Check out the blog "Smartboard Goodies" for a list of back to school activities.

http://smartboardgoodies.com/2012/08/22/back-to-school-activities/

As part of the Smart Board Notebook software, the Lesson Activity Toolkit (LATK) contains customizable tools and templates (including activities, games, and graphics) that you can use to create professional looking, interactive and engaging activities. You will find the Lesson Activity Toolkit in the Gallery tab - the same place where images and interactives are located.  Check out this LINK for a very good explanation of the LATK.

INTERACTIVE SITES FOR EDUCATION

All of the best K-5 online, interactive, educational games and simulations in one place! 
Choose from fun, educational, interactive games and simulations for math, english language arts, science, social studies, brainteasers, music, art, holidays and more!  Very comprehensive. 
Check it out at this link.

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy

Take a look at this fantastic chart based on the new Bloom's Taxonomy:

http://www.usi.edu/distance/bdt.htm

It is a list of web 2.0 tools that correspond to Bloom's Taxonomy levels. 
Each listing is linked to the site. 
This same site has a very nice list of  INTERNET RESOURCES catgorized by subject.
http://instructech.usi.edu/webresources.asp

Tip of the Day for Smart Board Users

CLONING

Select an object or text on your notebook page by clicking on it.  Drop down the menu button in the upper right corner. Select  ”clone” to make an exact copy. 
Select “infinite cloner” to make this object a cloner until you click off by selecting the words “infinite cloner”.  Infinite cloners keep cloning as you drag and drop.  Use the infinite cloner feature to create virtual manipulatives for math or clone letters of the alphabet for ELA activities.

You can also clone pages so that multiple students complete an activity.  OPen the page sorter, click on the thumbnail of the page, in the page sorter, you can select the drop down menu and clone the page as many times as you want.   Students should sign their pages when they have finished the activity.

Example (excerpt from Mrs. Blossom's blog):

During a recent workshop, one participant showed how she was using the infinite cloner, shapes and grouping features of SMART Notebook software to help students develop their vocabulary.  

All the letters of the alphabet were placed on a page as infinite clones, with the vowels and consonants in different colours. One student chooses a word from a list; the other students drag the letters into a box on the screen to correctly spell that word. The teacher has created a simple hands on activity where students were able to collaborate!

Great List of Resources

Interested in a great list of resources?  Check out the TEQ Educator Resource Center -  Link


This is a comprhensive list of ready made notebook files that you can download and use for FREE!


One of my favorites is a file contains a great variety of cool graphic organizers that can be used in multiple subject areas. Some of the organizers are: venn diagrams, life cycle charts, cause and effect charts, story starters and many more! - Link

Tip of the Day for Smart Board Users

CHANGING THE BACKGROUND COLOR

Brighten up your Notebook by easily changing the color of your page backgrounds.  First of all make sure no objects on the page are selected.  Click on the Properties tab on the side of the Notebook work area.  Click on Fill Effects and select a color. Your background will change to the color that is selected.  Another technique is to right click the notebook page and select “set background”.

Tip of the Day for Smart Board Users

ATTACHING SHORTCUTS AND FILES USING THE PAPERCLIP TAB

Add a shortcut to a website or file easily by using the paperlip page tab.  You can then open up the file or website from any page in your Notebook by clicking on the paperclip.  When you insert a copy of the file it will save with your Notebook file. 

HOW TO ....

Click on the page tab with the paperclip.  Look at the bottom of the open window.  Click on INSERT, select “copy of file” or “hyperlink. Browse and find file that you want to insert or type in address of website that you want to link.  You will see a link pop up in the window.  When you want to access it all you have to do is click the paperclip.

Tip of the Day for Smart Board Users

ADDING A PAGE TO THE SMART NOTEBOOK GALLERY

After you have spent time designing a Notebook page you might want to add the page to the Gallery so that you can use it as a template for future pages. 

Directions:

Select the page’s thumbnail picture in the page sorter.  Drop down the menu button in the right corner of the thumbnail image.  Select”Add Page to Gallery”.  The page will be added to the Gallery under “My Content”.  It will only be in the Gallery of the computer you are working on.  In order to transfer the picture you will have to drag it onto a notebook page and save it to a file and add it to another computer's Gallery content.   

Teacher Tools

A really comprehensive group of Teacher Tools from the Jefferson County Schools. http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/tools/

Click the Curriculum Resources link for even more resources.

http://jc-schools.net/teachers.htm#Curriculum_Resources

SMART NOTEBOOK 11 - Spring Release Date

MEDIA RELEASE
New Version of SMART Notebook™ Features Increased Web Integration
SMART Notebook 11 offers new features for enhanced interactivity, creativity and efficiency
CALGARY, Alberta --- January 9, 2012 --- SMART Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SMT) (TSX: SMA), a leading provider of collaboration solutions, announces SMART Notebook 11 collaborative learning software. Version 11 of SMART Notebook will enable teachers to integrate online resources into SMART Notebook files, enhancing instruction and increasing classroom efficiency.
A new embedded web browser allows teachers to insert a live browser page directly into a SMART Notebook file. Users can then write, draw, and drag and drop content on the page. Version 11 includes widgets such as a dictionary and translator, which will let users handwrite a query, receive the answer and move that answer to the SMART Notebook software page.
An avatar widget will let teachers bring their dynamic talking avatars into SMART Notebook 11 and save them to the Gallery. The widgets can be downloaded from the SMART Exchange™ website (exchange.smarttech.com), where educators can find over 51,000 learning resources and lessons, and used directly in a SMART Notebook 11 file.

Features
Activity builder – Creates activity objects that react to actions with animations or sound
Embedded web browser – Inserts web browsers directly onto a SMART Notebook software page
Enhanced contextual toolbar – Responds to actions by giving users the required tool choices when they choose a certain object
Crayon – Creates authentic crayon drawings on a SMART Board interactive whiteboard
Customized creative pen – Builds a unique creative pen from any image
Reset page – Brings SMART Notebook software page back to its last saved state to instantly start again
Gesture recognition – Supports four-touch interactivity for the SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard and the SMART Board 8070i interactive display. Also recognizes new shake gesture to group or ungroup objects.
Audio recording – Records sounds directly into a file
Shape image fill – Adjusts the size of an image to fit into a specific shape
Updated tables – Supports scaling, moving and interacting within tables more easily
New text engine – Provides improved text formatting and consistency
Fade ink – Fades any regular ink Full-page frame – Allows borders of the page layout to be displayed

Be sure to make sure you have the latest version of SMART Notebook software installed - version 10.8. You can easily check this by opening Notebook software, clicking on HELP on the menu bar and then click on CHECK FOR UPDATES.

Click the link below to download a SMART Notebook™ 10.8 Windows® operating systems User’s guide for FREE! It is a 146 page PDF file.

LINK - WINDOWS
LINK - MAC

Classroom Freebies

This site has some very nice resources including SMART Notebook files.

Check it out at: http://www.classroomfreebies.com/

EDCompass blog reports that the SMART Exchange content is now aligned to Common Core Standards. Teachers can find the Common Core Standards-correlated lessons on the SMART Exchange under the Standards-Correlated Lessons search. The search results generate a list of the standards by subject and grade level and a list of corresponding SMART lesson resources available. Using the same Standards-Correlated Lessons search, those in states that have not adopted the new standards will still be able to find regional standards-correlated content.

Here is the link: http://exchange.smarttech.com/curriculum/curriculum.html

Kindergarten COMMON CORE based Smart Board game

This freebie is a kindergarten COMMON CORE based Smart Board game on beginning place value. It also contains a download for a two printable attachments.

http://www.classroomfreebies.com/2012/01/cupcake-place-value-smart-board-game.html

Add a comment if you download this resource.

10 WOW facts in 2 minutes

Check this short fast paced video clip for some really WOW information:

The video below shows 10 obscure, but interesting facts about SMART Board Software.

http://www.teq.com/blog/2012/02/10-wow-facts-in-2-minutes/

Add a comment if you were impressed!