Class Smartboard Presentations

Digging in to learn this new software for this technology was time consuming but well worth it. I liked that all the class presentations were different; each person had their own style. I realize that it is a great tool, but only one of many tools. For instance, I liked the way Melanie used cards in her lesson. She used a different visual tool, which reinforced her Smartboard information and increased student learning potential. Her Smartboard presentation included a good video demonstration of the circulatory system that was interesting. Jaquella's presentation kept my attention the whole time. Her handout was great and my attention secure, because I was busy learning the information necessary to do the next problem. She really did a great job of layering her information, which provided us with the scaffolding necessary to complete the problems.

By participating as a student, I learned that it is much better to employ several different tools as well as different methods of teaching. I liked the lessons that were ease to read, and the message was clear. I think backgrounds should be used carefully so they don't overwhelm and distract from the lesson. I am going to rework my concept map and a few other pages where my font is too small. When I would be working on my lesson I would get so caught up in adding and changing things that I wouldn't realize how long I was working on it. I think it would be great to get a series of lesson "groups" made up for the Smartboard that you could pull up quickly to make a point. Each page of a group can be titled for quick reference.

I also learned not to fill each page with so much information. I want to use small bullets of information in the future. At the end, I had a handout of the concept map (which was in my presentation) for students to work on in a group. I think it would have been better to have handed out a work sheet in the beginning and use it to help reinforce the information as I taught. All in all, I learned a great deal regarding the Smartboard software and using it as a teaching tool.