smartboards

=SmartBoards and Pedagogy=

Welcome! This purpose of this Wiki is to discuss various pedagogical strategies to use with SmartBoards. This Wiki will focus primarily on strategies for the secondary classroom, as I find that this is the area with the most limited resources on using SmartBoards. To contribute to this wiki, please login using the following login information:


 * Login:** hwdsbteacher
 * Password:** hwdsbteacher



Topics
Using SmartBoard Tools Effectively Other Software to Use with SmartBoards Working with Videos Useful Links



SmartBoard Tools
The [|Floating Toolbar] can be customized to include various tools that you always want to access. For example, you could place the spotlight, some highlighters and the camera into the toolbar for quick and easy access.
 * Floating Tools**

To customize the toolbar, activate it from the Smartboard icon in your system tray (the bottom right hand corner) and choose the "three dots" icon:

From here you can add and remove tools from the toolbar.

The spotlight tool is a great tool for helping to focus reading. Often a webpage or document is chock-full of "stuff" and can be very distracting, especially for students with reading difficulties. By using the spotlight, you can focus their attention and demonstrate some strategies for focused reading.
 * Spotlight Tool**

The spotlight tool could also be used to challenge higher-order thinking skills. For example:
 * you could have a picture where only a small portion is being currently shown and have the students decide what is taking place in the rest of the image
 * you could have a math problem where only a section has been solved and the students have to work through the remainder of the problem and come up with the solution

The highlighter is great for emphasizing text. Often students have difficulty with reading problems and deciphering the question. Using the highlighter they can emphasize the important information, the key words in the questions. A great tool for multiple choice questions too (modeling a good strategy to use on tests/quizzes!)
 * Highlighter**

Inside the Notebook software, you can split the screen to display two different notebook pages on one screen. This tool could be used for differentiated instruction:
 * Split Screen**
 * display the same topic on each page in a different way (e.g. visual and written)
 * have two different types of problems, the first screen is an easy problem, the second page more challenging... when students finish the first page, they being work on the second page -- only the first page is required... the second is enrichment
 * one page is the "parking lot" for questions... "pin" this page in place so that it's always visible

To access the split screen, go to **View --> Zoom --> Dual Page Display** (note the "Pin Page" option as well!) Use the recorder to record what you've written on the SmartBoard (live, as you write it). This is a great tool for demonstrating a concept that is not static (like a process in Geography or Science) and creating a little "animation" it. **Caution!** This creates a really large file (the one below is over 8 megabytes!)... you want to make sure that you record "snipets" rather than long sessions. media type="custom" key="520709"
 * Recorder**

An alternative tool that you could use to record smaller files is called [|Jing]. This product records video in .swf format, which can be viewed using a [|Flash Video Player] (this is one of many free video players out there).

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Other Software with SmartBoards
Microsoft Office is an [|Ink Aware] application. You can draw on top of Word, Excel or PowerPoint and embed the pen markings directly into the application. You can also convert the writing into text. This is great when working with PowerPoint to add annotations to the slideshow. These annotations can be saved and posted in a public space for students to view and review.
 * Microsoft Office**

[|SmartIdeas] is an [|OSAPAC licensed] software title. This means that all publicly funded schools have access to the software and teachers even have take-home privileges. The software creates concept maps which can then be converted into outlines and exported into Microsoft Word. Some ways in which SmartIdeas can be used with classes:
 * SmartIdeas**
 * creating an outline for an essay or report
 * assigning work for a research project
 * sequencing events
 * concept mapping for studying purposes

Smarttech has put together a [|resource] that demonstrates some of the basic functions, as well as a more [|detailed] version.

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Videos with SmartBoards
If you want to embed video directly into the Notebook software, it needs to be in Flash Video format (.flv). Many different types of digital video formats exist and you often need to convert your video from one format to another.
 * Videos and Notebook Software**

A great tool for doing this is [|Zamzar]. This is a free website where you can upload a movie file and then have it converted into another format and e-mailed directly to you. The instructions on how to do this are provided at the website. Make sure you leave a little time between when you convert the movie and when you actually need the converted video as it sometimes takes quite a while to have it converted and e-mailed to you.

Why would you want to insert video into a Notebook file? The main reason is that within notebook, you can annotate the video using the pens, all of your resources are stored in one place (instead of having to find the website or resource on your computer) and it can then be shared with students (remember the Notebook software is a free download from the [|Smarttech] website).

One of the biggest problems with sites like YouTube and Google Video is that often the content on these sites is questionable. As a result, school boards often block these sites, even though there might be some exceptional content. A way around this is to extract the video (although be warned, you are breaking copyright the moment you do this). One website to extract these videos in .flv format is [|Keepvid]. This website allows you to copy the URL from the YouTube or Google Video that you want and it extracts the necessary file for you to download. A [|video] of how to use keepvid has been created to help demonstrate the website.
 * YouTube, etc.**

A great alternative to YouTube or Google Video is [|TeacherTube]. This site provides teacher-created material and tends not to have the same questionable content as YouTube or Google Video (and as such hasn't been blocked by most school boards). Again however, there are copyright restrictions on downloading videos rather than linking to the website directly.

A great video converter is [|AnyVideoConverter]. This software will allow you to convert (for free!) any video from one format to another. This converter is a program which has to be installed, but it does provide excellent options for different formats.
 * Convert Videos**

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Links
[|Smarttech Training Resources]

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