Giddy, there is no other word to describe the way we felt when the smart board was installed. Seriously, it has been a long time coming. Now I have to learn to make use of it!
Fortunately I have a student teacher this semester and I believe he will help me through the learning curve. The biggest challenge we had this week was arranging the room. Wow, that was difficult. Making sure that students were able to see the smart board from the carpet as well as from all of their desks. Our small group reading table needed to be moved as well as the math manipulatives, the non-fiction book shelves and the chart paper. I am not sure how this setup will work when we have guest readers in to visit us, but for now, we are adapting well!
Having the smart board makes it very easy to integrate technology into our lessons. It also makes it easy to explore questions that the students have and to show them interesting phenomena. The interactive nature of the smart board engages the students and provides yet another way that information can be shared and investigated.
