SMART BOARDS in the classroom
Diehl, J. (2oo5, September 14). EME Students Get Leg Up. Newszap.com. Retrieved February 27, 2008 from http://www.newszap.com/articles/2005/09/14/dm/sussex_county/post04.txt.
Thake, L. (2002). Get Smart…Get Interactive. Classroom, 22, 20-21. Retrieved 26 February, 2008 from Aplus Education Full Text Database.
Layman, M. (2008, January 1). Smart Boards In The Classroom-1. TeacherTube. Retrieved 19 February 2008 from http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=22ae77246d592fe4f6d7
Mary Layman’s Kindergarten Class
Mary Layman’s (2008), commentary on TEACHERTUBE has had an impact on the way I thought about SMART Boards. I can see that they are so useful within the classroom and are ‘a valuable educational tool’ (Diehl, 2005). Mary Layman (2008), uses the SMART Board in her Kindergarten class in the USA. Mary Layman (2008) says in the vodcast that the SMART Board has a ‘positive effect on her class, that her students are more focused and that it helps her to reach the learning types within the classroom’.
Students with special needs can also use the SMART Board and according to Thake (2002), the SMART Board ‘increases special needs students’ self-esteem’ which is very important within the classroom.
Mary Layman (2008), uses the SMART Board throughout the entire day. First she begins her day by doing morning messages where students can write and manipulate words on the board, she uses the board for transition times, giving students time to finish their work. Mary Layman also says that the board is a ‘very efficient way to check the students’ comprehension skills’. The students are able to retell a story using actions and see it immediately as a movie.
According to Diehl (2005), the SMART Board ‘is much like a computer screen’, however Mary Layman believes that the SMART Board is so much easier to use than a computer. Students are able to do vodcasts and podcasts that they can watch and hear.
Mary Layman sees the SMART Board as an invaluable tool within her classroom and she and her class love it, I hope I can be fortunate enough to one day have the chance to trial one of these boards with children!.
