Smartboard
July 17, 2013

I had a Smartboard and document camera installed in my classroom in September 2011. I shared a Smartboard in my previous school and was eager to have one of my own.

I started using the Smartboard and document camera as combination whiteboard, overhead projector, and video player. My previous experience in developing a wiki helped my fledgling use of this technology. I tried a few ready-made lessons from Smart Exchange and showed a few YouTube videos to support lessons. I made my Smartboard available to other teachers and quickly found I was acting as a resource for teachers who already had a Smartboard or were interested in trying one out.

Now in my second year with a Smartboard, I use its interactive features more fully. I have done away with my chart stand and presentation white board. My morning routines, like calendar and morning message, run through the Smartboard. I use it and my document camera to demonstrate lessons in real time and to record student performance. I have developed a beginning writing program that employs linked pages to make a dictionary for students to use on a writing page. The integrated functions of computer, camera, chart stand, whiteboard, and overhead are indispensable in the classroom. What took days to prepare or produce with students now takes minutes. I find I can be more spontaneous and more responsive to student interests. We can move data around easily and manipulate it to learn and to show what we know.

I continue to work as a resource and trouble-shooter for other teachers you have or are interested in Smartboards.