Quizlet

Quizlet is a great FREE learning tool that can be used by students individually or on your SMART board.  You develop word lists with definitions and students can print flash cards, play games or study.  You can search for word lists that already exist and edit them as well.  Games are timed so students can compete against one another.  Sound can also be added to a word if a student is unable to read it on their own.

Check it out!  http://quizlet.com/

Notebook 11 - Creative Pen

An interesting addition to Notebook 11 that you may overlook is the ability to customize your creative pen.  You continue to have the shapes that were offered before, but you now have the ability to use any image as a pen.  Click on the pen tool and then creative pen.  Next, choose the properties tab on your side bar.  One of the choices that you will have is "use a custom stamp image."  You may either browse for a picture that you have saved or "select object."  If you choose select object, you can hover over any picture or object that is already on the notebook page and what appears in the box will be your new stamp.  This tool will be great for early elementary and pre school teachers who celebrate holidays in their classroom.  You can have a shamrock for St. Patrick's Day, the head of Lincoln for his birthday etc.  There are many choices that your students will love.

Notebook 11 and Voki's

Notebook 11 is reshaping how we use our SMARTboards and I'm positive that everyone will love the changes.  One of the best things is the ability to embed web pages right onto a notebook page.  Voki's are an example of one of the many things you can embed.  Voki's are a type of widget - an avatar that you create that can have text to speech added to it or you can record your own voice.  Imagine a student listening to an avatar giving directions for the activity on your notebook page or a student recording themselves reading a story they wrote.  You will need Notebook 11 for this to work.

Step 1 - go to Voki.com and create an avatar (This is free!).  After you add the voice and click save - you will see the code
Step 2 - open another browser window and go to the SMART Exchange and download an avatar  http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html?q=voki
Step 3 - Notebook 11 will open and your voki widget will be on a notebook page ready for you to paste your voki's code into the space for the code in notebook
Step 4 - Move your voki with code into "my content" so you can use it over and over again

Need additional help?  Here is a easy to follow video with the instructions - the video shows the voki going into my content by itself.  When I tried this, the voki went onto the notebook page and I had to move it into my content.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfVi_vQmiuQ

3rd Annual SMART User Conference

Bradfield's will be hosting its third annual SMART User Conference on Saturday, April 28, 2012 in Chillicothe, IL at IVC High School. The day of technology training will include four 50 minute sessions, breakfast, lunch and the chance to win some SMART giveaways. Each session is taught by a seasoned SMART Trainer. Seating is limited - be sure to register now!

http://smartbradfields.eventbrite.com/

Sumdog

http://www.sumdog.com/

Check out Sumdog...a website with free math games. Students can play against other students and several types of math games are available. The choices are given so you can easily play on the board with students touching the correct answer.

One game includes a race where the speed of your car is determined by the correct answers that you give. A lot of fun and definitely worthwhile review for your students.

Twurdy

Having trouble finding web sites that are at the appropriate reading level? Twurdy is a google powered search engine that color codes websites readability allowing you to correctly choose your resources.

http://www.twurdy.com/

Differentiating with SMART

Differentiating your instruction can be difficult at times. Besides needing baseline data to determine exactly where a student is, you need to create lessons that will meet everyone's needs. At the secondary level, you are often teaching the same content several times a day. You can use SMART Notebook software to help you differentiate your materials in many different ways.

For instance, you can group your different levels within one notebook. Each group can be used for a different class, but be contained in the same Notebook. This will keep things organized and easy to keep from year to year. One group might have audio support with tough words linked to your voice saying the word and others might have extension activities.

You can also color code your lessons. For instance, if you have a choice activity, the more challenging choices can have one color, the "average" another and the simpler choices yet another color. You can tell students which color they should choose. This will allow everything to be on one page and easily identified by you, but not by the students.