Free Whiteboard Lessons

Looking for great lessons for Earth Day? SMART’s popular microsite has just launched a new update that includes six FREE Notebook collaborative software lessons – including the award-winning lesson from West Potomac High School.
Bottom Line: All lessons on the site are aligned to standards. Also included are contests and plenty of other helpful links, articles, and how-tos for both new and experienced whiteboard users.
FREE

Whiteboards Increase Student Participation

St. Gregory the Great School in Hamilton Square, New Jersey says they have seen student participaton increase since adopting the Hitachi Software FX-77 StarBoard interactive whiteboards in its K-8 educational facility. Hear about results from Jason Briggs, vice principal in this short video: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzDVRTJokTA

Do Whiteboards Make a Difference? New Study Thinks So

Can interactive whiteboards increase student engagement and keep teachers? A new study released by Promethean indicates the answer is yes. Henrico County Schools (Virginia) participated in a Fall 2007 study to decide if Promethean’s Activboards have a positive impact on the teaching/learning process. The study included both the interactive whiteboard and Activote student-response pads. Study details can be found on the site, but in a nutshell, the study found that:
1.      Students were more engaged in classes with teachers using Activboards when compared to their match classes.
2.      Teachers in classrooms with Activboards asked students questions more frequently than their match classroom. They also were able to simultaneously monitor the learning of all students in the classroom more frequently than their match teacher.
3.      Teachers with Activboards incorporated 21st century skills in the area of communication, problem solving, and collaboration more often than their match teachers.
4.      Students in classrooms with Activboards had a slightly higher pass rate on the Standards of Learning tests than their match class.

Free Whiteboard Lessons

A new SMART microsite launched this month offers free Notebook collaborative software lessons. The theme this quarter is math & science, featuring five original Scholastic-branded lessons – all aligned to standards. The site also includes contests and plenty of other helpful links, articles, and how-tos for both new and experienced whiteboard users. Watch for upcoming themes: Earth Day lessons in April, and back To School lessons in August.

SAFARI Montage Integrated with Promethean Activboard

Educators can now present content from SAFARI Montage’s video-on-demand digital media management system on the Promethean Activboard. Users can freeze frame video and annotate over it by using the pen to write notes and hightlight information. SAFARI Montage lets users save, meta tags and share Promethean lessons, saved on flipcharts, on their district’s central server.

SMART Sneak Peek [FETC HIGHLIGHT]

Scholastic got an advanced look at what SMART will be revealing at FETC this week, so we thought inquiring minds may want to know:

SMART Board 600i interactive whiteboard system: This second-generation integrated system combines the SMART Board 680 interactive whiteboard with the new Unifi 45 projector -- and costs 25 percent less than the original system. 

Notebook software 10:

The latest release of this collaborative learning software offers over 30 new features. Teachers who previewed the new software at BETT especially liked the ability to make tables, record pages, use a "magic" shape pen to create spotlights and more, and create fun animation.

SMART Board 685 interactive whiteboard:

The new wide-screen interactive whiteboard – featuring a 16:10 aspect ratio -- gives teachers more work space.

SMART classroom audio system:

In keeping with ASHA requests for better audibility in classrooms, the SMART classroom audio system includes a teacher microphone, student microphone, an amplifier, speakers, and more.

SMART Learning Marketplace Offers Millions of Copyright-Cleared Resources

Ask most teachers what they want more of, and the answer is usually: time. SMART Learning Marketplace can’t add hours to the day, but it can add mega content to your teachers lessons – more than one million copyright-cleared resources like video files, images, audio files, or manipulatives. The SMART Learning Marketplace is the result of an alliance between SMART and Cambridge University Press (the world’s oldest printer), and it’s fully integrated with SMART’s Notebook collaborative learning software.

The Big Board

With the addition of a 111-inch model, Mimio’s Board HD 110 provides the largest digital workspace available for classrooms. Made of porcelain-coated steel, the board’s surface is impervious to everything from coffee stains to children’s fingerprints, and comes with an unrivaled 50-year warranty. Our favorite is Mimio’s Studio software, which puts the emphasis on multimedia instruction while the company’s Capture kit allows teachers to save a lesson digitally to share with the class, administrators or parents online. With discounts for schools, the Mimio Board HD 110 sells for $2,000.
You can get more info about the board at www.mimio.com