The SMARTboard in Practice

In addition to my work with PowerPoint, I have been using SMARTboard technology in a way that I hadn't anticipated. Prior to teaching in a SMARTboard-equipped classroom, I had had serious doubts about the value of the technology. Indeed, I had thought that if I were an administrator, I would have a very difficult time justifying the purchase of a technology with such questionable utility. However, now that I have spent some time teaching in a classroom with a SMARTboard, I have seen that this technology has the potential to really enhance teaching and learning.

First, I should mention that using a SMARTboard does not require one to use SMARTboard software such as Notebook. Rather, the SMARTboard can be used effectively with many other software programs. My choice (as one might expect, given my previous post) has been to use the SMARTboard in conjunction with Microsoft PowerPoint. My uses of the SMARTboard have ranged from the very simple to the complex.

Beginning with an example of a simple use of the SMARTboard, I created a fill-in-the-blank worksheet as a review activity in a Science class, and then I put the fill-in-the-blank sentences into a PowerPoint presentation. When I displayed this presentation on the SMARTboard, students were eager to have a chance to go and fill in one of the blanks in front of the class. The students became engaged and interested in what would otherwise have been a less stimulating activity.

For a more complex use of the SMARTboard, I created a "Jeopardy!" game in PowerPoint for a French class. (This is more complex than the previously mentioned SMARTboard use because it requires the creation of a complex PowerPoint presentation with hyperlinking between slides.) Students were able to walk up to the SMARTboard, select a square on the game board and answer a question. This created a great deal of student interest in the "Jeopardy!" game and made them excited to get involved and volunteer to answer questions.

The SMARTboard was particularly effective in these instances because the class I spent the most time teaching was composed primarily of kinesthetic learners. Being kinesthetic learners, they enjoyed having an opportunity to get out of their desks, move around the classroom a little bit and have some tactile interaction with the SMARTboard. This, in large part, is what made the SMARTboard a valuable and effective teaching tool.

Microsoft PowerPoint in Practice

I have long been a proponent of using Microsoft PowerPoint in the classroom, but I have just recently begun using the program in ways I had not previously thought of.

First, PowerPoint's Custom Animation feature has allowed me to create visual aids that help students understand complex concepts. For instance, I have been using PowerPoint to teach Grade 6 students about air pressure and compression; the program's Custom Animation feature allows me to effectively demonstrate what happens when particles of air are compressed into a smaller space.

Second, I have been using PowerPoint in a much simpler way to teach Grade 6 French. In order to teach vocabulary terms to students, I displayed words and images on-screen using PowerPoint. Traditional paper flash cards can be difficult for all students in the class to see at once, mainly because of their small size. However, with PowerPoint "flash cards," the words and images are large and clear enough for the entire class to see. This allows students to establish connections between words and the concepts they represent.

Finally, another use for PowerPoint (also in French class) is as a means to model for students what their notebooks are expected to look like. For instance, in the example below, students were asked to create a French vocabulary chart, with English terms in the left-hand column and French in the right-hand column. Using PowerPoint for this purpose enhances the clarity of the teacher's instructions and allows students to write effective and organized notes and assignments.