Designing Efffective Notebook Lessons

[Bruce White]

What makes a SMARTBoard lesson effective?
Content is the most important but how it is presented will detrmine how successful the lesson will be. I have been doing a lot of Introduction to SmartBoard workshops. Everyone is so amazed at what the board can do. Everyone is eager to start using one.
BUT how do we get teachers to look at how they are using them?
How do we move them from mechanical users to more sophisticated users?

My task for this summer this was to develop some simple rules to help teachers be more creative and innovative with the Smartboard.

For Successful Lesson Activities
Teachers need to learn three skills:
- interactivity
* What "Bells and Whistles" do you add ?
* Why do you need the particular " Activity or Bells and Whistle" ?
* What do you leave out?
* How do you engage all your students and tailor lessons and activities to their different learning Styles?
- How do you make the lesson look professional?
*How do you make a lesson professional looking lesson?
- shareable
* When do you share, and where do you share?
* Copyright issues
* Use Creative Commons material

What makes an effective interactive lesson?
What makes a digital lesson successful?
* the lesson isn’t too glitzy too flashy, so students do not get lost in the glitz and bells and whistles
* the WOW factor doesn't interfere with them understand what they are to be learning
* consistent fonts and appropriate use of colours
* interactiveness appropriatate for the grade and levels- are the students advanced users or just beginners?
* powerful content rich that is appropriate for the time (where are the students in the course, year and skills)
* What was successful and not so successful about the lesson and what did the students learn compared to what you thought they would learn - is documented
* is the lesson shareable? Do you share?
* reaching every learning styles of the students in the classroom if possible
* connectivity
Links to the WEB and other resources, Video streaming.....
* Focus more on content
- If the lesson is created ahead of time / already prepared
- Then the teacher can focus more on delivering the content and interacting with
the students
- Checking for understanding
* More student focused
* Adaptable to the different learning styles in the classroom

[james lee]

It is used to accomplish instructional goals that were not possible without this technology. Lessons are developed that fully utilize the interactive capabilities of the Smartboard. Student interaction with the board is increased and enhanced. Assist other teachers in their use of the Smartboard. Internet used to connect with other users and lessons shared with others. Ed Hardy | Tiffany Jewelry

[Brady Phillips]

So this topic is near and dear to my/our heart, Below is a thread I started with my EC Team and I would love any and all feedback on the rubric we are working on:

Too often, the NIAE (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Exemplary) designation has more to do with functional skills within Notebook as opposed to either where the lesson falls on an “engagement scale” or on Bloom’s taxonomy.

Engagement Scale is my own little metric to define whether or not a lesson is a:

1: Teacher Centered/”Sage on the Stage”. I could care less if things spin, rotate, shrink/grow or even levitate. If the teacher is pulling all the levers, it is a 1.

2: Teacher Led/”Guide on the Side”: This lesson has its roots in traditional practice, but includes an element of kids pulling some of the levers and contributing to the file. A lot of the LAT is level 2.

3: Student Centered: Rarified air where the lesson is almost entirely dependent upon student input and engagement.

It has been my experience that most of the lessons we see are 1-1.5 using the above

Bloom is not the end all, be all, but a place to start. I have seen quite a few “sexy” Notebook lessons that are nothing more than sizzle.

I was contemplating of this when Ginny sent a great blog post from Ben Gray that reinforced my fear that too often the focus on lesson design is on the form rather than the function. Please take a look at an early attempt at creating a rubric (http://drop.io/bradyphillips) to measure a lesson from a more holistic perspective. I welcome your comments and thoughts.

[Denise Trabilsy]

Many great point are made here. I think sometimes teachers get just as carried away with the bells and whistles as the kids do. Almost every teacher in our building will be getting a SmartBoard this year. This will be a wonderful list to share with them.

[steph westwood]

very comprehensive- thanks guys great for teachers at school to decide where they are at and where they need to go to

[Jennifer Gibson]

Thanks guys! What a great list! Really gives people a means of self-assessment.

[Harvey Almarode]

Excellent list ... I will certainly add that to my collection. I added the Stages of SMARTboard Integration from a resource that I had. This is not my original creation and I have since lost where I got this. My apologies to the creator. Similar content just different wording.

Stages of SMARTboard Integration


ENTRY

Novice: They connect the equipment and orient the board. They learn to get comfortable with the basic operation of the equipment. Generally use the Smartboard as the controlling device of the computer. Some of the tools are used as an electronic whiteboard. At this point the learning of the new technology means lesson preparation takes more time.
Assistance: Show how to use various pages and templates for instruction. Graph paper, maps, Jeopardy, interactive internet sites.


Apprentice: Teachers began to move towards using the Smartboard as a new technology as they learn new core technology skills to enhance personal productivity. They begin to build links between technology and instruction. Tools are used to enhance instruction. Some additional time is needed to prepare lessons with using the technology.
Assistance: Show how to use various tools to enhance learning. highlighter, tables, shapes, lines, and properties. Move objects on screen, sort objects, annotate on diagrams.


ADAPTATION

Instructor: The Smartboard has become thoroughly integrated into traditional instruction. It is used to present lesson information, display diagrams and pictures. Teachers navigate freely about the interface using most of the capabilities of the technology. Teachers seek pre-made lessons to use with their curriculum. Traditional lessons are adapted to the Smartboard. Time is spent during lesson preparation on how the Smartboard can enhance the learning.
Assistance: Locate, download, and distribute Smartboard lessons to the teachers that utilize the interactive capabilities of the Smartboard. Provide them with lessons that enhance their instruction with their students by engaging the students with the Smartboard. Show how to use the more advanced features of the board: links, attachments, animation, reveal techniques.

Coach: At this stage the teachers are rethinking how they teach and how they can change their method of instruction to incorporate the Smartboard for student success. It is used to accomplish instructional goals that were not possible without this technology. Lessons are developed that fully utilize the interactive capabilities of the Smartboard. Student interaction with the board is increased and enhanced. Assist other teachers in their use of the Smartboard. Internet used to connect with other users and lessons shared with others.
Assistance: observe lessons of teachers and provide tips and techniques to enhance the lesson design. Involve them in your staff development sessions. Let them explain to the other teachers what they are doing. Provide opportunities to attend conferences and workshops.



TRANSFORMATION

Expert: The lessons designed and made utilize the capabilities of the Smartboard that enhances student interaction and understanding. Students use the Smartboard for their presentations. Teachers are skilled at involving students in developing authentic learning activities. The technology is transparent. They work in collaboration with others in sharing information. They are comfortable in leading staff development and presenting at workshops or conferences.
Assistance: administrative support and involvement necessary for growth. These teachers become the catalyst for change at your school. Provide them with resources and time to learn, plan, and utilize the new technology. Allow them to become the change agents

[Obe Hostetter]

Glad to see this discussion on here. It reminds me of the Dos and Don'ts of PowerPoint. Don McMillan, a comedian has a great clip on the Dos and Don'ts of PowerPoint. Watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpvgfmEU2Ck

[James Hollis]

This is a good list. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully others will share their thoughts as well.

What makes an effective interactive lesson?

* Immediate feedback is provided using multiple forms of media
* Lessons are designed where the student is the one who needs to interact with the material, not the teacher
* Multiple types of media are used to present the information