SMARTBoards & Libraries

[Gretchen Hazlin]

We have just done a major SMARTBoard installation at our school and I'm looking for ideas on using SMARTBoards to teach library-related lessons -- research, citing sources, note taking, fun ways to do orientation, etc...

I'd love to hear any and all ways that you use your SMARTBoards -- and if you have any great web site you reference or even notebook files you have created and are willing to share, that would be fantastic. Thanks!

[Cathy Nelson]

The key here is to keep it from just becoming that electronic old fashioned chalkboard. I would mix video content in with other stuff, but add elements of interactivity into the content.

Things that I have done before include teaching MLA citations--having kids look at our paper copy school guide, then review a citation on the board, and volunteers come deconstruct it, and make it correct just be moving the words or phrases around.

I have also used the student response handhelds, and made up scenarios where students are seen using content ethically and unethically, and then having them anonymously choose true or false. After each scenario, the door was opened for frank conversations about copyright and ethical use of infromation.

For younger classes, I have placed a hodge podge of pictures and images on the board, drawn four boxes, and had the students use their knowledge of grouping to get the material in a loosely dewey organization. I would do eight to ten flipcharts of this. I used it as a way to introduce what they Dewey System is, and why we use it. I moved it up in difficulty by changing over from words, and finally numbers. It was a nice way to make the students realize books are not just shoved on a shelf b/c we think it looks good there.

[Gretchen Hazlin]

Thanks so much for your thoughts! I think you're exactly right about keeping the SMART Board from becoming a glorified chalkboard.

Love your ideas for copyright and ethical information use!

[Kristy Garner]

I have found www.unitedstreaming.com to be of great use when needing to show a short clip about a lesson that I am teaching. There are videos for anything you can imagine. It is a free website and I use it all the time!

[Leslie Hastings]

I currently teach kindergarten and use my SMARTBoard throughout the entire day. There are many great websites that are good to use on the SMARTBoard. For each unit I teach I make a presentation on the SMARTBoard on the topic I am teaching that week. I have also found www.unitedstreaming.com very useful. There are also a lot of great video clips on www.youtube.com, but at my school we cannot access this site. Almost every lesson I teach I use my SMARTBoard to introduce the topic. The students also love using them.

I have met with the media specialist at my school about this topic. She teaches several classes a day on note taking and research. When she goes into the classroom she uses the classroom SMARTBoard to teach her lesson. A lot of the times she takes the information she is teaching and makes a few pages to assist with her lesson. It does not involve the students, but it does present the information in a new way. It is a great way to keep students involved and interested.

[AWD]

It's a great tool for teaching math and science you load images, vidoes, sound clips. I have one in my classroom that I use everyday for every subject! Math is the biggest use of my SMART Board! There are so many things the studnets can do with the SMART Board! It is a great tool.

[LaToya West]

We also just got SMARTBoards installed in our media center. I teach Saturday school and today, for the first time, I really got to use the SMARTBoard effectively. I used to shared flipcharts to do a KWL chart with the students. Then, we watched a video on the topic (downloaded from united streaming).

I have not done this myself but I have also seen a lot of jeopardy games being used on the SMARTBoard. The children can get involved because they can actually go up to the board and choose the category they are answering. I have seen it done with upper and lower elementary grades and they seem to love it.

Hoped I helped a little!

[Carolyn Brook]

I would love to see links to actual smartboard lessons for librarians. I use the LCD projector all the time, I'm trying to find ways to use the SMARTBoard that take advantage of its capabilities. I'm a high school librarian.

[Gretchen Hazlin]

Here's a great resource that I've discovered since first posting --

SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast
http://pdtogo.com/smart/

You can listen to podcasts but also download SMART Notebook files and other useful lesson tools. And the site is easily searchable.