Smartboards

In the beginning of this course I started out with the old school classroom tools of a chalkboard an eraser and chalk in the front of my classroom. Since then, a smartboard has been installed, and I have noticed a significant change in my students engagement level, and have also been surprised by how much they have taught me about the smartboard. At first I was hesitant to get it up and running, because it meant changing how I taught. It meant, learning how to use the notebook software for the smartboard so that I could put together notes in the notebook software, and finding the multimedia contained within the notebook software. I've never had a hard time learning software, and usually am able to pick it up right away, but being a new teacher overwhelmed with all the other aspects that are going on in the classroom the smartboard was another obstacle to overcome.

Then I had it up and running. I connected it to my laptop, and then of course encountered some problems transforming my smartboard from a large computer screen into a smartboard on which I could actually write, from where it has been smooth sailing. I have discovered websites that have smartboard tools and games to teach students about finding the area of a trapezoid and actually manipulating the trapezoid until it turns into a parallelogram so the students can understand where the formulas come from. And watched as their confused expressions turned to ones of understanding as a voice from the speakers told them the exact same thing I had told them two minutes earlier.

In analyzing the different technology tools available this semester, and overcoming my own obstacle with the smartboard, I have discovered that while there are definitely some large learning curves to overcome at first the rewards and possibilities are endless from there.