Using the SMART Board wisely in classrooms
Jan 11, 2010 4:14 PM
As an 8th-grade special education teacher, I face many challenges when attempting to teach my students and I welcome any innovative tools that will help in that regard. Teachers today work in an era where something as basic as a chalkboard seems like an ancient tool. The new wave of teaching is educating students by utilizing what they know and like best, and that is technology.
A key part of our job as educators is to tap into students’ interests and try to use those to our advantage in the classroom. Lately, I have been working with a new device that uses technology to revolutionize the chalkboard concept. It is called a SMART Board.
The SMART Board is a large interactive whiteboard. It is, quite simply, a big touch screen that students can use to kinesthetically manipulate characters and information. Utilizing included notebook software, teachers working with the SMART Board are able to create interactive lessons that make students eager to learn and, equally important, participate in class!
The device requires assembly of a few pieces of equipment, and that task in itself is another teaching tool because I make my students responsible for putting together all the different types of technology in order to get it to work. In order to use the SMART Board, a teacher must have a projector and a computer. Students gain a sense of responsibility when they are asked to put the projector and the whiteboard together before the lesson and take them apart later.
The device works very well for all levels of students and touches on all types of learning styles. For example, students are able to go up to the SMART Board and dissect a frog without a real frog! They are able to measure angles with an interactive protractor and figure out which type of angles they are. Students are able to explore the world while feeling like they are on a boat. They are able to see how molecules change as water goes from a solid to a liquid.
Teachers of all disciplines can use this tool to make their lessons come to life. Students enjoy visualizing the concept and many times can do a better job of retaining the information. Not only are they reading, visualizing and listening, they are also literally touching a two-dimensional version of the topic at hand and having fun in the process. And it works for just about any topic in the curriculum.
Whenever I roll out the SMART Board, I am heartened by the students’ enthusiasm and their eagerness to learn! This has been an amazing tool that not only keeps my students engaged but also gives them a unique educational opportunity.
Using the SMART Board in my classroom has not only increased my students’ attention span but also improved their level of understanding. They are able to recall much more information than they were when using the regular chalkboard/worksheet lessons I used in the past. Many want to participate in class more, even those students who never used to do so. They want to have an active role in using the SMART Board, and the interest is widespread among students of varying levels and physical capabilities. There is always a task for everyone to do, and all of the students can participate in the lessons and feel proud of themselves.