Creating a Professional Learning Community

Creating a Professional Learning Community

· Professionals: Those individuals who are responsible and accountable for delivering an effective instructional program to students so that they each learn well. Professionals show up with a passionate commitment to their own learning and that of students, and share the responsibility to this purpose.

· Learning: The activity in which professionals engage in order to enhance their knowledge and skills.

· Community: Individuals coming together in a group in order to interact in meaningful activities to learn deeply with colleagues about an identified topic, to develop shared meaning, and identify shared purposes related to the topic.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Making Lessons "POP" in SMART

I would like to explore ways to tap into the power of the SMARTBoard to help you create more interactive, engaging, and visually captivating lessons.  I have had many conversations with people (people who have used the SMARTBoard for years and people who are just starting out) regarding the use of the board and how to make lessons more interactive ... as afterall, that is the purpose of the SMARTBoard.  The SMARTBoard gives us the technology to help to motivate and engage students.  Initially, I want to focus on different ways to "reveal" content as you are teaching which leads to ways in which students explore what they are learning rather than reading the content or waiting for the next slide. This is not a means to be critical.  It is a means to push your technology use and a means to use the SMARTBoard more effectively and efficiently.  

 Please take some time to watch the attached video.  It is about 15 minutes long. I would like you to watch it before our faculty meetings the week we get back.  I would then encourage you to begin a dialogue through the comment options in this blog.  

 This blog will become a platform for us to have dialogue and share out some of our expertise and questions.

 If you have some thoughts, examples, questions related to this video and this topic, please feel free to post.  I encourage it, actually!


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13 comments:

  1. AnitaDecember 31, 2014 at 7:10 AM

    SMART exchange is a teacher's treasure chest. I have used numerous activities to enhance my lessons across the curriculum. The students love their interactive nature and I love that they are already created and have substance. The next step, as you just modeled, is to utilize them to Flip my lessons. Edmodo gives me the ability to take learning outside the classroom while providing me with more time in the classroom.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2015 at 1:54 AM

    Wow! it was great to see how our current technology can be utilized to facilitate higher level student engagement and learning.

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2015 at 1:20 PM

    Thanks for taking the time to highlight so many features we either don't get around to trying or have never heard about. I love the idea of using some of them as review for students that they can access any time from home. I am happy to see that Smart has an online player so we can post a SB lesson and they can (I hope) log on and use the interactives. The voice recording while you go through the lesson is really nice for absent students, resource students, or review. I will definitely give it a try.

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  4. Maureen MankeJanuary 4, 2015 at 3:20 PM

    Smart Exchange has great resources! I rarely have to make my own but have definitely forgotten about some of the fun tools to add into lessons. I wonder if students will be able to interact with the Smart lessons at home or will they see what we have done on the Smart lesson like in your video? My guess is we will need to create and run a lesson with audio like you did and they watch because they don't have Smart software at home. Also is it possible to allow teachers to download the Smart software to our home computers so we have time to look up topics on Smart Exchange or create our own at home when we have more time? I did have it on my old home laptop from the first year we started using Smart but it is not on my current desktop at home so I cannot download and try already made lessons. Thanks for reminding me of all the fun motivating ways to get kids engaged in the lesson. Smartboard lessons would be a great way to have small groups work on skills that need practice on during RTI as well.

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    1. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2015 at 9:36 AM

      I know that you can get SMART Notebook on your home computer by downloading it from SMART's website. All I needed was the access code from Elena. However, I am unable to use SMART Exchange on my home computer. I am assuming it has something to do with the network connection between our district and SMART and the fact that I'm not logged in through our district network, but I am not sure...

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    2. Janet O'MaraJanuary 5, 2015 at 11:06 AM

      In the little experience I have with this, you cannot interact with it. It is essentially a recording of the lesson carried out.

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    3. Liz F.January 6, 2015 at 4:27 AM

      I don't think the students will be able to interact with it unless they open the document in SMART Notebook. I think there is a free trial to start when getting SMART Notebook, after that you need to buy it. I think there is also an app for $6.99 on the ipad. I haven't explored it but maybe if you have ipad centers the students can interact with it there. It would be something to look into.

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  5. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2015 at 9:34 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Jill ZoccolilloJanuary 5, 2015 at 7:22 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. Jill ZoccolilloJanuary 5, 2015 at 7:23 PM

    Thanks for all the Smart board reminders. The interaction helps to keep the kids engaged.

    I was not able to view the video on my iPad, I had to go on the computer. This is something that we must keep in mind when attempting to flip lessons.

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2015 at 2:54 PM

    I have used many of the lessons on SMART exchange- they are easy to find, use and very engaging. The Magic Pen was new to me, I'd like to try it.

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2015 at 6:58 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2015 at 6:58 PM

    SMART exchange is a resource I frequently use when planning and presenting lessons. The students particularly enjoy the colorful, interactive lessons. The material available covers all content areas.

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