Thinking+Smart+in+the+21st+Century+Classroom

Thinking Smart in the 21st Century Classroom Presented by Donna LeBretton, M.Ed. Training Director, Valley Academy, Valley Communications Systems, Inc Our keynote speaker, Wesley Fryer, advocated that in order for our students to develop 21st century skills they need to be allowed to touch the technology. He maintained that student boredom with “traditional” education is a real concern, and teachers need to use current digital technology to engage students. The interactive “Smart” Board is just such a digital tool. Studies show that today’s students learn differently from students of even 15 years ago; they live in a world of multi-sensory input. They need to interact with their learning. A “Smart” board lets students become more actively engaged with their learning. “By providing a large area for exploring and manipulating computer material, the interactive white board promotes active, inquiry based learning. . .” Students can literally interact with it by writing on it, touching it, dragging and dropping images. Most of the presentation dealt with some of the special features of the board: pens, highlighter, time line, spotlight, drag and drop, a timer, and infinite cloning. Especially fascinating was the ability to convert handwriting into text with a click. Students can come to the board and write various facts on the appropriate area of a Venn diagram. Then, the instructor can turn student scrawl into written text with a tap on the board. The diagram and facts can then be saved. Smart board’s Notebook Software not only allows a user to save lessons, but it also has over 1,600 saved lessons files available. These can be searched by curriculum and level.