Sunday, October 6, 2013

Boards Can be Smart too

            The smart board has revolutionized how students learn curriculum. From blackboards to whiteboards, education takes a giant leap with smart boards. A smart board is able to do anything a whiteboard can do and more. It allows the material taught to be displayed and interactive through many of its functions. A great tool to use for math teachers while using a smart board would be the SMART Notebook Math Tools software, which combines math tools and interactive practices at a teacher and students’ hands.
            A smart board alone has many features for a teacher. With a smart board, teachers and students could display notes and are not limited to the space because the page can be expanded; the notes could later be saved to be shared or printed for notes. This is beneficial to students who missed the day. There are also many fun education games to play as a class, by touching the smart board. Along with the educational games, there are also interactive worksheets and interactive websites that can supplement to learning about a topic. There is also a click and drag feature, which can be used for moving around measuring tools if learning about angles or different types of measurements.
            Although any of these features could be used for math features, the SMART Notebook Math Tools software focuses mainly on math topics. The software includes a geometry tools where students can create any shapes even personalized shapes, measure from side lengths to arcs, select angles or personalize angles based on the degree. There is even a tool that allows shapes to be divided into equal parts for learning fractions. There is even a function for students to learn and create irregular polygons, curved lines, semi-circles, and even all the different types of triangles there are. There are also features that include displaying functions as graphs and charts. This allows any function to be visually displayed for a better understanding. Another feature is a resizable ruler, so students could have an easier time measuring small or big side lengths with just one ruler. The software also has built in problems that will take students through a systematic procedure to learn how to solve the problem, while interacting with the board. Overall, the smart board has many great features for any classroom. The SMART Notebook Math Tools software however focuses greatly on math and allows students participate in it.

1 comment:

  1. I agree with everything you said in regards to the Smart board. So I do not sound repetitive I would like to emphasize on one of your key arguments regarding “the notes [that] could later be saved to be shared or printed...” Relying on classmates for notes is not always the most effective way to catch up in a missed class. The ability to save and post the notes that one has missed is extremely helpful in preventing students from falling behind. In addition, another benefit I found in my own experience in a math class is falling behind in class during note taking. Sometimes I look over my notes to make sure I understand. When doing so, I find that the notes I need to continue are erased. Instead of taking my attention off the instruction to ask a friend for the notes, I can rely on the saved and posted notes later after class.

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