A SMARTer way to learn…
Those of you who know me IRL know that it’s been a few years since I have taught full-time with a class of my own. Six years, to be exact.
I am amazed at how much some things have changed in those six years!
When I left my fourth grade classroom in 2004, it still had an old green chalkboard on two of its walls. My noisy old overhead projector had its own desk in the middle of the room and several pull-down maps and a screen perched above the chalkboard.
That old room looks quite different now. All of the items I mentioned have been replaced with a SMART board. For those of you not in education, a SMART board is an interactive whiteboard that responds to both touch and writing.
I will admit that when I first heard about these boards I was a bit skeptical. They sounded like fancy screens that could also be used as a white board and seemed like a very expensive replacement for the old standard chalkboard.
Once I spent some time talking to the teachers who were using them on a daily basis, I quickly realized their value in providing a more interactive experience for students. Remember the Chinese proverb, “I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.”? Teacher understand the truth behind those words and constantly strive to create opportunities for their students to do. SMARTboards help them create those opportunities.
I have seen teachers use the interactive handheld devices to do real time evaluations of which students have mastered a specific skill and which haven’t as well as create fun and stimulating review games like Jeopardy to facilitate learning. Teachers can create interactive maps, show relevant video clips, and Powerpoint presentations. The applications are endless!
The company behind these boards has just launched the “SMART Love of Learning” campaign. It acknowledges and celebrates all of the teachers who have impacted individuals around the world. There is a great facebook page that has been developed for this campaign and an opportunity for contest winners to win a SMART Interactive White Board for their own child’s school or the school of their choice! You can check out their website – smartloveoflearning.com to learn more.