Smart Board Presentation

For my smart board presentation I have created a basic muscle chart on the human anatomy.  

Smart board Features:
Pen
Timer
Animation

Modifications:
-Added a timer
-Shorten the presentation towards posterior basic muscles
-guessing what the muscles could be by writing on the smartboard
-Added animation and visual imagery

Teacher Net
Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

-Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

-The teacher Net will be met because the students and I will be engage in the activity while interacting with technology.

Student Net
Technology Operations and Concepts
-Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
-The student Net is met because I am allowing the students to use the Smart Board throughout my lesson.  The students are also practicing with the Smart Board and gaining experience with advance learning.

-An interactive white board can improve student learning in my future class because it is an effective tool that will engage students and get them involved in the lesson.  Interactive white boards can be helpful in accommodating different learners in my classroom, for instance visual learners.  The smart board can also be helpful when presenting students work, for example projects, videos, etc.  This new and advanced technology will help better my students learning in my future classroom.   

Promethean ActivBoard

Interactive Boards have impacted students learning experience in a variety of ways.  The article that I found is 30 Simple Ideas for Interactive Whiteboards and the author lists 30 different ideas how an Interactive board benefits students learning experience.  For instance after reading a book, go to Google Maps and show kids where the story takes place. The active board just doesn't benefit students learning experience, but helps teachers to expand new ways of learning.  For example, go on a field trip without any permission slips, you can this by finding a website that provides virtual tours.  I have learned from reading this article that being creative with technology betters the students learning environment.  If I were to ask one question referring to the active board, How can we require active boards in a Physical Education class?

 

Demographic Write-up

Student Class Enrollment	The student enrollment at Hunt Middle School is 700 students.  The average classroom enrollment is 31 students.
Grade Level(s) in Your Class	8th grade.
Subject(s) Taught	Health
Demographics:
School Socio-Economic Status	Hunt Middle School is located in Tacoma, Washington. The school is located in a low socioeconomic status area.  54% of the student body receives free or reduced lunch.  This is over half of the school enrollment of a growing number of 378 students.
School Location	Suburban area
Describe relevant aspects of your School & Community that influence and/or impact teaching & learning. (Examples: curriculum, reform models, school focus, community partnerships, community support level)	The school is a public middle school which makes for a diverse atmosphere.  The student body for 2011 is the largest turnover since the school first open.   Hunt Middle School focuses to provide the best possible learning experience to meet the individual needs of your child.  Majority of the teachers vary in the range of age as the staff is also a diverse group.  Since the school is located in a low SES area the Tacoma Public School District has passed many levies to better the students learning experience.  The levies that have been recently passed are technology relative.  This includes the recent advanced technology and has created more positions in the technology department.  The community that surrounds the campus was given a recent study on parental support, which showed that about 50% of the parents show interest in helping their child with school related activities and academics.  The community is always supporting on average of 1 volunteer a month  in the health class..  With the support from the school staff, the school’s staff volunteers their time with extra circular activities.  With the great funding the district raises and passes levies for the school to be financially stable.   This has always been positive towards students to better their learning experience.
Classroom  Mobility *your classroom	The student turnover within the school year was 12%.
Race/Ethnicity *your classroom	___65_% Black                                                __1__% Hispanic          __26__% White                                               ___0_% American Indian  ___6_% Asian/Pacific Islander                         ___2_% Multiracial
Spoken Languages *your classroom	Majority of the students speak English, but with the low percentage of the Asian/Pacific Islander community this brings other languages to the school.
Identified Special Student Needs (List any types of specific learning disabilities and/or gifted/talented students and the number of identified students ) *Your classroom	10 IEP students 12 Sped students 3 students impaired vision.
Classroom/School Environment
Classroom School Tech Standards	The school is provided with the latest technology; 8 computers to a classroom, smart boards, and document cameras.  There is also a computer lab that is available for students to use before, during, and after school for school relative tasks. The school district has done a great job in supporting the school with this new technology as it has gave students a better learning experience. The district has also supported the school with newer textbooks and curriculum, which has also help the students learning experience. Parent support is limited to the majority of the students because of many personal reasons.  Teacher support is highly respected for academic reasons. The school is a larger campus compared to other schools throughout the Tacoma area.  The school consists of a: cafeteria, gym, library, and one three story building for all classrooms. The school has a football/soccer fields, track, and a softball field.  The school supports the following sports; basketball, football, baseball, softball and track & field.  There are the same amount of sports and opportunities for both genders. Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:   a. understand and use technology systems. b. select and use applications effectively and productively. c. troubleshoot systems and applications. d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies. -Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.

Smart Board

This week I learned how to successfully use a smart board.  I am surprised how this technology is so similar to power point.  The difference between power point is that it is simple for students to get involved with technology in the classroom.  I also learned that smart boards can be very complex as there are many features and capabilities for creating a presentation.  I want to know if there are more tools to apply then just animation and writing on the smart board?  

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

I really enjoyed this article and how it is so true that digital immigrants think there is only one way to teach.  I remember in high school that we had a few teachers that were "digital immigrants" and how they believe that they were getting through to the students with their old ways of reading a textbook to us.  Today students become bored really easy and to try and excite them with a textbook and a mono-toned voice is the worst way of teaching to digital natives.  I believe digital natives need other sources like music to help them relax and enjoy reading.  Digital Natives are considered to be able to multitask with ease.  And with that said teachers should try and accommodate every students learning ability and not just say there is only way to learn like for instance the "digital immigrants" would say there is.  Hopefully in the future it will be easier for me as a educator to accommodate students needs as the technological world will be even more advanced then today.

NETS Student/Teacher

Student: Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Teacher: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.