Smartboards in the Classroom

Do the following:

* Open a new window - File - New

* go to your data source - example NYTimes.com

* Go to the bottom of the page

* Click on the RSS symbol in the lower corner

* Highlight the URL address

* Copy the URL address - Edit - Copy

 

Now open another window - File - New

* Go to your blog

* Click Manage Category under Community Administration

* Go to Add Feeds

* Select feed category

* Paste the URL address in the appropriate box

* Click save

Go back to your blog and you should see the name of the RSS feed in the box below the categories.

Let's look at SPAM.  Spam is usually defined as uninvited data that is PUSHED on your email account.  It arrives whether you want it or not.

RSS feeds are the opposite.  They are data that is specifically PULLED to your account.  RSS feeds are specific topics you have selected in advance.  They can be topics from newspapers or associations.  However you define them, RSS feeds can be extremely useful to educators, students and parents.

Search this site's education database to find dynamic, Web-based resources and education materials for visual arts, dance, music, drama and theater.  This site also includes standards information, curriculum examples, lesson plans and assessment methods for arts education.

Elementary and Secondary Grades


Attachment(s): http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/teachers/index.htm

Access images, information and educational resources from the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Istitute of Arts.  You'll also find more than 80 online lesson plans, curriculum units and online actiities.

Attachment(s): http://www.artsconnected.org

Access over 300 mathematics assessment tasks developed at the Harvard Graduate School of Education between 1993 and 2003.  The many topics and activities include average, sums, chances of survival, detective stsories, genetic codes, gestation, logarithms, triangles and volume.

Elementary and Secondary Grades



Attachment(s): http://www.balancedassessment.concord.org/tasksalpha

Find lesson plans, thematic units, teacher tips, discussion forums for teachers, downloadable teaching materials, e-books, printable worksheets, emergent reader books and more on this teacher-created site.

Elementary/Secondary Grades


Attachment(s): http://www.atozteacherstuff.com

Bring historical videos from the US National Archives and Records Administration into your lessons easily with the help of Google Video.

Elementary and Secondary Grades


Attachment(s): http://video.google.com/nara.html

Use these English and Spanish math puzzles to help students master high-level concepts in the classroom and at home.  The site was developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in cooperation with the National Action council for Minorities in Engineering, Widmeyer Communications and the Learning First Alliance.

Secondary


Attachment(s): http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/

Help Detective LePlant and his partners unlock the mysteries of plant life.  Bring your students to this site and through a series of mysteries, stdents will improve their understanding of plant science and how foods grow.  This site includes a teacher's guide, lesson plans and group or individual activities.

Elementary Grades - Also in Spanish.
Attachment(s): http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/

Design and perform diverse experiments in acid-base chemistry, thermochemistry, solubility and redox chemistry with this virtual chemistry lab.  Download the lab or run it from the Web.

Secondary Grades


Attachment(s): http://iry.chem.cmu.edu/applets/vlab.php

Build your own DNA lessons using this site's Lesson Builder tool or download lessons related to the study of DNA.  Lessons include objectives, national education standards and student worksheets.

Secondary Grades



Attachment(s): http://www.dnai.org/

Before you begin to blog with your students, please look at the attached "Student Blogging Contract".  Check with your administration to see if it matches the "Acceptable Use Policy" of your school. 

Attachment(s): Blogging_Contract_for_Students.pdf

In my travels around the city working with teachers, I've met a wonderful group at JHS 45 in the Bronx.  Their response was overwhelmingly positive.  So, teachers at PS 45 who specifically work with ELA classes, please give us your feedback here.  What was the class's reaction to the SmartBoard?  Were all the students engaged?  Describe your lesson for us and reflect how the SmartBoard helped you. 

The primary objective of using SmartBoards in the classroom is to reach tactile learners, those who learn primarly through touch, and kinesthetic learners, those who learn through movement.  Getting your students up and out of their seats means that they will be more engaged in your lesson.  This section will provide insights from other teachers who explore, develop and learn the full potential of this wonderful teaching and learning tool. 

Here's an interesting new software product you can purchase that allows you to bring music lessons to life on your SmartBoard.  Check the link below and make sure to give my your thoughts after you've explored the site.

Attachment(s): http://www.2simpleusa.com/music/index.html

There is an excellent website that gives you access to historical newspapers for original source document research.  I found it while working with my teenage son on his Global History assignment on the Fall of Warsaw in WW II. 

The site is called "ProQuest" and is attached below.  You can request a 30 day free trial of the site and decide if it is a resource you'd like for your students.  Make sure to indicate your school in the contact information.  Individual people can not use the free trial, but teachers at schools can.

Be sure to let me have your thoughts on the site when you comment below.


Attachment(s): http://www.proquest.com

Now that you've had a chance to explore your SmartBoard and design lessons for your classes, please take a moment to share your thoughts with us.  Have you discovered how to engage your students using the SmartBoard?  What about a new resource we should explore?  Just click on the "comments" section below and input your ideas.