For today's tech snack, I want to talk about how you can use the Smartboard software to create engaging, interactive activities without an interactive projector.
The software is web based and can be found at the following url: http://express.smarttech.com/# .
The resources that you can use with this software can be found at the following url:http://exchange.smarttech.com/#tab=0
What is this tool and how can I use it in class?
Smart Notebook Express is a software that was created by the SMART company for use with their various projectors amd interactive equipment. There are several versions of this software that only work when used concurrently with SMART equipment. The web based version( from the link above), however can be used by anyone without having any additional gear. This web based software allows you to share interactive slides that you can use to help reinforce classroom concepts. Since the software is web based it can be accessed on any device that is Internet enabled and uses Flash technology. Flash is used by many interactive websites, but does not work on many tablets like Ipads and Kindles. ***However, if you use the puffin browser( free app available on itunes and google play), you can access such sites. Using puffin, I have had my students open up notebooks and do the activities on ipads.
By itself, Smart Notebook Express is not very useful since you can only add drawings and text to it and you can't add interactive elements. This is when the resources site becomes very useful. On the resources site: http://exchange.smarttech.com/#tab=0, you can find hundreds of ready made lessons created by teachers. The lessons have the interactive components in them and can be downloaded to your personal computer/laptop. Also, you CAN edit any of these ready made lesson to meet your needs in the classroom. When you edit the lesson, you can save it to your computer.
Now, that I have gotten the disclosures out of the way, lets talk about the classroom implications for using these tools. If you have access to a regular lcd projector, you could download lessons and share them with your class. If you have access to laptops or the computer lab, you could download a notebook file to a network/computer folder and then have your students do the activity with you as a whole class activity or as an independent activity.