Promethean Activboard

The Promethean Activboard is used much the same as the SmartBoard. Teachers can use it just the same and it is used interactively with students and for many different subjects. This board uses magnetic pulls when using a marker or cursor, which results in a more accurate use of these devices. Also, you do not have to calibrate the board and it is great for any heigth of students. Like the SmartBoard, it has a large collection of teacher lessons that are pre-made and accessible. Some disadvantages of this board, is that you always have to use a marker or object to do anything on the board. It is not touch sensitive. I think in this way, the SmartBoard is more convenient. I am not really sure, besides that difference what the big deal or differences between the many different Activboards. They basically all serve the same purpose and are great in improving student learning. This particular board, like other Activboards, encourage student involvement and create different ways to teach using different methods and approaches. This helps to better engage the students and thus leads to better learning in the classroom.

Promethean Activboard

Reflection #5

A little while ago I was faithfully watching the Australian Open. I never used to a huge tennis fan, but I really got into it this year. One thing that I found amazing was the replay option. They only really used this when the players would challenge an "in/out" call made by the line judges. I watch a lot of sports so the idea of a replay was not what interested me. It was the actual way the play was replayed. I am not sure if there are sensors in the ground, or how it works, but when it is played back again, it shows the exact path of the ball and shadows where the ball hit the ground. Sometimes there was literally centimeters or less between the line and where the ball hit, but some kind of technology was able to detect this. This kind of technology has really changed sports today. Without replays you had to deal with the call that was made, often time's this calls were game deciders. New technology has improved many sports and helped the games to be called more accurately. This also takes away the chance of an unfair judge. Another thing that the sports center would broadcast was all the different places the ball was hit or where the player ran to during the rally. I am not sure how it works, but it is a great addition and not only helps when reffing a game, but also will help a player perform more accurately.

Reflection #4

Skype. This is probably one of the coolest inventions of technology. Two years ago my parents went to Madagascar for missions work. My mother was teaching in a school there for three months. While they were gone there was no way to communicate over the phone (its far too expensive). So we used Skype to talk to each other. If you have a good connection (which often we did not since it was Madagascar and a very poor area) you not only get to talk to the person, but you get to see them. You can also type chat back and forth, if one person does not have sound working. Anyway, Skype was great for me my freshman year when my parents were so far away. It provided a free form of communication and it never seemed like they were that far away from me. Basically, I just think Skype is great and also crazy at the same time. Technology is so advanced you can really do anything with it and through it. I guess the only disadvantage to Skype is you have to be on the internet and also on your computer which could be inconvenient, but how can we complain about the inconvenience of such an amazing invention?

Clancy Elementary School

Clancy School

This is the school I attended in my home town from Kindergarten to 8th grade. This website is nice because it has updates about students at the school and their achievements. It has a link to the monthly news that they give to the students. There is a picture of the school on the front page as well as their four main rules. It is colorful which is great for younger students. They have links to their lunch schedule for two months, but it would not work on my computer (this does not mean it wasn't working, sometimes my computer is weird). One thing I think they need to add is a copy of their handbook. When this is given to students at school, it often times does not make it home to the parents and having it on the website will make it accessible for the parents. This site is very simple and a little bit on the plain side. I think they could add more to it and make it a little more up-to-date. I did not think there was anything about this page that was confusing to me. It was pretty direct and simple.

After Presentation

After this class and all the presentations that the class did, I learned many new things about the SMART Board. I learned how to record and save your lesson in case someone does not really understand and need some extra help. I also learned how to make the SMART board recognize what I wrote with a pen and turn it into text written by the SMART board. The SMART Board can integrate many/all the different subjects even health and fitness. It was really cool seeing all the different lessons and activities everyone did with lessons. I learned many new techniques on how to use a SMART Board.

I want to be able to create my own SMART Board presentation and make it as neat as the ones that are already made on the computer. I think it would be fun to create my own. It is nice to download them, but I think it would be more beneficial for me if I created my own just so I knew how.

Reflection #3

I have observed a few different classrooms over the past few years and they have all been very interesting to me. They were all similar in many ways and still so very different in other ways. One classroom that really stuck out to me was a math class that I observed. It was a first grade classroom and the children were so cute and ready to learn. I am from Montana were diversity is lacking, especially in the classroom. When there is any diversity there is only one language. There are/were no students who did not fluently speak English. There was never an issue of a child not understanding because of a language barrier. In the classroom I observed there were at least 5 if not more students that spoke a language other than English. I do not know if that means they were not fluent in English, I did not ask the students, but the teacher was taking that opportunity to teach the students a few words in a different language. This makes the student who is of a different ethnicity not feel left out or out of place. They and their ethnicity is very welcomed in the classroom. I just really found this interesting and the father I have gone in the Education Program the more I hear about the possibility and the likeliness of having a student who does not speak English fluently. Especially if I stay in Washington and teach. Growing up in Montana this was NEVER an issue and honestly never even crossed my mind as an issue.

That being said I think it is very important the as a teacher I am prepared to have students like that in my classroom and be flexible and ready to adjust to anything that comes at me. It was very interesting to observe and I really enjoyed it. I think the teacher was doing a great job with her students. This was a new issue brought to my attention and now I need to make sure I am prepared in my classroom for this type of a situation.

Assignment #2

Smart Board Presentation

During this presentation I will use:
1. The clickers so the students can respond to answers
2. A times table that gives you the multiples of any number you enter

NET Standards for Teacher
Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:

a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

This meets the standards because since I could not download a previously made activity I made my own, based off of one. I designed it for the students to help them learn the concepts of multiplication and to use the technology to better engage them in the learning and make sure all the students are listening. I can also use it as an assessment to see how the students are doing and make sure I have not confused or lost any of them in the process.

NET Standards for Students
Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:

a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.
c. troubleshoot systems and applications.
d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.

This meets the standards in my presentation because the students have to know how to use the clickers to answer the questions I have posted in my presentation. Also, the interactive table I have inserted in my presentation the students will need to know how to use the Smart Board technology to get the program to work and compute the multiples for them.

An interactive white board would very much improve learning in the classroom. It is very engaging and if I love to play with it as a college student I am sure the students will enjoy using it even more than I do. They may not even realize they are learning as they are using the white board, but every activity done will teach them something. Also, this is a good way to help student remember what they learned. If they can connect what they learned to an activity it is easier to remember and solidify it in their heads. They will have a connection for later when they need to recall the skill they learned. Also, the Smart Board offers so many new ways to teach to students and I can do assessments all the time to make sure I do not lose any of the students while I am teaching which will make sure they are all learning and understanding.