Thoughts from Third

7 SMART Habitudes of Highly Effective Teachers

2009-07-12T20:19:00.008-05:00

A few weeks ago I was asked to deliver the Keynote Address at a SMART Conference held in Lewisville, Texas. A group of 350 enthusiastic educators from the district converged on a local middle school for a day of SMART training with local trainers and SMART Texas Education Consultants.
Below is the gist of the keynote. If you'd like to add a SMART Habitude, please post a comment. Together we are SMARTer.

As we begin, let's take a few minutes to look at the bigger picture of effective teaching by using SMART Habitudes to describe best practices.

Number 7: Check for Updates Regularly
Set your automatic updates to run frequently - that includes settings for SMART products, too. Easy access for updates is located within the Notebook software toolbar under "Help."

Number 6: Learn Something New Everyday
One of my teacher friends from Amarillo says she learns a TAD more everyday. I thought she meant like how you eat an elephant, one bite at a time; but she said TAD stands for "Technology Achievement of the Day". We expect our students to keep learning, rightfully so, and we should, too. If you don't know something, just ask one of your kids. If you allow your students to teach you the technology, they will allow you to teach them the content. Sounds fair enough!

Number 5: Share Your Notebook Lessons with Others
Don't be afraid to share. Everybody starts at the beginning. Share your lessons room to room, school to school, on a district website, or globally on the SMART Exchange. There's a host of up-to-date, high quality Notebook lessons free for the downloading on the SMART Exchange. All you need to do is join. With another school year looming on the horizon, check in the Back to School Lesson Activity Archive folder. Not only will you find 36 lessons for elementary to high school students that you can download and modify, (meeting boards, games, activities, fun) you'll also find my submission, "Great Beginnings: A First Day of School Welcome" sitting in the #1 download spot with over 7,000 downloads last I checked.

Number 4: Create Notebook Lessons Before Class
Research bears this out that it's important to structure your lesson before class. You know that. Doing this has made me a better teacher because it forces me to plan out my opening, objectives, interactive activities, and assessment before turning on the light. Now I didn't say that I never winged a lesson, I just know that the lesson is much more effective for all learners if you plan for student success before class. That's just good teaching pedagogy.

Number 3: Improve Your Pedagogy
Stay current in your field. Study. Read. Learn. Attend professional development and apply your learning. SMART Boards are absolute magic in the hands of a good teacher. Learn all you can. Read good blogs. Teachers Love SMART Boards, written by Jim Hollis, is my favorite blog to read. Check it out. He also has an online training site, Teacher Online Training. I've completed most all of his unique lessons. You won't find his training anywhere else on the net! Then there are YouTube videos on SMART's channel. And last but certainly not least: Use the SMART Exchange and the SMART Technologies website to find hundreds of lessons resources and free training with the latest SMART products.

Number 2: Join a Users Group - Get Connected
Get connected in your school, district, region, any place where you can go to share and learn with other teachers. Respect your fellow learners. Everybody starts at the beginning.

Number 1: Step Away from the Board
Move over. Put your students on the stage. Coach them well and send them to the Board. Use your SMART Slate to get out of in front of your classroom. We all know that students learn best and remember more by doing it themselves, so let them. Play during your conference period or after school. Why should teachers have all the fun?

With Back to School just a few weeks away, I encourage you to consider applying these SMART Habitudes to your own best practices. "Step away from the Board" is a good one with which to begin. Your students will love you for it.

Passion

2009-04-29T16:44:00.004-05:00

Only passion can keep a teacher from losing his/her sanity the last month of school. We're down to the last 22 days, but who's counting? The official countdown doesn't go on the wall until we reach 10 days. TAKS Tests in Texas will conclude by the end of this week. Seems that once the big tests are over, students think that school is also over. It is the passionate, fun-loving teacher who keeps students engaged and learning the last few weeks of school. Having access to adequate technology and a SMART Board keeps my students excited about school. The last month includes field trips, student projects, reflections, and many opportunities for fun. Once I have my students engaged, I begin to look for things to keep me busy. Every year I clean out another storage locker or two to make room for newer stuff or sift through teaching files and dump obsolete information. But by far the best thing I've found to do is to keep myself learning. This year James Hollis over at the Teachers Love SMART Boards blog extended an invitation to take his wonderful courses on Teacher Online Training. Not only are they fantastic, they're very well written, divided into manageable sections, super-engaging, and ready for you to apply in the classroom. Today I completed "Sharing Video Solutions over the Internet" and received 150 professional development minutes for the assignment. If you've not checked out these SMART courses, I urge you to subscribe today. If you'd like to see my first completed internet video solution, check out my latest blog, Math From Third. Jim Hollis has seen the future of education and I agree with him when he states, "The process of building an online library is the future of education at all levels. It is just one of the many valuable components to a student-centered learning environment that expands beyond the classroom."

SMART Sync Reflections

2009-04-14T10:47:00.002-05:00

As I begin my report on my experiences with the SMART Sync collaborative tool, it’s interesting to note that in the March 26, 2009 issue of eSchool News, collaborative environments are named as one of the top six emerging technologies to affect education within the next year. The report goes on to name Voicethreads and Nings as examples of tools used to create these environments. The benefit of using these tools, the report states, is to foster teamwork and critical thinking skills. Unfortunately, the author omitted SMART Sync as another valuable tool that teachers can use to create collaborative environments. Sync is easier to use in my classroom than either Voicethread or Ning.
The part I liked best about SMART Sync collaborative functionality was its ease of use. The software was very intuitive. With just a few clicks, my first collaborative project was ready to go. Having the install set up folders in My Documents to house projects, student, and group work created instant organization in my already cluttered documents folder. I appreciated that feature. After a brief overview of the project, my students were ready to get started with the individual assignment. We all learned together the first time as the collaborative part began. Students were excited to experience positive interdependence and reach common goals. They just didn’t know that’s what made them so thrilled with the assignment. They thought it was because they could chat with each other about what each team member thought the answer should be. All four groups turned in their assignment, but three documents didn’t have answers marked. The first time it happened, I thought the recorder forgot his job. However, it has continued to happen during other projects. It happens both in Word and in Notebook. The individual’s work arrives, but not the group work.
The main benefit derived from using Sync Collaboration includes polishing the skill set needed for 21st century collaborative learning: interpersonal skills, critical thinking skills, interaction with a small group, and group processing. My students love working in a group, whether it’s digitally with Sync, at a desk editing their writing, or conducting a science experiment in lab.
When I first began this trial, I watched the video explaining SMART Sync. It was helpful in that it explained the collaboration feature. I had been using SynchronEyes in my classroom for two years prior to this time so I was well acquainted with most of the other features already. But I have faced a few challenges using the collaboration feature.
The first technical challenge is to learn how to assign groups instead of allowing the teacher computer to randomly make groups. The first project I allowed randomization and it made one group of three, two groups of two and one group of one using eight workstations. That was most likely user error. That part was not very intuitive for me. Perhaps that feature could be improved in the next update and the process of letting the teacher assign groups made easier with a selection area.

There were several other technical challenges. The teacher computer froze the first time group work was turned in. Since then, I’ve added 512 mb memory to the laptop and have not had it happen again. I might mention our district is buying Vista on new laptops and therefore I am running Sync from an older XP laptop. I wish Sync was compatible with Vista, but I understand from visiting with SMART people at TCEA that probably is not likely to happen. Also, the first time students turned in their individual work, not all the documents made it into my folder. I’m chalking this up to user error because it hasn’t happened again. The first few collaborative projects were in Word, but then I got brave and decided to try sending both Notebook and Ideas files one at a time. Oops. Most computers received the files, but I find it ironic that the student computer which would receive a SynchronEyes file did not receive it in Sync, and vice versa. Now to figure out what settings need to be changed. Also, the chat windows in group 2 locked up when collaborating in Notebook. Only by closing the chat window could the Notebook file be used. Today I used Word again for our problem solving/critical thinking challenge of the day. (Note: Everything worked well except for group work arriving in its folders.)
The main pedagogical challenge I faced was coming up with suitable collaborative assignments for third graders. All of the ones I found on the web for primary students were for written for classroom to classroom collaboration. Designing a collaborative assignment that could be completed both as an individual and a group project in a class period encourages me to think outside the worksheet as I redesign, rethink, revise, revisit, and revamp a lesson into a new assignment. That’s a good thing as I continue to learn how to think outside the worksheet.

That Was Easy!

2009-03-26T10:54:00.005-05:00

In my last post, I wrote about the need to name student computers so that I'd know whose project was whose during a collaboration activity. Thanks to the intuitive nature of SMART Sync, the task was simple. Just a few clicks and I was done. On the student computers in student configuration wizard, I chose the setting to have students connect using their first name. On the teacher computer from the Sync toolbar under View and Thumbnail name/Description, I chose Student ID and viola, that's what was displayed under each thumbnail. That was easy!
Another thing that's easy is to fall in the trap of doing things the way they've always been done. Some wise person once said that the seven last words of a dying school will be, "We've never done it like that before." True. Encourage new ideas, new thinking, and new ways of reaching students through innovative lessons and projects. Do you think that will be easy?

Sync and Write

2009-03-25T09:10:00.005-05:00

After a week of spring break, we're back at work in our classroom. Happy, carefree days will soon return with summer break arriving in 8 more weeks.
However, with only 15 days remaining on the SMART Sync free trial, it was back to work for everyone with collaboration on the forefront. We began a Twitter collaboration with a third grade class in Connecticut our first day back from break. That project is shaping up to be a great way for students to write an interesting sentence in 140 characters or less as we communicate with new-found friends across the country. Our big emphasis the remainder of the year is to polish our writing skills so that we become master communicators. Adding colorful, interesting adjectives to sentences is a great way for third graders to add interest and meaning to their paragraphs. So with that in mind, our next Sync collaboration focused on writing. First a quick review of adjectives, and the students were off to their computers to complete the assignment, which I divided into part 1 and part 2. Groupings of two were chosen this time, with the computer randomly pairing students. For the teacher to assign partners requires a different log in with a student name on each computer and I haven't figured out that option yet. Maybe during afternoon conference there will be a window of opportunity. Back to the assignment details. Part 1 was to copy and paste the best adjective into the correct sentences. When that was complete, each individual "handed in" their document. The students were eager to chat again. Armed with a list of interesting adjectives for possible use, they were set to write collaboratively with their partner. Each group was to compose three interesting sentences containing two adjectives before one of the nouns. One group had so much trouble, but in reflecting upon why, it's because both are hesitant speakers, learners, and writers. This exercise was certainly a challenge for all the students as composing a sentence while considering the other person's ideas was a new experience. This time, the recorder knew what to do and had no trouble "handing in" the assignment. But they still forgot to put their name on their work! Perhaps I really do need to name their computers!

Sync Thoughts and Observations

2009-03-13T13:08:00.004-05:00

Three days ago I began using SMART Sync in my third grade multimedia classroom. Since that time, I've learned several things and became aware of even more opportunities.
The first afternoon of the completed install drove me to try a collaboration assignment. I love new techie things and don't mind experimenting with them. The student assignment that afternoon was to read a few pages in our Social Studies textbook and then answer six questions about the reading material. Specifically, they were to match a legendary American with his/her quote. I know this was quite a low-tech assignment, but on the spur of the minute, it fit with the goal - to try out SMART Sync. So, I quickly transferred their document into Word with instructions to cut and paste the correct name with the quote. Simple enough. First, the students completed the assignment at their computer and "handed it in" to me via Sync. Then part 2 was the same assignment but with 1 or 2 more in each group. We called it "Two Brains Are SMARTer Than One". I turned on the chat feature and students were able to collaborate with each other by typing messages to each other. You'd have thought I'd sprinkled candy on the keyboards! Such engagement! Such excitement! I set the timer for 15 minutes and said, "Have fun - get busy". They did and then "handed in" their paper. Groups were randomly chosen by my teacher computer this time. Next time, I'll pair up students more equitably. Some observations about this assignment: In two groups' excitement of chatting with each other, the recorder for each group forgot to cut and paste their answers on the document. I know they were really working because their chat showed they were discussing the answers with each other. They're hooked, too. They've already asked when they can chat again. The other observation is the smooth way their papers were handed in to me on my teacher computer. Navigating through My Documents to Submitted Files to the Collaboration folder to the day's assignment was smooth sailing. All of the group projects made it to the appropriate folder but one or two individual's documents didn't make the journey. I'll chalk this one up to student error. Next time I'll watch their clicking more closely.
For the next collaboration assignment, I'll choose something new. There is value in doing old things in new ways, but even more value is added when something new is done in a new way. Stay tuned for more.

SMART Sync Trial

2009-03-10T13:19:00.008-05:00

Trial period. Sounds like something good for potential married couples.

Today I'm installing a 30 day evaluation version of SMART Sync, classroom management and collaboration software, after experiencing it at TCEA last month. First, I uninstalled SMART SynchronEyes software from all my classroom computers. I must add I really liked using SynchronEyes to keep up with my students. Data shows it saves teacher time, and gets students on track faster and for longer periods of time. I won't disagree. Time will tell if I revert back to our district license of SynchronEyes after this 30 trial period

Next I watched the 11 min. video on TeacherTube. Now I'm about to begin the daunting task of installing the teacher and client programs on my classroom computers. Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted.

From TAKS to Texas History

2009-03-03T13:11:00.005-06:00

Not only is it TAKS time, Women's History Month, Black History Month, Dental Health Month, American Heart Month, Presidents' Day Celebrations, it's also Texas History Month in Texas. Yeeha!

March 2 (also Dr. Seuss's birthday and the annual Read Across America observance) is Texas Independence Day, the day all red-blooded Texans celebrate the kicking of Santa Anna's army and our declaration of freedom from Mexico. We were a whole 'nother country for 10 years before slavery brought us into the United States and the Civil War.

However, I digress. Schools are decked out in bluebonnets this month celebrating Texas History and the lupine flower that decorates much of our Texas countryside. In my childhood, my grandmother laid claim to the largest bluebonnet patch in the county. Now I lay claim to the largest patch of artificial bluebonnets in my school hallways. Each year I pop up a batch of unbuttered popcorn, toss in some blue tempera powder, and turn the kids loose with card stock, construction paper, real glue, and blue popcorn. Always a striking display, our bluebonnets earn comments from the parents and students who visit our hallowed hallways. If you're thinking of creating some, just a hint that it takes very little tempera powder to turn a whole bag of popcorn into bluebonnets. You can always tell when a student can't resist sampling a little popcorn. Their teeth tell the whole story.
Legend of the Bluebonnet, a legend of sacrifice, bravery and the tale of how the bluebonnet came to be our Texas state flower, is our current week's study. Over the years, I've acquired a video retelling of the story, a video of the Texas symbols, several great Texas sites about symbols and legends, and a SMART Board. Tying this altogether in digital format was a labor of love. Not only can my students see the video, they can interact with the vocabulary, plot, story elements, and sequence AND they can do it all on a SMART Board. This year I reworked my Notebook lesson activity and wrote a student research project using Notebook. Today, after completing the third grade TAKS Test and enjoying a looooong recess, we begin our study. First, an introduction to Texas Symbols, the retelling of the Legend of the Bluebonnet, and tomorrow students will begin their projects. If you'd like to download my file, it's located on the SMART Exchange in the Texas download folder and titled Grades 2-3 Legend of the Bluebonnet.
Post a comment if you enjoyed the lesson activity or if you have additional suggestions.

My Twitter Peeps

2009-02-25T21:22:00.003-06:00

Have I said today I love my PLN?

Created with TwitterMosaic.

It's TAKS Time in Texas

2009-02-24T18:43:00.005-06:00

Not only is it tax time in the nation, it's also TAKS time in Texas. And to bring it on home, my CPA husband is elbow-deep in spreadsheets and I've had it up to you-know-where with teaching to the test. It's that wonderful time of year when third grade students are tested with a biased, tricky, lengthy reading test. Just like if you don't pay your federal income tax bad things happen to you, so goes the TAKS test for Texas students. If the numbers are not up to standards in the final accounting and audit process for IRS standards, the same goes for both students and districts who fail to generate the right scale scores and data. Not only is there fear of failing third grade, there's the feared PEG list, the AUP ratings, accountability ratings on ever item known to man and some never before heard of items. It's enough to make a teacher cry.
My one salvation in all of the terribletakstesting is the ability of my students to use the SMART Board for basic reading instruction. For the past several years since totally integrating the Board, I can happily say all my reading students pass the TAKS test the first time it's given. I'm banking on that statistic for this school year as well. Students will try to read absolutely anything written on the Board, and the visual hook is a great engagement and motivational tool. If you'd like to read more about my classroom successes, follow the link to SMART i.e. magazine, Summer 2006.
I love what the SMART Board does for student learning and retention. I can't teach without it anymore.

If You Give a Teacher a Mouse

2009-02-21T14:41:00.006-06:00

Based on the popular children's book, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, a very creative person (not me) has published an awesome YouTube video titled, "If You Give a Teacher a Mouse." The short video highlights the progression of technology adoption in our schools. I found it very fitting and appropriate for sharing with other teachers. Enjoy, and pass it along.
Update: If you give a teacher a laptop, she'll want SMART Notebook Software and a SMART Board. Then she'll want an AirLiner Wireless Slate. Next she'll want Senteo clickers. And a SMART document camera. Then she'll want Sync classroom management software for all her computers so she can keep an eye on her students creating projects with SE Notebook Software or SMART Ideas. Care to add? Leave me a comment.

The DEN @ TCEA

2009-02-17T19:46:00.006-06:00

Events as big as the DEN Leadership Council dinner and a Friends of Discovery evening event featuring Phillipe Cousteau deserve their own blog post. Once again, Discovery Education threw a party Texas style.
Tuesday evening was a treat for the DEN LC at the Iron Cactus on Austin's infamous Sixth Street. The photo shows Justin Karkow, Discovery Education manager for Texas and me discussing the future of the DEN in Texas after dinner. Several brave STARS ventured forth for some after dinner entertainment. Ahhhhh, the power of the network!
Wednesday evening STAR DEN members and their guests were treated to a reception at Dona Emilia's adjacent to the Convention Center. Phillipe Cousteau, grandson of the famous oceanographer was there to meet, greet and sign autographs. Thanks DEN, for another memorable event.
Catch the DEN Pre-Conference Event highlights on the Texas DEN blog. Thanks, Elaine, for a great post. Wish I could've been there for the day.
Everything's bigger and better in Texas!

TCEA Reflections

2009-02-17T17:55:00.004-06:00

What do you get when you combine 8,000+ talented educators passionate about technology integration with Austin flair? Texas Computer Educators Association, of course! What talent! What passion! What opportunities!
Educators from across Texas and other states assembled the week of February 2-6 in Austin, Texas to look, listen, and learn from the best presenters in the state. Many attendees and presenters are seasoned convention go-ers and they stand ready to help out the newbies navigate the monstrous convention center and exhibit hall. I'll admit I was overwhelmed my first year. This was my third year to attend and each time I experience new learning. Many great bookmarks have been added to my delicious bookmarks. My TCEA backpack contents are sitting on the corner of my desk at school and everyday I uncover new software or sites in its contents. I'll share more as I dig to the bottom of the TCEA pile.
It was my privilege to meet up with my Twitter peeps leeanne, mr. martins class, eplybon, and langwitches. It was truly a blessing to see you again or meet you for the first time. You all seem like best buddies. Langwitches live-blogged my session, so if you missed it, you might want to catch the gist of my presentation on her February 4 post. Several of the Notebook files I presented are posted on the SMART Exchange in the Texas Downloads folder. In fact, many files have been uploaded from other presenters at both TCEA and the Dallas Area Users' Conference. You have to join (free) but then you're able to download from any of the folders and upload your own files. Let's work together to make the Texas folder the biggest and best by uploading our SMART Notebook and SMART Ideas lessons.
One comment I heard was that very few laptops were being used during the sessions to capture notes and sites. Let's compare: paper vs. laptop. Paper is portable and so are laptops. Paper and laptops both have the note capture ability. But the biggest reason I think so few laptops were seen was not the burden of a laptop's added weight, it was the bad reputation of wonky internet and low bandwidth the convention center has earned. This year internet access was much improved over years past. We can only hope those issues continue to get better for the following years. On another note, handouts from most of the concurrent sessions and workshops are now posted on the TCEA website for your downloading pleasure. I counted over 120 free presentation files that Texas educators have shared with the world.
Being a SMART Trade Show Teacher at their booth provided many fun moments and opportunities to network with fellow teachers. One high school teacher in particular spent an hour and a half one afternoon peppering me with questions. His students are going to LOVE what he learned. Many other teachers dropped by to say they enjoyed my session and thanked me for the inspiration. It's always nice to be appreciated. Perhaps I need to be more than 200 miles from home more often. Surrounded by the SMART Education Consultants, Software Specialists and other Show Personnel in the booth made for a pleasurable learning environment. The SMART Daily Drawing is an event not to be missed. A huge throng of people gathered with the common hope of winning one of the SMART Boards or other SMART products given away each day. Texans know how to party!
TCEA was a great oppotunity to share with others and learn from the rest. I'm already making plans for next year. In fact, TCEA Call for Participation opened this week for those wishing to submit a proposal for next year's conference. Maybe I'll see you there!

A SMARTer Board

2009-02-02T17:32:00.010-06:00

News flash! The SMART Board, the easiest iwb on the market, is now even easier to use. Touch recognition will be unveiled in North America tomorrow, Feb. 3. Switching modes by placing the pen back into the pen tray in order to move an object with your finger has now been made easier. In addition, you'll be able to erase with your palm without returning the pen to the tray. My primary students will really love this new feature as it makes their iwb experience extraordinarily simple. Watch the video to learn more.
As for me, I'm going to wait and experience it firsthand on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at TCEA in Austin. Look for me, one of the Trade Show Teachers, in the SMART Booth. Maybe I'll see you there.

Twittering Teacher

2009-02-01T14:33:00.007-06:00

Just as these words describe my followers on Twitter, they also describe me, with the exceptions of husband, father, and dad of course. Interesting parallels. If you're one of my Twitter peeps, you might want to check it out. Let me know what your Twittersheep word cloud says about you.
http://twittersheep.com/

Sharing is Caring

2009-01-29T15:10:00.006-06:00

Yesterday I added 5 SMART Notebook files to the Texas folder in the Downloads section of the SMART Exchange to the splendid ones already uploaded by others in attendance at the Dallas Area Users Group conference. If you haven't joined the conversation yet, please do. Otherwise you won't be able to download files or participate in the forum discussions.
Several people have requested the Keynote Address and Users' Group Notebook files. However, due to copyright infringement questions, I've chosen not to post these for public use. I know you'll understand.
However, I was able to post five other elementary Notebook files. They are Molly's Pilgrim, A World Class Adventure, Solar System - Who Am I, Notebook 10 and Lesson Activity Toolkit examples shown during my Keynote. If you've been reading my blog posts, you'll know which cool technique I used in each of the files. Thanks, James Hollis, for your inspiration.
And in turn, I hope these files inspire you to add creativity, sparkle, and interactivity to your own Notebook lesson files. Happy creating!

Another BIG Learning Opportunity - Texas Style

2009-01-24T17:48:00.005-06:00

Here comes another road trip. In just 10 days I'll be headed to Austin for TCEA. Texas Computer Educators Association annual conference is an experience not to be missed. Some 13 to 15 thousand educators from Texas and other states are expected to descend on Austin for a week-long convention. Topics ranging from integration to implementation to infrastructure and twitter will rule the conference, plus a host of other topics. The Exhibit Hall itself is a beauty to behold. Covering a multitude of football fields, it takes a good day just to see everything. If you're coming to TCEA, my best advice is to wear comfortable walking shoes. You'll not want to miss a thing!
This week I've been reading live blogging, twitter posts, and viewing live streams from FETC in Florida. I'll admit. I'm jealous. I wish I was in Florida. However, TCEA is the first week in February. On Wednesday, I'll be presenting one of the concurrent sessions, SMART Best Practices. Once again, Trade Show Teacher status has been bestowed on yours truly as a teacher presenter in the SMART Booth.
As a classroom teacher, there were 3 weeks of lesson plans and preparations to complete as well as writing the presentation itself, loading up my SMART key, and packing my bags. No, I've not packed yet. But I've thought about it!
Ready or not, here I come!

Texas STARS Shine Brighter

2009-01-24T17:03:00.002-06:00

SMART 21.0 Reflections

2009-01-13T14:56:00.006-06:00

Reflections from the Dallas SMART Users Conference produce a myriad of images. Images range from seeing learners, leaders, and listeners switch roles constantly to a well organized, seamlessly run conference from the Texas SMART ECs. Knowing they couldn't adequately facilitate monster breakout sessions, they called on many SMART power users and SMART Exemplary Educators to facilitate the numerous learning sessions throughout the day. A big shout out to Heather Lamb, for her amazing leadership and planning.With a focus on training and building users groups, the day began with high expectations and ended with everyone knowing it had been a great day of training. As for myself, I was experiencing a brain overload by late Saturday afternoon after delivering the keynote address and facilitating 3 different sessions. Yes, I prepared adequately for my address and it was very well received. Comments ranged from inspirational to incredible, with credibility and validity adjectives thrown in as well. One of the high school students videoed it, so when it's transferred to a better user format, perhaps it will be available for those wishing to view it.

I see a great need for these type of conferences held more often in more parts of the country. By mainly focusing on SMART integration ideas and building a community of SMART users in our local area, many of the day's objectives were accomplished. Networking among teachers was encouraged and sharing of ideas was promoted. The SMART Exchange will be a good storehouse of shared files for all of us wishing to extend and share the learning. Check out the Texas folder once in a while.

If the other attendee/teachers are like me, I'm just now catching my breath and getting back on track with time to spare. Two days of classes are behind me, the laundry is caught up, and my routine is back to normal. Now I can reflect. How often do we get so busy that we have no time to reflect, just push forward day after day? It is in reflecting on our day, our work, and our SMART practices that we can separate the chaff from the wheat. Let the wind blow away the chaff, leaving only the good things behind.

SMART 21.0

2009-01-08T17:09:00.003-06:00

This weekend I'll be the keynote speaker for the Dallas SMART User Conference. Big honor, huge responsibility, and a little pressure. A little pressure is good. It keeps us motivated, at least it does me.
My multimedia presentation will be about 21st century teachers, hallways, and classrooms. Of course, it's built in SMART Notebook and SMART Ideas. It nearly has to be :) I'll begin with my own story and end with a humorous look at teachers today, lest we take ourselves too seriously. If you're reading this post and are at the event, please say hi. I look forward to meeting my readers.
Here goes!

IWB Challenge #7 - Finally

2008-12-06T19:51:00.005-06:00

Wow - I finished the great IWB Challenge Set just in time for Christmas! Sure hope Santa finds it in his heart to leave a cool techie toy at my house this year. Santa, I promise not to light the fireplace on Christmas Eve.

In this, my 20th year of teaching 3rd graders, I've learned more this semester than I have in any other year. Each year brings new challenges and successes, as well as a sprinkle of regrets. However, I've not regretted completing the set of 7 challenges. Analyzing my SMART Board use and technique, reflecting on best practices, and taking a risk with new ideas have been a few rewards of this endurance test.

An iwb lends itself well to group discussion, collaboration, social learning, and modeling best practices. On the other hand, it doesn't work well for individual expression and polishing the skill sets. Informal assessments at the Board are great, but formal assessments must be done by the individual student. There is still a place for student desks in the classrooms. My kids call it their office. Sometimes they enjoy working in their office after being in the theater (gathering as a group at the iwb). After all, I have an office desk.

To give you a little background before you read my observations, I've been using a SMART Board for almost 5 years, using it every opportunity I can. I've written over 400 Notebook lessons covering most everything I'm expected to teach. My Board is mounted on the wall in my classroom. I'm not a SMART Master's Certified Trainer yet, but I've attended the SMART Teacher Conference in Calgary, presented with SMART at South Padre Island, been a SMART trade show teacher at NECC in San Diego, NSBA in San Francisco, TCEA in Austin, and done presentations in San Antonio and other points around Texas. In other words, I love using my Board to teach and showing others the power of SMART. So it is with a measure of experience I offer my opinions on when to use and not to use the Board.
Introducing the concept of multiplication vs. memorizing the facts.
Practicing reading strategies vs. independent strategy practice.
Background science information vs. hands-on labs. Nothing beats wearing safety goggles while creating a chemical reaction in a test tube!
Reading stories together online vs. writing your own stories.
Computation demonstrations and practice vs. computation comprehension.
Informal assessment vs. formal assessment.

In my district, the policy has always been if you want some piece of hardware or software, it will be bought for you if you'll use it. Most of the time, the funds are available. However, mandatory technology use is not forced. Whether that's good or not is not my call. I believe that day is coming as teachers are held more accountable to state standards. As teachers realize how engaging and motivating iwbs are, more teachers are open to trying it out. So many of our students have to power down when they come to school. Teachers must be trained to harness that energy for learning. Repeated training is necessary for successful technology integration. We didn't become great teachers after one college class.

Catching Up on RSS Feeds

2008-12-05T09:06:00.003-06:00

At this time my Google Reader has 142 unread posts. Sometimes I have time to read and other times I let it slide. Google Reader rolled out a new update with the ability to allow you to hide your unread posts. I think I'm going to like that. However, I might not read regularly if my Number wasn't at the top to prod me to read....
Unfortunately, I let my favorite blog go unread for awhile. Last night as I was playing catch up, I read the November 14 post naming my Molly's Pilgrim Notebook activity as one of the Best Classroom Applications for that week's challenge. He's included a link to download the file if you'd like it. "Sharing is Caring"
Thanks, Jim.

iwb challenge 6 - Capturing Reflections

2008-12-01T21:31:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving. Pilgrims. Mayflower. Indians. Food. Freedom.

Third graders studied the book Molly's Pilgrim prior to the Thanksgiving holiday last week. There were fun, interactive activities on the SMART Board, games at their computers, and much reading aloud as the book was shared and discussed. Themes of fairness, freedom, acceptance, and racial prejudice were brought to light as my students shared their thoughts and feelings last week.

Today in Reading class we began a study of story elements: setting, characters, feelings, and problem. Molly's Pilgrim was used as an example and the discussion began again about fairness and acceptance. To build upon the teachable moment, I quickly opened Audacity and recorded each student's reflections about the story. As each audio track was laid down, excitement built as it became time for the next student to reflect. When the class left for P.E., I used Notebook to build their class file, and then attached each mp3 file to their picture. When they returned, I showed it on the SMART Board and they really enjoyed the presentation. Some remarked they wished they'd added this or that thought, or giggled when they heard their voice. Typical reactions from an 8 year old. (For privacy reasons, I will not be posting the Notebook page with their photos.) The activity was so engaging, the students have asked to learn how to use Audacity on their own. They already know SMART Recorder, so this program should be an easy learning challenge.

From this challenge I was reminded to take a risk with technology during class time. I've used both SMART recorder and Audacity many times after hours, but never during actual class time. It went so well, I'm considering using this Reflection Activity during my annual appraisal .

21st Century Hallways

2008-11-18T19:48:00.006-06:00

Have I said today I love my PLN? For those of you not familiar with the twitter-lingo, PLN stands for Personal Learning Network. My PLN has roots in a SMART Teacher Conference held in Calgary 3 summers ago and a Discovery Education National Institute held aboard a cruise ship to the Bahamas summer before last. It was at these major events I began to experience the vast educator network that was mine for the joining. Most PLNs begin with emails among teachers, and then branch out to other educators with similar areas of expertise. Twitter, Plurk, SMART Exchange, Discovery Educator Network, Classroom 2.0, and my Google Reader feeds comprise the largest chunk of my PLN. Begin your collaboration with other educators and join the global conversation today.
Today a feature article was posted online in the SMART EdCompass newsletter. On page 3 is an article titled 21st Century Hallways. Being interviewed for an article such as this is an humbling, exciting experience. As I reflected on what social networking has meant to my career, I discovered that my network connects me to people smarter than I am who help me do my job better. Reading others' Twitter and Plurk posts remind me of how much I still don't know. That's okay. I am free to dip into that river any time and dip out what I need at that time. When I find jewels, I pass along those to my PLN. Through it, I am also connected to a flowing stream of useful SMART Board links, Web 2.0 applications, inspiration, and comic relief. But don't get me wrong, I'm not a sponge. I don't sip, soak, and sour. It is in the sharing of these ideas with my local district that I am able to pass on the gems I've found in my PLN.
If you'd like to read the article, follow this link.

Lots to Love with Links

2008-11-10T17:08:00.006-06:00

Last week's SMART Board challenge involved creating button links from a home page that helped younger students navigate the maze of activities we teachers use to create learning activities that appeal to a wide range of learning styles. At first thought, I considered it busy work on my part, but after working with my Molly's Pilgrim Notebook activity, I reconsidered. Allowing students to choose which activity to do next puts more of the lesson in their control. Increased ownership brings increased motivation and learning. What's not to love?
I encourage you to try it with an existing 4 or 5 page Notebook lesson. Create some buttons, or use some from the LAT, to speed your process. Then link each named button to its matching page. On that page, include all the linked buttons again so that pages may be easily moved between for review or reteach. My lesson focused on reading skills - fact/opinion, sequence, vocabulary, questions, and a match game. Therefore, the buttons at the bottom of each page were the same as the ones on the home page screenshot.
Molly's Pilgrim is one of our book studies prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Students will be making pilgrim dolls at home next weekend for show and share the next Monday. I'm looking forward to their creations once again this year. If you have suggestions or links for additional Molly's Pilgrim activities, kindly post a comment. Thank you.

Word Clouds

2008-11-06T19:33:00.007-06:00

Classroom uses will abound with this site. Shown here are my delicious tags. If you haven't experimented yet, give it a twirl. wordle.net
My third graders will use this site again next week to put together a collection of action verbs. If only wordle could be programmed to make the nouns flash. Now that would be awesome!
Another Thursday evening, reflecting on the successes of the week. Makes me tired just thinking about them all.

I Can't Teach Without IT

2008-11-04T17:40:00.006-06:00

Someone quoted me yesterday as having said I can't teach without my social network/PLN. My first reaction was to say no, but that I can't teach without my SMART Board. I can teach without my PLN, but having an active one makes my job so much easier. It's great to be able to connect to fellow educators who are there to offer support, help, and much-needed wit and wisdom to each other. My PLN keeps me on the cutting edge of my field, and in turn, I keep the kids on the edge of their seat.

Honestly, I really can't teach without my SMART Board. I tried unplugging one day last week. Not good. Although, when I have a substitute teacher, the same thing happens. Once I asked the class which they missed more - the SMART Board or me. Without hesitation, they replied the Board. And then they said, no, we miss you more. haha.

To turn back the clock 5 years transports me to an era of being the sage on the stage, trying to keep my students' focus with a dry erase board, overhead projector, and handmade centers. I've undergone a transformation since the day My First SMART Board arrived. I'm now the guide on the side, with the kids at the Board actively constructing their learning. I'm on the sidelines as their coach and cheerleader spotting their moves with my SMART Slate.

If you were a fly on the wall in my class, you'd see the Board at work when the kids arrive. SMART Notebook and SMART Ideas software are used in 90% of daily lessons. Ahhh, the power of Notebook. Whether you wish to create flashing text, disappearing ghosts, spinners, shrink and grow activities - the possiblities are endless. And that didn't include embedding flash files, You Tube videos, or Discovery Streaming segments to enhance the learning. Some days the Board goes home tired from overuse. Like today. Like me.

Super Spinners

2008-11-04T13:20:00.008-06:00

If you're like me, when it's time to locate a spinner for class use, your spinner stash has been misplaced. But then again, the spinner you needed wasn't the spinner you had. Sound familiar? Or maybe you have every students' names on a separate folded index card in a pail and when you wish to randomize selection, you draw out a name? Or have you used the Excel sheet you enter your students' names on and then click the button for a random selection.

No matter your previous method for random name selection, I'd like to present the SMART solution for spinners. The spinner has been so captivating for them, I'm thinking of sending it to their student computers for their own use. No doubt they could design their own lesson activity and then record their thoughts using SMART Recorder. I'll have to try that idea soon and report back on its success.

You can make your own customized spinner using the object animation features in Notebook 10. Have you ever wished for a fraction spinner, or maybe a shape spinner? Better yet, a Wheel of Fortune number wheel. (Can't wait to try that one!) No matter what kind of spinner you need, it's fairly simple to create your own. Begin your search in the Gallery and locate fraction pieces. Then drag a completed circle of fraction pieces to your Notebook page. Change colors if desired. If you wish to add numbers, enter your number and group the two together. If you wish to add pictures or names, do the same thing until you have edited all the fraction pieces. Then arrange in a circle and group all objects together. Under the object animation tab, choose spin, clockwise, slow, when the object is clicked, and until the object is clicked. Add an arrow for a pointer, or use a finger from the sign language alphabet. Be sure to save your completed spinner in the My Content folder for easy access.

A word of warning: Due to a bug in Notebook 10, "until the object is clicked" will not retain its setting. So prior to each use, you must reset that animation feature.

My first spinner was 4 colors with the numbers 1-4 on it. The next spinner was with my students' names. At the conclusion of math each day, we have time for a few Board races. Instead of calling on volunteers, now I drag the spinner and the finger onto the Notebook page and just Click and Spin. Instant hit, until the bell rang. The students are already looking forward to Math again tomorrow.

Thanks, Jim, for another useful challenge from Teachers Love SMARTBoards.

This Teacher Loves SMART Boards, Too

2008-10-28T21:26:00.005-05:00

Another week, another challenge. The learning continues despite time constraints. Six preps a day, meetings, family, and homework compete for my time. No doubt, you experience similar competition for your time and energy. Teachers must learn to be great time managers in order to survive.
Last week's challenge from Teachers Love SMART Boards was to use a Touch and Scroll technique created using animations within Notebook 10. The idea is to create a rolling set of questions and/or answers that are accessed by touching a rectangle and having it roll down to the next box. My third graders are reviewing the rules for placing a comma in numbers with 6 and 7 digits. Capitalizing on the Halloween theme, I used a pumpkin template from the gallery and included a howling pumpkin at the bottom of the page at the conclusion of the activity. Since I created the page, I knew where to click to make the box scroll, so I had no problems making the animation work. In retrospect, I should have made the rectangles wider so that the numbers hidden from view wouldn't interfere. Officially, this challenge wasn't completed as required. However, I'm declaring it a success because my students had no problem with the animation. They just wished I'd created more than one page of the scroll and touch so everyone had a turn. That's an easy fix. Once again, a highly engaging activity was created that left learners asking for more. SMART Board wins again!

Touch and Reveal Challenge

2008-10-19T21:32:00.005-05:00

Week after the week the challenges keep coming from Teachers Love SMART Boards. Last week's challenge was to create a SMART Notebook page/file that used the touch and reveal technique. When a shape or object is touched, it disappears, revealing the information underneath. I chose to create a world map activity that was used for identifying the 7 continents. As an extension, when the continent is clicked, a link takes the students to another page that includes pictures, links to learning activities, and a map game. The file proved so popular at the SMART Board with my students that I sent it to their workstations in the classroom so they could enjoy it in their free time.
My Notebook activity, Explore the Continents: A World Class Adventure, tied for first place in the weekly Best Classroom Application category. To download the file for your classroom, click here. To learn how to create this type of file, visit Teachers Love SMARTBoards.

SMART Board Flashing Text Challenge

2008-10-13T21:02:00.005-05:00

Wow! Teachers Love SMART Boards, Jim Hollis, has done it again! Where does he get these great ideas? By capitalizing on the new features of SMART Notebook 10, Jim keeps designing challenges that features the amazing capabilities of Notebook software. Last week's challenge was to create a lesson activity that gave immediate feedback to the student by flashing text if the answer was correct. Watch the challenge and solution here.

IWB Challenge #5 - Sort and Classify

2008-10-09T11:50:00.002-05:00

Coming up with a theme for this week’s IWB challenge to incorporate sorting and classifying using containers in a lesson was not the problem. The problem was choosing which one to do since there are so many subjects and topics applicable to that skill. I finally settled on creating a noun and verb sort because that is a current topic in grammar. Using the Vortex Sort activity in the SMART Lesson Activity Toolkit enabled me to design the activity quickly. To the right is a table with some additional ideas for your own sort and classify activity.

The students always enjoy having their lessons on the SMART Board because it’s engaging, entertaining, and memorable. They thought the Vortex Sort/Noun and Verb activity was fun and wanted to do it again. Of course we did it again. One smart student remarked during the lesson, “Oh, I remember doing this in second grade. We did odd and even (numbers).” I rest my case.

SMART Notebook Tables Activity Challenge

2008-10-07T17:44:00.006-05:00

Keeping up with both iwb challenges and the third grade curriculum keeps me hopping! I do heart a challenge, though. Last week's challenge from Teachers Love SMART Boards involved using the table function from Notebook Software. Okay, I'll admit it, I had to get a hint from Jim, but I'd like to think it was because it was Monday all day long. (It really was Monday.)
I created a 2 x 4 table from the insert menu in Notebook to use with a plural nouns lesson. In the first column are the singular nouns. Around the edges are the plural nouns grouped with matching clip art. They are ready to be dragged and dropped into the second column once the student correctly spells the plural form of the noun. Witches is shown as an example. Since this challenge entry, I've expanded this activity to include other nouns and the third rule about changing the y to i before adding es. The students enjoyed spelling the correct plural so much, they begged to do it again the next day. There's just no pleasing students these days!

IWB Challenge 4

2008-10-02T16:28:00.002-05:00

Voice Thread Challenge 4

2008-10-02T12:28:00.007-05:00

Awesome, terrifying, amazing, challenging, and frustrating: All are words that could describe the completion of this challenge. Having participated in several Voice Threads through my DEN network, I was familiar with the process. Setting up the VT was easy, once I figured out that my SMART recorder .wmv files were not going to load. So it was back to square one using SnagIt screen capture software. I also added an identity for my students which was easier than I thought. All the background work was completed at home due to T1 line construction at school the past 2 days. Today the internet was back and the students were able to record their responses during the math lesson. Not all students were willing to participate. They're very talkative during class but didn't allow themselves to take a risk and record. Go figure. Above is the link to my voice thread. Enjoy :)
After all the hurdles, this challenge is one I will use again with my students. Learning goes so much deeper when students think out loud.

SMARTer Teaching

2008-09-30T21:06:00.003-05:00

Hall of Fame

2008-09-28T21:04:00.006-05:00

Last week another whiteboard challenge launched on the Teachers Love SMART Board blog. I love a challenge! Who would have known I would win? But then, I have a pretty good track record of winning when it comes to SMART things. Who knows - that might be another blog post.
Allow me to encourage you join the Challenge. Jim has just posted a new challenge for week #2. See you in the Hall of Fame!
http://smartboards.typepa d.com/smartboard/weekly-challenge-results.html

IWB Challenge #3 - Transparency

2008-09-22T13:19:00.006-05:00

Before I begin this latest post, I thought I'd give an update on how well my students have remembered how to create fact families after doing the lesson using the infinite cloning technique. Unlike last year, not even one student has forgotten how to make them when it's paper and pencil time. I think that's amazing!

I've always been a fan of cool SMART Board tips and tricks, so using transparency to make the lesson come to life was no exception. As the protractor was introduced last week, I thought it would be a good example of transparency. Here's how I did it. First, I found a picture that had obvious angles. I chose a red stop sign to insert on my Notebook page. Next, I pulled in the interactive protractor found in the Gallery. After the student found the angle with the protractor, I then instructed him/her to make the background image transparent, so that the remainder of the class could easily see. They thought that was a great trick! "Let's do that again, Mrs. Reed!" was the common echo within the class. As you can see by the two pictures included here, this boy had no trouble making the stop sign totally disappear! No doubt he wishes he could do the same to those real life stop signs in his driving future!

Classroom Cloning Challenge #2

2008-09-11T18:14:00.005-05:00

Conquering the bimonthly iwb challenges ignites the spark that contributes to more engaging lesson activities for my students.. The current challenge is to use the infinite cloner tool to create engaging learning opportunities. It does just that and more.
As I assemble my thoughts for this post, many lessons come to mind. One of the ways I've used it the past two weeks in my third grade class has been to have students illustrate equal groups story problems using gallery clipart. For example, on the Notebook page, I inserted text: 3 groups of 4 and made 3 large circles with the shape maker. I inserted the first group of 4 objects in the first circle. Next the student was directed to turn on the infinite cloner and drag a group to each of the other 2 circles to complete the picture. The next student came to the Board and wrote the matching number sentence: 3 x 4 = 12. More pages were set up with other multiplication facts so that each learner had an opportunity to participate. Using pictures helps the multiplication concept come to life in the students' mind. Of course, they'd love to be able to do the same type pictures to create their own equal groups back at their desks. They have to satisfied with drawing their own sticks, circles and squares to create their picture. I plan to have students make their own presentation using Notebook software with the computers in my classroom in the near future when the larger facts (6,7,8,9s) are introduced.
Another math lesson found us reviewing "some and some more" and "some and some went away" type story problems. What better way to add a little fun to the lesson than to drag out some clip art and use the infinite cloner to set up the picture for solving. Much collaboration and many suggestions came from the students themselves as they directed their classmate at the SMART Board. They wanted each other to succeed. Once the picture is made, the matching number sentence was written on the page. After a bit, instead of cloning one object at a time, I showed the students how to group several at a time and then use the infinite cloner to create sets of 2,3,4, etc. They loved to skip count as a group as the student at the Board does the work. Here's where knowledge of the skip counting songs came in handy as they actively constructed their learning.
Last week the math lesson covered fact families. For those who may be unfamiliar with the term, it's simply creating 2 addition facts and 2 subtration facts from 3 different numbers. Before the lesson, I inserted a 3,4, and 7 and changed the font to 72 before turning on the infinite cloner. Students would then drag out each of the numbers and write in the proper signs on the Board. For example, they would have completed
3 + 4 = 7
4 + 3 = 7
7 - 3 = 4
7 - 4 = 3
Many other opportunities were provided using several different numbers so that several students could participate in the lesson either by themselves or with a partner. Using the infinite cloner in this manner reinforced the pattern by allowing them to use only the designated numbers. I plan to use the same strategy when we cover multiplication and division Fact Families after Thanksgiving.
When we created pictographs after this week's Math test, individual clip art was used to record responses. Students could then drag the correct number of pictures up to the table to record the responses. I used this same technique with creating a table activity in SMART's Back to School contest entry, Great Beginnings. Unfortunately, I didn't win the giveaway but I have the satisfaction of knowing my lesson activity has been downloaded nearly 3,000 times and hopefully has helped many teachers with the first day of school.
The infinite cloner was used over and over again and will continue to be a favorite of mine as math patterns are learned. I can't wait to figure out how to use it in the other subjects I teach each day. To everyone who is participating in the challenge, keep those ideas coming.

Hearing Voices

2008-08-26T20:02:00.005-05:00

School began Monday at my school. Excitement was high from both teachers and students. I'm going to like this class!

IWB Challenge #1.

During Math the first day, I introduced my Skip Counting Songs Notebook page during the course of the lesson. Students couldn't wait for their turn to move the magnifying lens over the number of the counting song they wanted to sing. By clicking on the corresponding number, the mp3 file would play and the sing-a-long would begin. They would've sang all period if I'd have let them. I promised there would be a song or two everyday and they could choose which ones it would be. They were happy and so was I.

Through the years, I've used music to help students remember important concepts. By teaching skip counting songs, my students succceed more quickly when it's time to recognize counting patterns and memorize their multiplication facts.

Here's the creation information. Last week I recorded myself singing the songs I've used in class for years while accompanying myself on the piano. The ditties came from various sources - a really old Melody House record album, workshop jewels, and original melodies from a former teacher. Playing by ear enabled me to pitch them in a comfortable singing range. My college voice professor told me I sang like a 9 year old. He was right, but little did he know I would be teaching 8 & 9 year olds someday and that skill would come in handy!

You should have seen my living room last Friday afternoon! Microphone on the piano, wires strung across to the footstool where my laptop sat with Audacity cued up and ready to record. After a little practice I was ready to save each file. Then it was a simple step (after downloading and installing the lame encoder file) to convert each one to an mp3. To make my Notebook page, I added a little clipart at the top and inserted the numbers in individual windows. I attached each "big number" to its corresponding sound file by clicking on the insert menu.

In past years, I would sing acapella and teach the students the songs by rote. Now it's a simple click on a number, the music begins, and students can sing along while I write the counting sequence on the Notebook page using my AirLiner wireless slate.

Inserting my voice into Notebook was a snap. I'm already planning my next project!

It's About Time

2008-08-16T18:04:00.000-05:00

Today begins a new chapter in my learning. Not only is this my first blog, today also begins my 20th year in the classroom. But that's another post.
Today I became an official challenger in the whiteboard challenge. I'll keep you posted on the results.
Cheers,