Teachers Love SMART Boards

Product Announcement - SMART Response LE

I had the opportunity to discuss a new product from the creators of the SMART Board today and I am very excited to share this information with my readers.

Once again, SMART Technologies takes another leap forward in helping teachers improve learning in the classroom with the announcement of the SMART Response LE interactive response system scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2009.

The SMART Response LE is an interactive response system for Pre-K, early childhood, and special need classrooms. Each hand-held remote has large, multi-color buttons that contain easy-to-understand symbols on a raised surface. Also included is a graphics-based LCD screen that allows the pre-reader to receive information from the teacher. The highly intuitive and fun interface designed for children allows them to answer questions, receive instant feedback and stay involved with the learning as its happening.

Interactive response systems are one of the most effective tools for helping teachers individualize instruction in the classroom. The SMART Response LE system uses a wireless receiver and wireless remote control devices along with powerful assessment software to get real-time insight into how well young learners understand the information.

Take a look at the following video and judge for yourself about the potential for helping students learn inside the classroom.

If the video is not displayed above, you can view it here.

Smart Technologies seems to be taking the right approach for this type of tool. The SMART Response LE does not require any sign-in process and it's integrated with Smart Notebook so teachers have an easy way to create interactive material.

The time is now for schools to start thinking seriously about what tools can actually improve learning inside the classroom. I honestly believe SMART Boards and interactive response systems like the SMART Response LE are key tools in achieving this goal.

You can see the SMART Response LE at this year's NECC in Washington D.C. on June 28 - July 1, 2009.

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SMART Boards in Every Classroom - Make it a Reality!

Please share this video with your school administrators.

Great comments about how children learn from each other and how much more effective learning can be with a SMART Board. Chippewa Falls Superintendent Mike Schoch demonstrates a remarkable attitude for how to move forward toward getting a SMART Board in every classroom despite the funding issues facing most districts.

Protect your investment...get the most effective (and affordable) SMART Board training at Teacher Online Training. The future of Professional Development is finally here!

Here's the direct link to the video on YouTube.

A big thanks to Obe Hostetter for sharing this on Twitter.

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SMARTBoards and Notebook Video Tutorials

The following video tutorials have been added to the Teacher Online Training Notebook Video Tutorial Library.

• Handwriting Recognition (Complimentary)
• Inserting "swf" Flash Files Into Notebook (Complimentary)
• Naming and Moving Pages in Notebook (Complimentary)
• Setting a Default Font (Complimentary)

This is a great time to see for yourself why Teacher Online Training is the most effective, affordable, and fun way to learn how to use Smart Notebook.

Here's some more information about why Teacher Online Training is the very best way to help you utilized your SMART Board more effectively.

For a limited time, readers of Teachers Love SMART Boards can receive 1/3 off a one-month subscription by using the discount code "TLSB" (without the quotations). 

Please visit the Educator Subscription Center to subscribe.

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SMART Boards and an Interactive Underwater Experience

Once again, my Twitter friends have shared a fun interactive web application that really looks cool on the SMART Board. It's an interactive underwater viewer created in Papervision3D which is an open source realtime 3D engine for Flash.

I don't know how long this will be available so you should definitely check it out before they remove it.

After the flash contents loads, it will display an underwater simulation containing various types of fish and other creatures. When viewing this on your SMART Board, you can set it so you can touch and drag your finger around the SMART Board to investigate the landscape or you can set it so it follows a particular fish as it swims around. The main character in this underwater adventure is definitely the shark and it's a lot of fun having the application follow it around as it explores the reef.

To switch modes, you simply click on the picture of the fish in the bottom  right-hand corner. You also have the ability to have the application display in full-screen.

If you want to really catch your students' attention, have this running on your SMART Board when the students enter your classroom.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

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SMARTBoards and This is Sand

I hope someone can explain why I like playing with sand so much. Not only can I go out to my backyard and build a sand castle, I can now go to thisissand.com and play all day without getting any sand between my toes.

I wanted to see if this site worked okay on the SMART Board so I just fired up the SMART Board in my office and let my 8 year old daughter play around on the site before she went to school. She was absolutely transfixed by this activity that simply drops sand from anywhere you touch on the SMART Board. If you touch and drag your finger, the sand follows your movements and drops sand from wherever your finger is.

You can use the onscreen keyboard to change the color of the sand and you can double-click to make the sand fall continuously without touching the SMART Board.

So, is there any educational value to this activity? I'll let you play around on the site and discover for yourself.

[WARNING: One of my readers just warned me that there are inappropriate pictures in the Gallery of thisissand.com. Please do not open the Gallery in front of your students.]

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SMART Notebook Video Tutorial Library Additions

I just want to let my readers know that I've added a number of new complimentary video tutorials to the Notebook Video Tutorial library over on Teacher Online Training.

Naming and Moving Pages in Notebook

This video tutorial demonstrates how to add a descriptive name to the pages inside a Notebook file and how to move the pages around.

(The Notebook file used in this tutorial was created using the techniques from the course The Magic Cat's Eye.)

Using the Screen Capture Tool

This video tutorial demonstrates how to use the screen capture tool in Smart Notebook. It also provides a tip for keeping the size of the screen capture the same size as your original image.

(If you've ever experienced the problem of your screen capture images being larger than your original image, you'll want to check this out.)

I've also added a new video for subscribers only that demonstrates how to blend two pictures together. Very cool.

This is a perfect time for Teachers Love SMART Boards readers to try out Teacher Online Training.  Just use the monthly discount code "TLSB" (without the quotations) to get 33% off a one-month subscription. That's just $9.97 for unlimited access to all the courses on Teacher Online Training including the most popular course The Magic Cat's Eye. We offer a 100% Money-Back guarantee if you're not completely satisfied. Please hurry, this offer expires on June 1, 2009.

Please visit the Educator Subscription Center to apply your discount code.

I hope you enjoy the video tutorials!

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SMART Boards and a Message from the Mayor of SpellingCity

I recently received a message from the Mayor of SpellingCity about some of the changes they've made to their already beautiful community. I definitely rate SpellingCity one of the best places to live if you want to practice your spelling.

SpellingCity recently won the honor of being "SMART Board Ready" as they've revamped all of their activities to work by touching or dragging objects. They're also in the process of revising all their games so they can be displayed in full-screen!

Check out what SpellingCity offers when people come to visit:

- Over 42,000 spelling words and ten spelling games!
- A REAL person who says each vocabulary word and sentence
- Free home pages for teachers and parents so they can save their lists.
- How To Videos to explain to teachers and parents how to use SpellingCity.com.
- A free forum and newsletter with more spelling resources!

- Ten spelling and vocabulary games to play online or to print.

After taking the online spelling test, students can print out a report, retake the entire test, or get tested only on spelling words that they got wrong the first time. 

TeachMe spells and displays the word in ways that stimulate memory for visual and verbal learners.

Printable Games include WordSearch, UnScramble, WhichWord?, Sentence UnScramble and MissingLetter.

Printable Handwriting Worksheets for combined spelling and handwriting practice can be created from any saved list (this feature only works if the list is saved). Choices includes three sizes of lines, capitals or small letters, script or cursive, and with directional arrows on or off. How cool is that?

Teachers:  try our new SpellingCity Parent Newsletter, available as PDFs for you to print and send home with your students' spelling word lists.

Here's a link to a fun tourist destination called MatchIt. You can display this site in full screen so it's more engaging when using the SMART Board.

I was very excited to take a trip back to SpellingCity and see all the wonderful improvements. Teachers, please let your students know that SpellingCity is a wonderful vacation destination during the Summer.

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SMART Notebook Professional Development

What is Teacher Online Training?

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The most effective and affordable Online Professional Development for teachers who want to use a SMART Board to increase learning in the classroom.

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**** Special Offer Below ****

• Learn how to use the Notebook software by building authentic learning applications ready to use inside the classroom. Courses are designed to be completed in just a few hours and no prior knowledge of Notebook is necessary.

  Another great class!  I now have a lesson that I can immediately take back to my class and use.  The best part is, I can modify this lesson and it use in different curricular areas for my first graders!  Thanks again!

  Valerie G. - Turn on the Light

  When I watched the lessons and just took notes, I thought ""Oh, man, I will NEVER be able to do that!!  But if you just watch each segment and follow directions, it really is de LIGHT ful!!  I would recommend this to everyone.  My principal and assistant principal are anxious for me to show the other teachers!  So am I!!

  Teddie M. - Turn on the Light

• Build applications step-by-step by following along with the professionally produced video tutorials designed and produced by a certified teacher and a recognized expert in building Notebook applications.

  Need that extra help to develop your own content. This is the place to get it. Step by step tutorial at a speed and level all can use. Pause and play as the lesson is used in the background.

  Colin J. - Custom Word Search

  This course was an awesome resource for learning to create tables in Smart Board 10 software. I would highly recommend this course to anyone using version 10. The hands-on experience is very beneficial. The videos are well done and very helpful and informative.

  Gail M. - Introduction to Tables

• Complete the courses on your own schedule and at your own pace. You can take as long as you need to complete the courses and you can review the training material as many times as you want.

  This is the first time I have completed one of these courses and it was absolutely fantastic! Being able to go online, work at my own pace and more importantly not spend an absolute fortune has been a godsend and I'll definitely be taking part in more of these courses. I'll definitely be recommending this to others!

  Sarah B. - Interactive Review Game

• You're not alone! Receive timely feedback and support every step of the way and join in the course forums to get and share ideas from other teachers. You also have access to a Notebook application library and a teacher-requested video tutorial library.

  Jim is a very patient teacher - and gives excellent individualized help if you don't understand something.

  Jeni F. - Magic Cat's Eye

• Upon course completion, you'll receive a certificate of completion that can be used for continuing education credit!

  Regardless of the project, I always learn something I can use in my classroom. Isn't that what every teacher wants from professional development?

  Becky P. - Create a Puzzle

 

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Did you know...

100% of the teachers who have taken a course on Teacher Online Training would recommend that course to other teachers!

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 **** Special Offer ****

From now until June 1, 2009, readers of Teachers Love SMART Boards can receive a full 1/3 off a one-month subscription to Teacher Online Training. We also offer a 100% Money-Back guarantee if you're not completely satisfied and you can cancel your monthly subscription at any time.

To receive 1/3 off a one-month subscription, visit the Educator Subscription Center and enter in "TLSB" (without the quotations) in the Monthly Discount Coupon Code field and click on the CLICK TO VERIFY COUPON button. You can then click on the Subscribe button. You can also visit the Special Offers page for additional ways to save.

SMARTBoards and Tag Galaxy

From Silvia Tolisano on Twitter to Paul Hamilton's blog to you. Here's an interactive way to view images about different places and things. It's called Tag Galaxy and it's a marvelous way to find and display images on your SMART Board.

After you enter a keyword or tag, Tag Galaxy displays a big planet that's being orbited by other potential tag planets. Click (or touch) one of the orbiting planets to refine your image search. When you're finished adding tags (planets), you can click on the big planet and it will display photos from Flickr that match your selection. You can then rotate the planet to view the different images that match your tags. When you find a picture you like, you can click on it to enlarge it.

If you're doing a lesson on Spring flowers...

Here's a Tag Galaxy for Alberta, Calgary that displays the other planets (tags) that will help you refine your selection...

This website is an absolute joy to use on your SMART Board and it's definitely a site that should be shared with the other teachers in your school.

Thank you Silvia and Paul and everyone else who has shared this resource with others!

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SMART Boards and Befuddlr

It's Friday. The school year is almost finished. What can you do to keep the kids from an impromptu game of "glue the teacher to the chair?"

Why not have the kids play with Befuddlr?!

Befuddlr will take pictures from Flickr (a photo sharing service) and "befuddls" them to create a fun picture puzzle for the kids to solve. It's a perfect application for the SMART Board! It even times how long it takes them solve the puzzle.

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