SmartNotebook

SmartNotebook Challenge

by Katherine Ramsey

• What did you create, and why? 

         I created a SMART Notebook lesson on telling time to the nearest five minutes. I will be able to use this as a formative assessment and review of telling time in the fall. Many of my students do not know how to read clocks (analog or digital). This will be useful in helping to assess their knowledge.

• What went well for you?

         Finding a SMART Notebook on SMART Exchange was fairly easy. I was also amazed at the number of activities that I could create in a notebook. I'm looking forward to using the timer. I can see posing a problem and starting the timer to get them to work the problem quickly. There was a very interesting Fractions - Decimals - Percentages activity that I want to explore more as well.

• What was challenging?

         Finding the tools. Some of them were pretty straight forward, but I had difficulty finding where to click in order to add the sound. I also had difficulty with editing the file once I downloaded it from SMART Exchange. I will need to do further research on how to create lessons using this tool. 

• What did you enjoy? 

         I enjoyed learning how to use this tool. I enjoyed looking at the Interactive and Multimedia add-ons. There are a ton of things that I can do with this. I always knew there was more to it than what I was doing with it. I'm sad to say that all I've really used it for so far is showing how to do a few things live like it's a chalkboard and playing hangman with my class.

• What ideas do you have for using this tool with your students, grade level, staff or to communicate with families? 

         I will use SMART Notebook lessons to present ideas and have interactive lessons. It seems like a nice blend of a slide show and working on a white board. I don't see any application for this to be used as a way to communicate with families.