Think Outside of Notebook - SMART Boards and the World Wide Web

[Vanessa Cassie]

A bit of a disclaimer before I write this post -- I LOVE SMART Notebook software. I find it's intuitive, easy to navigate and full of potential for lessons from Kindergarten right through Grade 12.

But I sometimes feel that 'we', as educators, get a little stuck in the software.

While Notebook is a fantastic resource to create interactive content, let's not forget that SMART Boards themselves are the interactive piece. Therefore, using them in conjunction with interactive content, regardless of the source, ensures that you use your SMART Board to its fullest extent.

I've found that with the explosion of interactive whiteboards, interactive educational content on the web has also increased dramatically. Generally, I find that the 'best' content to use in the classroom is that which allows for a small group of 3-5 students to collaborate around a common objective on the SMART Board.

This may be a basic recall/review game online or a problem-based inquiry activity; the key is to have the students use the SMART Board as a collaboration tool.

I've stumbled across a million excellent websites, but I thought I'd feature a few of my favourites today:

Paint Splat -- K - 2

Practice trying to make secondary colours by having Peep jump on the correct tubes of primary colours. Use the hose to wash off your paint splats. Read my original post on this website here.

Representation by Population -- House of Commons in Canada - Gr 6 - 12

I LOVE this site -- what a great visual to help students understand the concept of 'rep by pop'. (If you need an example, select "Nunavut" and then "Ontario" from the drop down menu on the left). I love that there is really no set objective here other than to get students exploring, making connections between colours and the national parties, female vs. male MPs, oddities in the structure (such as an NDP MP in Conservative Alberta). Read my original discussion of this site here.

Viscosity Explorer -- Gr 3 - 8

A great little virtual lab for students to experiment with. There are TONS of these available on the web, and while not meant to replace hands-on activities in the classroom, they provide a great supplemental activity when resources are sparse. My original discussion of this site is expanded here.

3D Geometry Interactive -- Gr 7 - 12

Think you're able to replicate 2D images in 3 dimensions? Try it out -- it's harder than it looks! See my initial post on this awesome website here.

These are just 4 of my favourite interactive sites. I cannot express how many more awesome websites there are -- just take a bit of your time to search on the internet!

Vanessa

[Colette Retrosi]

Vanessa,
Thanks for the great resources! If you have any other favorite sites, please email them to me. I am compiling a group at www.guest.portaportal.com/coletteretrosi and on my website.
Thanks!
Colette