Smartboard

For this Smartboard lesson, the grade level is approximately 9th grade Algebra. The objective of this lesson is to familiarize students with linear equations, putting them into slope-intercept form and graphing them. This knowledge paves the way for more complex use of linear equations including solving for systems of equations (which would be the next lesson following this one). The first few slides are the lesson that teaches what linear equations are and the difference between standard form and slope-intercept form. Following this is a quiz to make sure the students are following the instruction so far. Then there is a game to make sure students know the difference between standard and slope-intercept form. Then, there is a lesson describing that it is necessary to “solve for y” and there is an activity to practice going from standard form to slope-intercept from. Then, there is a lesson explaining what slope-intercept form is and how we use this to graph equations. There are examples of how to graph equations and a matching lesson to practice matching equations to graphs. While creating this lesson, I learned a lot about how to use the Smartboard software. The most useful thing I found is the examples. This way, you can see how they are used and modify them to your specific lesson plan. I had no problems using the software. And, the biggest revelation I had was learning that once you dragged the interactive page onto your program, it “guides” you to how to set it up. For example, on the slide where you click to reveal the answers, it guides you on to type the material on the front and how to put it on the back. The same thing with the vortex. It helps allows you to name the vortexes and then you put the ones that belong in each. I think I had quite a bit of success with the Smartboard material. I think it’s easy to create lessons. I think there is a lot of built in lesson plans, activities, clip art, and “cool” features (such as animation) that makes creating lesson plans fun for not only the teacher, but for the students to see and learn from. As for using Smartboard in the classroom, I think creating interactive games is a great idea. I have seen in the classroom that students like to come up to the board and “press” the buttons to see if their answers are correct. I think this makes learning fun and interactive and I think the students get more from it. I think you could even create your own games, like Jeopardy, where you have the dollar amount and press the button to get the question. I think you can have lesson slides or even lesson slides where there are blank spaces and the students have to fill in the blank spaces. I think using the Smartboard materials makes learning more interactive and less passive for the students. I think there are so many things you can do with the Smartboard and just playing around you can find many activities. Again, I think it’s most useful to explore the built in examples that come with the software and use this to get ideas about creating your own lesson plan. I feel very comfortable using this Smartboard tool. I hope that I work in a school that has Smartboards so that I can use them in my own lesson plans.