Smartboard Gallery Activities

Seeking to find quick interactive activities to use with the SMARTBoard? Then search no more, Blake has created a video that shows you how to find examples of the activities that are included in the SMARTBoard Notebook software. Click play below to start your SMARTBoard journey!

How to Orient a SMARTBoard

All's well with the SMARTBoard, until it happens..you write on the board and the words appear on the opposite side, not where you think they should appear. Have no fear! Blake has created a video to show you how to orient your SMARTBoard in case this scenario occurs. Just click on the play button below to view.

SMARTBoard Online Tech: Opening the Notebook 10 Software

Written by: Kadeijah

With the arrival of nine new SMARTBoards at TLC students will be able to directly engage in content in a way that they have never been able to before. To start off this journey, students at TLC will be creating screencasts to explain how to use the SMARTBoard technology. The below video explains how to open the Notebook 10 Software.

Click HERE for alternative link to screencast.

Creating an Elephant Dictionary

Did you know that scientists at Cornell University are trying to develop a dictionary so we can understand what elephants are saying when they communicate with each other? This topic seemed to spark interest with students at The Learning Center so we partnered via video-conference with high school students from New York to learn how they were assisting the Elephant Listening Project to work on this task.

Video footage of an elephant's natural habitat was shown to us and then the New York students showcased recording equipment that is used in the field to collect the sound recordings. After we understood the environment and procedures for sound recordings, the students from New York explained to us how they obtained actual elephant sounds and then translated those recordings into graphs. It is by analyzing these graphs that scientists are able to construct a dictionary of their sounds.

This was a very fascinating video conference in which students learned about ultrasonic sounds, elephant habitats and elephant forest conservation. It left us pondering...could we create an animal dictionary based upon sounds? If so, then what animal would be like to be able to communicate with on a regular basis?

TLC Students Training Teachers

Seeking to improve your technology skills by learning how to use Google Docs? Then look no further than Josh and Tiffany, two of our most technological savvy students at The Learning Center. Tiffany and Josh took their expertise to Stonewall Elementary teachers by providing two professional development trainings entitled "Google Docs Part I" and "Google Docs Part II". For both trainings they met with teachers in Ms. Ford's computer lab so that everyone in attendance could have a first hand experience using the resource.

To start off the event, Josh and Tiffany explained the basics of Google Docs and assisted everyone with creating an account and logging into the site. The fun really began when everyone had the the ability to edit a  document that was shared with everyone in attendance. Imagine typing a document at the middle of your screen then seeing words appear at the top and bottom of yours at the same time. That was the experience the participants had as they were given first hand experience of the power to use a Google Doc for collaboration. In fact, up to 50 people can edit the document at the same time and a single document can be shared with up to 200 people.

Once everyone was comfortable with the editing process Josh and Tiffany plunged right in with "Google Docs Part I" by explaining basic features such as creating and naming a document, simple editing features, auto saving, sharing and modifying permissions, finding newly created documents, and how to use the revision history for accountability. It was an exciting session, so much so that Ms. Ford asked Tiffany and Josh to return to Stonewall for a "Google Docs Part II" training.

The "Google Docs Part I" training involved working with documents in Google Docs while "Google Docs Part II" revolved around the creation of forms and how to use the spreadsheet to collect data. Josh and Tiffany started out "Part II" by asking if anyone needed clarification from the past training and reviewed information they provided. Once the review session was complete they briefly explained how to organize files in Google Docs, showcased some of the editing features and explained how to upload files. 

Once these tasks were completed, the topic of Google Forms became the focus of the event. Different question types that are available on a Google Form were showcased by having participants answer questions from a form that was created specifically for them. Participants were then led through the simple process of creating their own form and shown how to analyze the resulting data. In order to illustrate the power in Google Forms the website "66 Interesting Ways to Use Google Forms in the Classroom" was shared with participants.

Both of these trainings were conducted in a very professional and organized manner which resulted in many kudos for Tiffany and Josh. This was a wonderful learning experience for students at The Learning Center in which many valuable lessons were learned from how to successfully organize and conduct a training to learning of the topic itself. We would like to graciously thank Stonewall Elementary for giving us the opportunity to be a part of their school as they patiently allowed us to venture into unknown territory.

If you have a technological topic that you would like for our students to provide a training, please contact Mrs. Humble at The Learning Center.