Technology in the Classroom

My friend, Sarah, is having her first linky party and I love the topic. I hope some of you link up and share your great ideas.

About a month ago my classroom had an Interactive White Board (called an Eno Board) installed and I’m loving it.

Since the board is new to me I’m just beginning to use it in very simple ways but I love how those simple ways are making such a big difference in my classroom.

Document Camera

I love using the document camera. I love that kids that space out can just glance up and see where we are. I love freezing the picture and letting kids go up to the board to circle things on the paper or solve a problem. I love that when I play that Ten Second Challenge the kids that have no clue how to do the problem can copy me. I also love how engaged the students are. If I make a simple mistake, hands go up which shows me they are paying close attention.

Videos

I am loving using videos in the classroom. I like to download them off of YouTube to save the buffering issue. Besides using them for teaching specific lessons, I love using them for transitions. I’ve use Grammaropolis videos or School House Rock videos as they transition in. The expectation is that they unpack, have out their journal and their name on their paper by the time the video is done. We are still working on crossing our hands and not continuing to sing when the video is over, but at least they are singing something educational.

Posting Expectations

Speaking of expectations, I shared about this before. I love to post expectations on the Eno Board. I like to use my polka dot frames (which I just bundled) so that they expectations look friendly. I love that posted clear expectations keeps the 5th graders from becoming argumentative. I also use them to gently give warnings that they can’t argue with. “What is the second expectation?”

You can read my previous post for more examples.

Attention Grabber

The other day, I was disappointed to realize that many students were late turning something in. While they were working independently, I started typing up a list of students that hadn’t turned the item in. A couple of students searched their backpacks and brought it to me.

Saving Ink

Now that I have the Eno Board, I don’t have to print posters and things that I’ve made or others have made. I can show a PDF on the screen just as easily as a powerpoint and have colorful examples up without a drop of ink.

Sharing Data

We use a math website called Dreambox which tracks how much time the students are on task. I love pulling up the actual data to show the kids how they are doing and to clip up students that are making a great effort.

I hope you’ll link up and show Sarah from Diapers, Dollars, and Diplomas some love on her first linky. I’m always looking for more ways to use technology in my classroom.

By the way, how did I not realize you could create your own someecards!?! I created these two today just for fun.