Teachers Love SMART Boards

SMARTBoards and a Halloween Riddle

Where do baby ghosts go during the day?

The answer can be found in my newest Notebook 10 Halloween Word Search

Have a happy Hallowe'en!

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SMARTBoards and Three Amazing Math Resources

I have three sites related to Mathematics that work great on your SMARTBoard Interactive Whiteboard. These sites get my official "WOW" and they need to be in every teacher's arsenal of resources.

1. Jim Reed's Mathematics Flash Resources

Stop what you're doing and go check out this amazing collection. This is perhaps the most comprehensive library of flash-based Math applications I've ever seen. It covers all areas of Mathematics. These applications are perfect for the SMART Board especially if you're planning display material on the SMART Board, have the students interact with it using the ink layer, then have the application demonstrate how to solve the problem.

(if you like these resources, why not send a big thank you to Jim Reed for his outstanding work.)

 

2. Shine + Write

This resource was just posted in the Interactive Whiteboards in the Classroom group on Diigo. (If you want to receive great resources for the SMART Board sent to your RSS reader, subscribe to this feed right away!) The collection of flash-based starter activities are execptional. Bookmark this amazing website and you'll have plenty of resources handy for when you need them.

3. New Zealand Math Numeracy Project Animations

You could use this one site every day with your SMART Board to teach Math concepts using visualization. Once again, this site is perfect for your SMART Board's ink layer ability.

Hint: Please use your browser's zoom feature to make the flash-applications as big as possible.

This is the perfect time for a little Sharing and Caring with your fellow teachers. Please, please, please pass these three resources to your school's Mathematics teachers. They will forever be in your debt!

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SMARTBoards Are Making It Into the Classroom

Looking for some articles to pass along to your Principal or Superintendent to get them excited about SMARTBoards in the classroom. Look no further...

Public school teachers train to use Smart Boards in classrooms
Peterborough Examiner - Peterborough,Ontario,Canada
Advanced Presentation Products, a Mississauga-based dealer of Smart Boards, hosted the day-long conference at the Holiday Inn. The session was aimed at ...

Smart boards enhance educational experience
Gothenburg Times - gothenburg,ne,USA
A John R. Applegate grant administered through the Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation has helped the school district purchase Smart boards for the first- and ...

Smart Boards are hands-on, minds-on
Wilmington News Journal, OH - Wilmington,OH,USA
The Smart Board interactive whiteboard is a big hit at Clinton-Massie. Combining a whiteboard with the power of a computer, Smart Board interactive ...

Austin Public Schools get 'Smart'
Austin Herald - Austin,MN,USA
The district is looking to get Smart Board lessons online, so students can access them at home to study. Smart Boards are just a small segment of the ...

Halton teachers explore SMART Board technology
Burlington Post - Burlington,ON,Canada
Several SMART Boards were recently on display in a room at the Burlington Holiday Inn as 200 teachers and school board administrators from Halton, ...

Tradition falls by wayside in teaching tools
London Free Press - Canada
But there was nothing typical about this Saturday morning class: The "students" were parents and the board was a SmartBoard. For parents who grew up in more ...

Interactive whiteboards are all the rage
Plattsburgh Press Republican - Plattsburgh,NY,USA
SMART Boards are made by SMART Technologies, while other companies that sell similar interactive tools include Numonics and PolyVision. ...

Putting blackboards out of work
Windsor Star - Ontario, Canada
Currently, she said, there are 275 Smart Boards in the system. Every school, elementary or secondary, has at least two. She said it's really a matter of the ...

School has SMART Boards in all classrooms
The Daily Advance - Elizabeth City,NC,USA
Fifth-graders competing in a classroom math contest use remote control devices that communicate their responses to a SMART Board in teacher Priscilla ...

Classroom technology jump-starts education
Gatorsports.com - Gainesville,FL,USA
There are 26 SMART Boards for 30 teachers, Clarke said. They do not come cheap, ranging in cost from about $1500 for a portable one to almost $4000 for one ...

I know that's a lot of reading but the excitement is building. Isn't time your school had more SMART Boards?

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SMART Notebook v.10 Challenge #6 - Create Your Own Spinner

Let's have some fun!

A friend (who will remain nameless until the end of this challenge) and I have been trading Notebook ideas back and forth for the past week. One of the ideas that we both came up with was to create a customized spinner for the Smartboard to provide more flexibility than the one contained in the Notebook Gallery.

This week's challenge is for you to create your own working spinner using Smart Notebook version 10. This may appear difficult at first, but it really isn't. Just apply what you've learned from previous challenges and watch exactly what is happening with the spinner. Oh, I forgot, there is a hint in the instruction video that will help you build your spinner. As always, if you need a hint, just send me an email.

Here are the instructions for this week's challenge.

My readers are in for a real treat as my friend (who will be revealed at the end of this challenge) has agreed to share his new "Wheel of Fortune" game which uses a really cool spinner that he created from scratch. I'll even share with you his secret for really spicing up your spinner.

If you're having problems viewing this video, you can watch it on YouTube.

You can submit your entries to me at jim@teacherslovesmartboards.com.

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SMARTBoards and the Fantastic Contraption

 

Here's an amazing educational game called the The Fantastic Contraption.

It promotes itself as a "fun online Physics puzzle game" which it most certainly is; however, you don't need to teach science to enjoy it. Students (and teachers) will get hooked very quickly trying to go through the levels.

The objective is to use wheels and rods to create a contraption that will move an object to a target area. You can also take a look at other people's contraptions to see how they succeeded. This application works great on the SMARTBoard and will keep your students (or you) occupied for a very long time.

Enjoy!

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SMARTBoards and the Scrolling Object (Touch and Scroll Solution)

The Smart Notebook Challenge #5 is in the books. The challenge was entitled Touch and Scroll and it has already proven to be an exceptional technique to use in your Notebook applications for use on the Smartboard.

The technique lets you touch an object and have it scroll down (or across) the page to reveal information. I received some amazing entries this week and I'll get those posted to the Challenge Notebook Library soon. The Gold Medal winner this week is Kara Majchrzak and the Silver Medal winner is Jennifer Gibson.

Take a look at the solution video and watch how this technique was used on some actual Notebook applications.

If you're having problems viewing this video, you can watch it on YouTube.

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SMARTBoards and Free Notebook Training

If you're looking for a fun and exciting way to learn how to use Smart Notebook, then you should try out my free online course called Notebook Applications - Create a Puzzle which was just released on the Teachers Love SMART Boards Online Learning Management System.

Teachers will learn how to create an authentic learning application to use on their SMART Board. Best of all, the course is entirely self-paced so teachers can learn on their own time. Sign-up is free!

New Course: Notebook Application - Create a Puzzle

This course will guide the participant through the process of creating an interactive puzzle inside Smart Notebook version 10.

Participants will utilize various features of Notebook including alignment guides, default fonts, and page backgrounds. In addition, participants should become very proficient at controlling and manipulating objects using locking, grouping, and ordering. In addition, this project introduces the use of object animation to produce some cool effects.



Participants receive 150 minutes of Professional Development Credit for completing this course and meeting course requirements.

Request a free enrollment key!

Have fun!

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SMARTBoard Halloween Activities (Part 2)

Here's another list of Halloween activities to use with your SMARTBoard. All of these activities have been shared by other bloggers. A big "thank you" for sharing these resources with others!

I'll get them compiled with my other list as soon as possible.

Spelloween - Practice your spelling by identifying correctly and incorrectly spelled words. You may want to bypass the part that asks you to type the word correctly since this is difficult to do on the SMART Board (middle / high).

Creepy Coloring - Have fun coloring in a pumpkin (primary).

5 Minute English - ESL History of Halloween includes vocabulary with an online Halloween quiz.

UPDATE! Here's a companion Word Search (with a built-in riddle) I created in Notebook v.10 that uses the vocabulary words from this activity (middle).

Frankenbrain - Find the brain if you dare! (primary / middle)

The Hallowman House - A hangman-type game for Hallowe'en (middle / high)

Interactive Halloween History Quiz - Nice game from the BBC (middle)

History Channel's History of Halloween - Some nice resources including videos and slideshows. (all grades)

Carve a Pumpkin - The best online interactive pumpkin carving site. You'll love this! (primary)

Halloween, Halloween, What do You See? - Primary reading activity based on the famous book series (primary)


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SMART Notebook v.10 Challenge #5 - Touch and Scroll

Here is this week's challenge entitled, "Touch and Scroll." This is a very cool effect created using Smart Notebook Version 10 that will allow you to highlight one topic or piece of information at a time and then magically scroll to the next piece of information. This effect looks neat on the SMARTBoard.

To complete the challenge, you just need to duplicate the scrolling effect. However, I will once again give an award for the "Best Classroom Application."

Here's the video instructions for this week's challenge.

If you're having problems viewing this video, you can watch it on YouTube.

You can submit your entries to me at jim@teacherslovesmartboards.com.

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SMARTBoards and the Touch and Reveal Solution

Challenge #4 used a technique that I call Touch and Reveal. It is similar to the flash object "Click and Reveal" but you can apply it to any object type.

I received 27 entries for this Smart Notebook challenge and I was so impressed by the creativity in how they applied the technique.

The Gold Medal winner for this week was Stu Smith and the Best Classroom Application Award goes to Joanne McEnroy, Lori Reed, and Bryn Spence. You can see their award winning entries as well as other examples of the Touch and Reveal technique by going to my new Notebook Download Page. I think you'll understand why I couldn't pick just one winner this week.

Here is the video showing how to do the Touch and Reveal technique:

If you're having problems viewing this video, you can watch it on YouTube.

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SMARTBoards and the Great Halloween Search

Okay, I'll share!

Yesterday I posted information about going "live and online" with Jim to learn how to create your own customized word search using Smart Notebook. In my post, I showed a Halloween Word Search game as an example of what you'll create in my class. Since then, I've received multiple requests to share my word search activity so you could use it on your classroom SMARTBoard.

By now, you know my motto so here you go. You can download the Notebook file (version 10 users only) by clicking on the picture. Tip: use the Highlighter Pen when you find your words. You'll know why after you use it.

If you use my Halloween Word Search activity in your class, please send me an email, I would love to hear how you liked it.

If you're interested in learning how to create your own word search game with your own list of words and your own riddle, consider taking my "Customized Word Search" course. It's really a lot of fun!

Have a great weekend and remember...

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SMARTBoards and "Live and Online" with Jim

As an education consultant, I provide mainly "on-site" professional development for teachers. Over the past year, I have been spending almost all my time supporting teachers who use SMART Boards in the classroom. (This blog was originally developed as a way to help the teachers I train stay fresh with new ideas to help them use their SMART Boards throughout the entire school year.)

Mainly due to the popularity of this blog, I have received many requests to provide SMART Board and Smart Notebook training all over the United States as well as some parts of Canada. It's very difficult for me to turn down requests, but my schedule makes it difficult to train outside of the Chicago area. To resolve this problem, and to help teachers receive the absolute best SMART Board training, I am now providing "live" teacher professional development training via the Internet.

The technology is now available to make this training platform a viable solution for many schools. In addition, I am able to provide high-quality professional development at a fraction of the price it would normally cost to do on-site training.

I believe that all training (on-site or online) should be hands-on, it should be focused, and it should carry over directly into the classroom. My "live and online" Smart Notebook training sessions last between 60 and 90 minutes and each session is focused on creating a Notebook application that can be used inside the classroom. While teachers are learning how to build an authentic lesson, they are also learning how to use the software more effectively. How cool is that!

Want more information? Simply fill out my Training YES request form or send an email to jim@teacheronlinetraining.com. There is no obligation. Teachers even receive a $20 referral bonus for helping to sign up their school (one bonus per school)!

Here's some information about the current course offering called:

Notebook Application
Customized Word Search

Description:

Work with Jim to create your own custom word search puzzle inside Smart Notebook. Participants will learn how to generate a custom puzzle and modify the puzzle inside Notebook to effectively utilize it in a classroom environment. Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to generate new custom puzzles in less than 15 minutes!

Time:

60-90 Minutes

Class Size:

Up to 10 teachers

Application Example:

Solutions Page

Participants will learn and/or practice utilizing the following features of Smart Notebook:

Object Animation
Object Grouping
Object Locking
Object Fill and Line Properties
Page Backgrounds
Object Linking
Importing Images
Alignment Guides

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SMARTBoard Halloween Activities

Games

Hangman - Fun graphics, more advanced word list. (3 stars)

Halloween Hangman - Good, simple hangman game for Halloween (3 stars)

Halloween Pairs Game - Zoomable and very easy to use (4 stars)

Halloween Word Search - Good interactive word search. Might be a little small to use (3 stars)

Stacking Pumpkins Game - Might be a fun way to reward your students (3 stars)

Halloween Math Games for K-6 - Great games courtesy of the Oswego City School District

Jigsaw Puzzles

Animated Bat Jigsaw Puzzle - Fun puzzle. Works great on the SMART Board (4 stars)

Bat Jigsaw Puzzle - Another bat jigsaw puzzle created from Jigzone (3 stars)

Halloween Jigsaw Puzzle - More good puzzles created from Jigzone (3 stars)

Winnie the Pooh Jigsaw Puzzle - More good puzzles from Jigzone (3 stars)

Informational Activities

Halloween Safety Game - Wonderful graphics, great application for the SMART Board (5 stars)

Halloween Safety Game - Fun game to play to educate your students about trick-or-treating (4 stars)

Halloween Haunted House - Good informational site about history of Halloween (3 stars)

Create Your Own Activities

Scary Music Maker - Fun tool for creating scary sound effects. You can even record your own music. (4 stars)

A Horror Movie - Create your story by picking words. You'll have to type in the words. (3 stars)

Notebook Resources

Halloween Ghost Countdown - Keep track of correct answers using this fun Notebook countdown that announces a winner after five correct answers (4 stars)

TeqSmart Halloween Word Bucket (Notebook Gallary item) - Create fun and interactive sorting activities, word lists, Foreign language activities, math fact reviews, and more with a Halloween theme. (4 stars)

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SMARTBoards and a Browsing Breakthrough

I hope my Teachers Love SMART Board readers know that if I recommend something it's because I think it something that needs to be shared. Here's one of the coolest Internet tools I've seen in a very long time. It's called ZAC Browser (Zone for Autistic Children) and it's a "must have" for teachers and parents with special needs children or younger children just starting to use and explore the Internet.

ZAC Browser provides children with an extensive collection of online applications including Games, Video Clips (TV), Music, and Stories. The great thing about ZAC Browser is that it is an extremely safe and controlled environment for children.

While children are able to browse and select various Internet resources, they are unable to navigate outside of the approved list of resources. It is so effective that my 2 year old son can use the browser and never get "lost" by clicking on the wrong link. ZAC Browser keeps him safe and allows him to explore on his own.

Here's a description of ZAC Browser from their website:

ZAC is the first web browser developed specifically for children with autism, and autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), and PDD-NOS. We have made this browser for the children - for their enjoyment, enrichment, and freedom. Children touch it, use it, play it, interact with it, and experience independence through ZAC.

You can also watch an introduction video describing ZAC Browser:

ZAC Browser is actually a program that you download and run from your computer. You can install it or run it without doing an install.

My friend Paul Hamilton does a much better job than me describing this amazing tool. Here's Paul's description from his blog Free Resources from the Net for (Special) Education. Be sure to subscribe to Paul's amazing blog.

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SMARTBoards and the Making of an Icon

Let me just say that Ben and Joan's SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast is still in my top-three list of most useful Smartboard resources on the Internet.

This week's podcast was very informative (as usual) and highly entertaining (it's fun to listen to Ben when he's taking cold medication).

In the latest episode called Student Interaction, Ben demonstrates his brilliant idea for how to add student interaction into your lessons by using custom student icons. To better understand his idea, you can check out his Embedding Student Interaction Notebook file containing examples of how he applies his idea.

I was so inspired by Ben's idea that I created a Notebook application called "The Icon Generator" that helps students create their own custom icon. Ben also gives instructions for how to make them in his Notebook example. 

Download The Icon Generator Notebook file

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SMART Notebook v.10 Challenge #4 - Touch and Reveal

This week's Notebook challenge is to create a Touch and Reveal effect. This technique is very powerful for providing instant feedback when using the SMARTBoard and it's very easy to do once you figure out the steps.

If you've been following along with the Challenges, this week's challenge may seem a little elementary. If this is the case, it means you're really getting to know the new version of Notebook and you should feel proud!

Here's the video describing this week's challenge:

The challenge ends at Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 8:00 P.M. CST. You may submit files to me at jim@teacherslovesmartboards.com. If you need a hint, just send me an email.

Don't forget that I have a new award category for the Hall of Fame called "Best Classroom Application." I will award this to the entry that demonstrates the best way of using this technique in a classroom application.

If you're having problems viewing this video, you can watch it on YouTube.

Update: Austin Keeping was clever enough to complete the challenge using the flash-based Click and Reveal object located in the Lesson Activity Toolkit. The challenge should be completed without any of the built-in objects from the Gallery.

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SMARTBoards and the Flashing Text Solution

I received a lot of entries for Challenge #3 Flashing Text and it is very apparent that this technique is an extremely effective feedback mechanism to use with your SMARTBoard. I received many entries that are in the running for the "Best Classroom Application" award. It may take me a few days since I'm forced to create a rubric to make sure that my choice is as accurate as possible.

Here's the solution video for how to make text (or other objects) begin to flash when they are touched on the Smart Board. This is a great way to provide students with instant feedback!

This week's Gold Medal award goes to Joanne McEnroy who submitted a perfect example of using the flashing text technique to review longitude and latitude. Congratulations Joanne!

I will work on updating the Teachers Love SMART Boards Hall of Fame tomorrow so don't forget to check back this weekend for the complete list of winners!

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SMARTBoards and Discovering the New World

In honor of Columbus Day, I thought I would try to locate some useful resources about Christopher Columbus that would be good to use on the SMARTBoard.

In the middle of my search, I checked my Google Reader and found out that Larry Ferlazzo beat me to it. I'm not surprised since Larry beats almost everyone to the punch when it comes to finding the best web resources.

The first three listings on Larry's page are all good resources to use on your SMART Board. The image below has hyperlinks so feel free to click on things directly from here. You can also go to Larry's site if the image below is too hard to read.
 

The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... via kwout

Thanks for sharing Larry!

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SMARTBoards and a Little Animal Magic

Something tells me that the Bembo's Zoo Picture Book primer will be shown on a lot of SMARTBoards.  This should be a big hit in the primary classroom. Enjoy!

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SMARTBoards and Filling Up My Jugs

I love solving the riddles, especially when they have a Mathematics twist. Here's a really fun application to play on your SMARTBoard interactive whiteboard called "The Decanting Puzzle." It's a wonderful flash game that let's you solve 6 different riddles related to filling and emptying jugs to come up with the right amount of water. The problem is that the jugs don't having any markings on them. All you know is their capacity.

Click on the picture to play or right-click to save the flash application to your computer. You can then import application into Smart Notebook.

This application comes from www.subtangent.com. If you visit the site, you can get directions for downloading a bunch of other applications. Mathionaire and Broken Calculator are my personal favorites.

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SMART Notebook v.10 Challenge #3

This week's challenge is called "Flashing Text." The challenge is to make text start to flash when it's touched on the Smartboard. To complete the challenge successfully, all you have to do is replicate the technique. You can decide what your Notebook page looks like as long as it demonstrates the technique of flashing text similar to what you see in the video.

Here's this week's description of the Smart Notebook Challenge #3:

The challenge ends at Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 8:00 P.M. CST. You may submit files to me at jim@teacherslovesmartboards.com or at Teacher Online Training.

If you need a hint, just send me an email. Don't forget that I have a new award category for the Hall of Fame called "Best Classroom Application." I will award this to the entry that demonstrates the best way of using this technique in a classroom application.

If you're having problems viewing this video, you can watch it on YouTube.

Good luck!

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SMARTBoards and the Disappearing Halloween Ghost

My readers are amazing! I've actually had 58 correct entries in the first two Smart Notebook challenges. However, that's not what I find amazing. What's so amazing is the creativity that was demonstrated by many of the teachers who submitted entries.

I've been so inspired by all the great work that I thought I would express a little creativity of my own and try to make a fun Halloween Notebook application for the SMARTBoard to share with my readers.

The end result of my Notebook "play time" was a Halloween Ghost Countdown. It can be used to announce the winner of five correct answers to any game that's played. Each time a students gets a correct answer, they touch on the ghost and the ghost starts to fade away. When the ghost is totally gone, a message is displayed to announce the winner.

Here's a screen shot of the countdown:

                 (click the picture to enlarge)

It takes five correct answers to make the ghost disappear. Each time the ghost is touched, it fades away a little more and displays a new message.

Download the Ghost Countdown Notebook (version 10) File

If you like the Ghost Countdown, please share it with others.

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SMARTBoards and the "Secret Information" Solution

The Smart Notebook Challenge #2 is now in the books. It was a fun little challenge that utilized one of the properties of tables to create the effect of magically displaying "secret information" on your SMARTBoard.

The Gold Medal Winner for this challenge was Becky Poe and the Silver Medal goes to Valerie Byrnes. In addition, the first 10 entries will receive a prize. To see the results for challenge #2, check out the updated Hall of Fame page containing a listing of all the people who have completed the challenges successfully.

I was very impressed by the creativity teachers used in utilizing the "secret information" technique and how they applied the technique to the classroom. As an incentive for future creativity in applying the challenges to a classroom situation, I will be creating an award called "Best Classroom Application." This week's winner goes to Ann White who used the secret information technique to create a morning schedule application for her students. It's really cool!

Here's the video solution for this week's challenge:

Click on the picture to download Ann's "Award Winning" Notebook file called "Morning Schedule."

Congratulations to this week's winners!

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SMARTBoards and a Fun Vocabulary Game

Here goes Jim again talking about Sharing ideas and resources...

This blog really is about sharing resources and ideas!

Here's a comment left by Tracey McGrath on the post “SMARTBoards and Wordle:"

Great Post! Here is another example of using wordle with an IWB. I created a wordle word splash using the vocabulary words to introduce a new story. After importing it to my notebook, I used the shape tool to cover the individual words. Students then came to the board to reveal a word. They had to give me a sentence, a synonym, an antonym or tell me the syllable count of the word they revealed. This activity is great for building vocabulary and also a great way to provide differentiated instruction.

One of the first things that caught my eye was Tracey's mentioning of "differentiated instruction." Since my creative juices were flowing, I thought I would try to develop a Notebook file that can be used on the SMART Board that not only utilized Tracey's great idea for using Wordle but also had a way for differentiating instruction.

The game is played by students coming up to the Smart Board and tapping on a colored bar. The bar will magically disappear to reveal a hidden vocabulary word (in this case from the book "Holes" by Louis Sachar). After the student selects the word, they tap on the spinning wheel to determine what they have to do with the word. If they are correct, they update the scoreboard.

Here's a quick video demonstration:

 
You may Download the Notebook File and use this application, however, it only has vocabulary words for the book "Holes." I will be creating a Notebook training course that will guide you through the process of creating this game using Notebook using any list of vocabulary words. If you're interested in taking the course when it is released, please send me an email at jim@teacherslovesmartboards.com and I'll send you a message when it's released. It should be ready by mid-October.

Thanks for the great idea Tracey!

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SMARTBoards and a Pie in Your Face

John Gabel over at the SmartBoardTalk blog found a fun article on SMARTBoards.

It Makes Teachers Touchy

By Matthew Philips | NEWSWEEK Published Sep 13, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Sep 22, 2008

Find out what teachers did to raise money to buy a SMART Board!

Thanks for sharing John!

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