Talking SMARTBoards & Much More!

Want to share another great site from the BBC– KS1 Bitesize Games.  This addresses two areas: Literacy and Numeracy.  Both present with several subcategories including addition, multiplication, money skills under numeracy and spelling, alphabetical order, phonics under literacy.  Each category has three skill level options, presents with some verbal feedback, is animated and fun!  These games work well with the SMARTBoard. So if you’re searching for some fun, motivating games to reinforce literacy and numeracy skills look no more– just click on over to KS1 Bitesize Games. ENJOY!

Kids Online Resources is a marvelous site filled with several resources from Kindergarten to high school.  The Interactive Multimedia section has a plethora of activities that are amazing to use with the SMARTBoard.  There are activities on fractions, identifying time, the number system, etc.   The site also offers resources for each discipline.  ENJOY!

I stumbled across this great game to review/quiz students on American Symbols. You simply answer the 30 questions that appear on the screen by clicking and dragging the answer to the answer box.  The incorrect answer is not “accepted” into the box and the correct answer allows you to proceed to the next question. ENJOY!

A while back, Jim Hollis tweeted about Super Math Games on Twitter.  There are some limited free games that work very well on the SMART Board.  Just click on the “guest” login.  The free games are indicated by the green check marks. ENJOY!

I am happy to report that Mr. Nussbaum has done it again– he has improved the wonderful interactive math application, Draggable Math.  In his words, Draggable Math now has “the ability to correct problems, drag numbers anywhere on the screen, change paper type from graphing, to lined, to blank, and to draw lines anywhere.” YEAH!!  He gives you the option of using it to practice addition, multiplication, division and subtraction.  You are also given several options to customize each selection.  These activities work well with the SMARTBoard– you just need to type in the answer, but could use the onscreen keyboard. So if you haven’t explored Draggable Math yet you might want to head over and check it out- ENJOY!

Curriculumbits.com is a wonderful resource offering free online access to interactive multimedia elearning resources. The online resource library contains games, quizzes, animations and videos in a variety of subjects for students aged 11 to 16.  The resources are available to access online, completely free of charge in the library (they no longer offer the option to download resources). Simply click the PLAY button. You do not need to register to access the resources.  After previewing resources I would suggest you bookmark the resource you want to use in your classroom. Many of these resources will work well on the SMART Board. ENJOY!

I have arrived home safe and sound after attending the Shenandoah Valley SMART Users Conference in Harrisonburg, VA.  It was an awesome conference and I am so glad that I decided to attend.  Not only did I learn several new SMART “tricks” to bring back to my district, but I also met some very nice people.  Among those people I was able to meet face to face was Harvey Almarode, Jim Hollis, Obe Hostetter and Matt Granger- 4 of my SMART heroes!!  Below is a “Rock You” slide show I created with pictures from the conference.

Well my bags are packed, the MapQuest directions are completed, the car has a full tank of gas, the laptop is in the car and I am eager and ready to start my road trip to Virginia bright an early tomorrow morning to attend the 1st Annual SMART Users Conference at Cub Run Elementary School in Penn Laird, VA on Monday morning.  I am excited to be attending this conference because there will be so many wonderful presenters including  Harevy Almarode, Jim Hollis, Obe Hostetter and Matt Granger. For those of you on Twitter the hashtag to follow is #SVUC09.

After the conference I will be travelling to Midlothian, VA to visit my two brothers and their families for a few days, so I will not be posting for a while.  Hopefully I’ll have lots of new, fabulous SMART ideas to share when I return!

I learned of these wonderful mini movies that can be downloaded to your SMART Notebook Gallery from MisterTeacher.com from my friend Sue and wanted to pass it along. Basically a mini movie is an interactive animation that can be easily added to your SMART Notebook lessons.  There are mini movies in the areas of geometry and science– scroll to the bottom of the page to view the options.  To preview any movie click on the link. To download the mini movie right click on the link and download the movie to your computer.  To insert it into a Notebook file, open Notebook, Insert and select Flash file and select the file you want. ENJOY!.

There is a new wonderful SMART Board Podcast resource called Get SMART with SMART Boards starring Harvey Almarode (Harvey’s Home Page) and Jim Hollis (Teachers Love SMART Boards). These two gentlemen have inspired so many teachers by sharing their experiences and knowledge about SMART Boards and how to design and create engaging and educational lessons using the SMART Notebook software. Sharing their combined wealth of SMART knowledge via a Podcast is a win, win for all SMART Board users!

When you arrive at the Podcast Page you will not only be able to listen to Harvey and Jim discuss resources they have found to be beneficial in helping teachers use the SMART Board more effectively in classrooms, but they also share SMART Notebook application files and some very useful tips and tricks with video tutorials. This week Jim shared his trick to add fill color to a free hand drawing in a Notebook lesson which I found enormously helpful!

Congratulations to both Harvey and Jim on this wonderful new adventure and a big thank you for always sharing and inspiring! ENJOY!