Tequipment: Blogging About SMART Boards, Resources, Lessons, Training, Games…

Your SMART Board is an amazing tool for engaging your students’ many intelligences. Multiple Intelligence Theory suggests that all students posses skills within seven different intelligence areas.

It is in our best interest to use multiple activities in order to involve our students’ most developed intelligence in active learning. By getting students to come to the board and manipulate “information,” we access their “spatial” intelligence as well as “bodily-kinesthetic” intelligence.

But let’s take it up a notch with the kinesthetic movement.

We don’t just want some movement here, we really want to get our students dancing while they are up at the board. So we have to create “buttons” for them to touch that are far apart from each other. For those shorter students, we can get them jumping to reach the “buttons.”

An example that comes to mind is a flash card activity with mathematics. But this could be applied to any question and answer game in any content area. For my activity, I have created a Notebook 10 file. Each page in the file has a math question and two answer buttons that are links to other pages in the file (see images). I would instruct students that they have to start with their feet touching a strip of tape which is about three feet from the wall. The instructions include having to return your feet to the tape after every touch on the board. Making them return serves two purposes. First, it gets them moving, a lot. Second it moves them back from the SMART Board so they can more easily read the question and view the possible answers.

This type of activity can be applied to any subject and Q&A scheme. One thing to keep in mind; make sure you check all the links before having students use the file. Remember, you need to  create a “try again” page for each question. It is all easy enough to do, but a little time consuming.

If you are pressed for that ever-precious resource we call “time” and you teach multiplication, I have found some online math activities that would require some movement and could meet the same purpose as the activity that I have described above. The great part is that they are already created for you. The following site contains some great activities http://www.multiplication.com/interactive_games.htm. My very favorite is “Disco Dino”. The music is funky and smooth! See Disco Dino at http://www.multiplication.com/flashgames/DiscoDino.htm.

How are you going to build the link between your students’ bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and their other developed intelligences? What other intelligences can we activate with the SMART Board? Get Moving!

OE-CAKE acts as a physics-based paint program. Users can insert objects and see them interact under the laws of physics. It has an advanced fluid simulator with support for things such as gases, rigid objects, and even elastic materials. With the escape-codes, users can also mix the properties of elements together. You can even add your own pictures to the simulation!!!

Download OE-CAKE for the Mac here and download it for the PC here.

The Kid’s Science Challenge, brought to you by Pulse of the Planet and the National Science Foundation, has created an interactive flash game which teaches about gravity and air pressure. The game is SMART Board-friendly and sparks discussion about the effects of gravity and air pressure on moving objects.

The game starts with a couple of experiments that teach about the difference in gravity and air pressure between earth and mars. Next, students apply what they learned as they play a target-hitting challenge. They have to take into account the gravity and air pressure of the planet they are on. Successful completion of the game allows students to reach the bonus round which showcases how gravity and air pressure affect moving objects on each planet of our Solar System. This game is… out of this world!

Go to: kidsciencechallenge.com , click on “Sports On Mars”, click on “Games!”

Here is a short video of me playing the game. I had some practice:

Our Courts is a website envisioned by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor that is dedicated to teaching students about 21st century civics. The website includes lesson plans, games and a place where students can send messages back and forth with Justice O’Connor.

While you’re teaching about goverment also check out Alex Kane’s Bill of Rights Lesson from our Educator Resource Center. This lesson describes and reinforces students understanding of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. After the lesson, go back to the Our Courts website and have students review what they learned by playing the Do I have a Right? game.

The year has begun and the classroom is equipped with the most up-to-date technology. A website to check out with your students is www.abcya.com This interactive website has a plethora of free interactive educational activities for children in grades K-5. The activities were created and approved by teachers, which include content area activities such as reading and math, and interactive games designed to enhance students’ computer literacy.

Take some time to explore the contents that are available under each grade level bar. Many different activities are there that may help reinforce math concepts, enhance keyboarding skills, and strengthen your students’ visual perception abilities.

Check out the “Paint” activity. Students can choose from a variety of paint brushes and shapes to create a unique drawing. Once they have completed their drawing they can print it to hang on their refrigerator at home. This activity will allow your students to practice using the different tools, which in turn will prepare them for SMART Notebook software.

To help your students familiarize themselves with the keyboard introduce them to the “Alpha Munchies.” Students choose a player from the selection and are instructed to keep their player safe by activating the keys on the keyboard to make the letters disappear. This activity is fun and exciting. Students will be engaged and at the same time, they will be improving their keyboarding skills.

ABCYA is a worthwhile site to visit. Students will be building their skills while having fun at the same time. Explore the site at your own leisure and find the activities that will work best for you and your students.

There are a lot of  SMART Board resources for elementary, middle, and high school students, but younger students love SMART Boards too! This blog post is for you, Pre-school and Kindergarten teachers!  Check out some of the wonderful interactive websites that will be sure to get even your youngest students involved in interactive learning.

• StoryPlace: The Children’s Digital Library is a great site that includes online stories,  activities, and even take home activities. The stories look great on a SMART Board and the auditory component really makes them come alive. They also have a Spanish version of the site for your ESL students, or you can use this site to introduce your students to the Spanish language!
• Ziggity Zoom is an easy to navigate site that includes entertaining educational stories. The colorful graphics and interactive interface are perfect for your young students who are just learning to read. They have counting and color stories in English and Spanish, as well as some great online games.
• And don’t forget Sesame Street! Start off with the letter of the day (changes each day!). Videos and games on the site’s playlist will all start with that letter of the day! You can also browse by subject or theme, such as rhyming, early reading, cultural appreciation, and feelings. Tons of games (use your SMART Board onscreen keyboard for the keyboard games). So go back to the classics and visit Sesame Street again!
• TeqSmart loves Kerpoof, and so will you! (see our blog archive) Let your preschoolers design their own storybooks as they choose a scene, add characters, and then narrate their stories before writing them down. What a great pre-reading activity!

If you have any other websites or resources that are geared toward young learners, please let us know!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day! We think the following site is a wonderful share for today!

So, If you are looking for a great site that offers a ton of free technology resources just for teachers (come on, you know you love free stuff) check out the appropriately named Free Technology for Teachers blog. Whether you are looking for websites, browsers, or interactive activities for your classroom-this blog has it all and it is constantly updated. Here are some of the highlights that would look great on your SMART Board!

• SnagFilms: Over 600 free documentaries to watch online. From music to history to current events, from world-known documentaries like Super Size Me to films from first-time filmmakers, this site has it all. Great to stream on your SMART Board as you integrate technology and media into your curriculum!

• Ten Fun Educational Games for K-8 Students: Free Technology for Teachers has put together a list of ten educational games that are ideal for elementary and middle school students. The list includes interactive geography, math, ELA, and health education games and there are links that will bring you to even more educational games that were reviewed.

• Wikipedia for Schools: We all know about wiki’s and the Web 2.0 revolution but content and accuracy is undoubtedly a question that arises. Wikipedia for Schools is a static version of thousands of Wikipedia articles that have been check for accuracy and suitable for use in schools.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Free Technology for Teachers blog. We look forward to their next post and finding more sites to use on our SMART Boards!

Let us know what you think of this site and how it works out for you in your classroom!