Smart Board Lessons

Well, I have attempted to upload SMART Board lessons directly to the blog, but was unable to. So instead, I am going to keep a running list of the lessons I have created in the Side Bar. If you are a media teacher and are interested in using any of these lessons, based on their titles, you can contact me and I will happily share.

Librarians just want to have fun...

I cracked up at this video of librarians (and Library students) doing this riff on Lady Gaga.

The Role of Social Media in our Lives

I found this in Free Technology for Teachers by R. M. Byrne, who cites Gary Hayes as the creator. I find it interesting just how prevalent the technology has become, and how much more comfortable we all are becoming to it.

But where is the reading?

I think it is somewhat sad that reading (except for email and maybe educational activities) appears nowhere on this chart. I spend a good chunk of my day reading, and so do most members of my family--on-line, newspapers, books, etc.

Why isn't reading listed as recreational either? Sigh. Maybe I am a dinosaur after all.

SMART Board Lessons and the Media Center

Well, I am torn about this new piece of technology I have been working to learn and use this school year. On the one hand, the bells and whistles makes certain things really so much easier. I love using the lab's board to show on-line videos to a class, to demonstrate how to use a new website or kind of software, or to have students present their own research to classmates. But I also find frustrating the effort involved in putting out those gadgets and gizmos when simple classroom instruction might suffice.

That said, I have completed my lesson on "Ben's Dream" by Chris Van Allsburg that includes links to Google maps. I am sure that there are ways I could have made it more fun (a colleague suggested adding the views from the tops of the landmarks), but it works pretty well as it is.

It can be found at http://www.legacyheritage.org/SJED/?file=find_lesson under "Ben's Dream."

I welcome feedback and comments.