| Welcome to The New Coffee Room. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| The Training Session; Egads, that was stressful! | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: May 20 2008, 03:10 PM (126 Views) | |
| dolmansaxlil | May 20 2008, 03:10 PM Post #1 |
![]()
HOLY CARP!!!
|
So as I mentioned before, I did a training session tonight for a group of highschool teachers who use SmartBoards. My teaching partner did the beginner group (which I've done before). I did the advanced group. One of the people in my group has used the SmartBoard for a total of 3 months less than me. There were only 6 people in my group (which was expected), two of whom were the Principal and Vice Principal. So the VP asks me right off the top after I introduced myself, "So you've been using the Board for a year. What level of mastery would you say you had on the board?" Gulp. So I explained the process most folks go through when they get a SmartBoard: Using it as a white board, then using it as a giant mouse, then using lessons created by others, then developing their own lessons, then adding multimedia, and finally as a student learning (rather than presentation) tool where students are interacting with the board. I told him that I felt I was into the last area, but that I'm always looking for new ways to get my students using the board, so I hadn't mastered that. He seemed satisfied with my answer. I decided that rather than jump in and just give them a bunch of information that they may or may not need, I'd ask if there was any questions they had or anything they'd like to learn. I didn't know the answer to the first two questions. However, I knew that there WAS an answer to the first question - I'd seen it, and I knew where to find it. So I'm emailing it out to them tomorrow AM. The second question is either an IT issue or just not possible with the software. However, I said I'd look into the problem and get back to them with some sort of answer. I figure it's better to admit to not knowing than BS. The rest of it went well, and by the end, I know I had the VP on board (and he's the one who makes the decisions on buying more boards and whether they are actually worth the cost). I also threw the term "differentiated instruction" out there a million times, discussing how much easier it is to use DI in a classroom when you have a Board. DI is something new for a lot of highschool teachers - many of the older teachers aren't on board yet. So the VP sat there grinning and taking notes and encouraging me, and a few of the teachers just looked uncomfortable. I don't know if the principal and VP felt they got their money's worth (they had to pay to release me for a half day...and the principal got me a lovely gift basket from a gourmet chocolate shop in town! :D) but I thought it went well. Next up - we're doing one at our school and inviting the local highschool teachers as well. And my principal has already discussed having one in the early fall with 4 schools coming out. So it's fun, but it's a bit stressful - who am I to tell these people anything?!? |
|
"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson My Flickr Photostream | |
![]() |
|
| Kincaid | May 20 2008, 03:20 PM Post #2 |
|
HOLY CARP!!!
|
Sounds stressful but good! My 10-year-old knows how to run the one in her classroom. She loves using it for geography quizzes. |
| Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006. | |
![]() |
|
| Jane D'Oh | May 20 2008, 03:40 PM Post #3 |
|
Fulla-Carp
|
Congratulations Dol, it sounds like it went really well. Um... What are smart boards? |
| Pfft. | |
![]() |
|
| Frank_W | May 20 2008, 05:36 PM Post #4 |
![]()
Resident Misanthrope
|
Congratulations, Dol. Sounds like it was exhausting, but good.
|
|
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin." Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!" | |
![]() |
|
| dolmansaxlil | May 20 2008, 06:14 PM Post #5 |
![]()
HOLY CARP!!!
|
I really need to shoot a short video showing me using one in my class. It's so much cooler to see being used rather than just having a description. Basically, it's a touch sensitive white board with a projector. The projector is hooked to a computer (and, in my case, a DVD player and VCR). Anything from your source (usually the computer) is projected onto the screen. The white board itself is pressure sensitive. So when you touch the board, it acts just like a mouse click. It has "pens" that you use to "write" on the board (though you can use your finger just as easily). So I can put text from a text up on the board, and show the kids how to interpret the text using highlighters, writing notes, etc. I can then save those notes for later to print for a student was absent or go back to them for review. I can show video, use images (and I can mark up both of them with whatever coloured ink I like). You can move objects around by touching the board and dragging. It's got a million different uses in the classroom, and I find that it really helps with student engagement and differentiated instruction. It makes my job a lot easier, and makes my teaching a whole lot more effective. The students also love using the board, so I can have them do presentations or come up and illustrate concepts. ![]() I really have to think about this video thing...hmmm... |
|
"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson My Flickr Photostream | |
![]() |
|
| BeeLady | May 20 2008, 06:46 PM Post #6 |
|
Middle Aged Carp
|
Dol do you use them for your parents' night presentation? (Do you even have such at thing?) Our HS teachers use them for this and it blows the parents away.....Oh how I wish that learning could have been this exciting when I was in school. Jane, fear not, as your children grow a bit older, I expect that most Mass schools will have smart boards in nearly every classroom. |
|
"My wheel shall sing responsive to my tread, And I will spin so fine, so strong a thread Fate shall not cut it, nor Time's forces break" "Distaff and Spindle: Sonnets by Mary Ashley Townsend" 1895 | |
![]() |
|
| Jane D'Oh | May 20 2008, 06:48 PM Post #7 |
|
Fulla-Carp
|
And she got that phrase in there again. I look forward to seeing a smart board in action, they sound great. |
| Pfft. | |
![]() |
|
| BeeLady | May 20 2008, 07:06 PM Post #8 |
|
Middle Aged Carp
|
Jane, you mean this one? Around here, terms like this are often more familiar to the parents than they are to the teachers. Keep it up dol...I think that in future, Smart boards will be the norm...just like the internet and cell phones are now. The tool is oh so powerfull, now all we need is talent and drive to use it for good.
|
|
"My wheel shall sing responsive to my tread, And I will spin so fine, so strong a thread Fate shall not cut it, nor Time's forces break" "Distaff and Spindle: Sonnets by Mary Ashley Townsend" 1895 | |
![]() |
|
| « Previous Topic · The New Coffee Room · Next Topic » |




However, I knew that there WAS an answer to the first question - I'd seen it, and I knew where to find it. So I'm emailing it out to them tomorrow AM. The second question is either an IT issue or just not possible with the software. However, I said I'd look into the problem and get back to them with some sort of answer. I figure it's better to admit to not knowing than BS.




4:44 PM Jul 10