Smartboards in Yr 1

[oxocube]

Hi,

I know Smartboards in primary schools have been debated on Mumsnet before, but as a forty something teacher who has just had a Smartboard installed in her classroom, I am looking for some helpful tips/fab websites/good advice re their use in the classroom. We have 3 computers which the children use a lot but my teaching partner and I really want to get the best out of this new (to us!)techy stuff.

I can do all the obvious stuff like linking to the internet and basically, using the board as a big computer screen, but there is obviously a big Smart world out there that I know nothing about

Any pointers/ideas welcome. TIA

We have Promethean boards, which are a little different and I am a secondary lanugages teacher but a few things fairly easy things I have/do:

Pictures/words to drag and match up.
OXO with pictures to play as team game
I can have a button to link to a listening passage with pictures to match up/put in order. You could read a story then get them to put pictures in correct order.

You can use it as an ordinary whiteboard and just write on it! Have sentences with gaps and get children to come and write the correct word in the gap. Or have words separately for them to put into a sentence, then add punctuation.

Am sure you can do lots of maths but don't teach it, so am less sure exactly what you can do!

have you not been given training

I like them but there are some good and bad points to them.

I like that you can put an ICT based excersise and all the childen will see it.

I do not like my writing when I write on it.

Some good websites for games etc:
www.primarygames.co.uk

www.topmarks.co.uk/INTERACTIVE.ASPX

Sparklebox has interactive self reg

Oxo - if you CAT me, I will e-mail you a couple of Smartboard examples I've made, to show you how I use them. (I've got Y2, but they are mostly Y1 equivalent.)

They are great for the maths Interactive Teaching Programmes (you can find them on the primary framework site).

I would be lost without mine!

Teachers Tv has some short video tutorials.

We have a visualiser connected. It's like a microscope and the children place their work or feathers, bugs, shells etc underneath it and it displays on the IWB.

We display their photos on the board and they can play around with them and edit them on Colour Magic.

Aerobics dvds - children can follow the moves.

Handwriting - blank lines where the teacher can demonstrate correct letter formation and size for the children to copy.

All sorts of interactive maths programmes - not sure what we use TBH (I'm just the TA)

Big Cat phonics

Use as a normal writing board

Use as a dvd player. Those stories that come with a dvd are great if you haven't got time to sit and read a story. (Parents - cover your ears!)

There are loads more - I'll keep thinking!

Hocuspontas - I want a visualiser. What make is yours?

thanks everyone. We were given an initial training of 2 hours by some guy who did everything so quickly that I started to panic. There is to be in school training and lots of my younger colleagues will help as they have used them in previous jobs. I just wanted to get a heads up IYSWIM. I am not totally stupid as regards I.T. but I just felt that pointers and suggestions such as those you have come up with would be a great place to start.

Thanks again and my colleague and I will 'have a go today' after school

I'll find out for you Littlefish

I think perhaps you are panicking a little rather than tip-hunting.

There will be lots of training courses you can go on. There might be one member of staff in your sxchool already who is further on than everyone else and it would be great if s/he can give a couple of informal sessions after school.

You will gradually pick up lots yourself. All it takes is a little time and patience.

I teach secondary and have just leanr tas I have gone along as well as my initial training. The kids are quite tolerant while you mess things up get quite a kick from showing you how to do it right.

Littlefish - we have this one - the AverVision 150.