore easier to maintain.

Most teachers understand the “why” but struggle with the “how”. Here are some ideas on how you can use Smart Boards.

• Use it as a tool for note-taking. Students can come and write important points on the board. Alternately,  you can  appoint a student to type out notes on the computer while you talk, so that the other students can view and take them down.

• Brainstorming in the classroom can be fun with a Smart Board. You can not only put together text/ ideas but also images, diagrams or videos.

• Classroom games can be played with ease on the board. Board games in particular can be played on the board itself.

• All forms of media– videos, photographs, graphs, maps, illustrations, games, etc. – can be used on the board, making it incredibly dynamic in nature. This expands the range of content that you can use for teaching or presenting new information.

A lot of new software is available for free on the internet that can be easily integrated. There are many forums and websites that aim  to help teachers by providing Smart Board ideas and activities. Explore these for more ideas.

The Smart Board is tomorrow’s technology and is bound to change the look of classrooms forever. Using smart boards in your classroom can help you stay ahead with technology that could make the education process simpler and perhaps even more productive.

Tutorials 

Here are some tutorials about using SMART Notebook Interactive Activities in the classroom.

• Activity Builder: Learn how to quickly create interactive activities using SMART Notebook's new Activity Builder feature. This video will quickly show you how to create these activities on your own.

TimeLapseTube

Published on Jul 5, 2012

• Magic Tunnel: the Magic Tunnel effect is an interactive solution to everyday lesson activities. Using grouping and layering objects, you can create the illusion of dragging your question through a magic tunnel, revealing the answer on the other side.

U5iT

Uploaded on Feb 13, 2012

• Erase to Reveal: Using this activity you can hide objects on a SMART Notebook page by coloring over the object with the Pen tool that is the same color as your SMART Notebook page. You can reveal the hidden object by using the Eraser tool and dragging it across the objet. 

cpsits1

Published on Apr 20, 2012

• Balloon Pop Activity: This interactive took can be used to temporally hide objects on a SMART Notebook page. You will place the balloon over an object you wish to hide. Press the ballon to pop it, revealing the hidden object underneath. 

Spenser Hayes

Published on Jul 20, 2013