I discovered the SMART board a couple of years ago when I was working in a language lab at Laurier. I was absolutely flabbergasted by its features, abilities, and ease-of-use. Little did I know I'd be using it a couple of years later in the classroom!
At the beginning of the year I used the SMART board on a regular basic in the Core French room that I was doing my first practicum in. The kids LOVED it! My math professor at Laurier also used it frequently, and along with his very neat and entertaining lessons came the following piece of advise: "Do not edutain - if you can do the lesson on a regular black/white board, do not spend 5 extra hours designing a SMART activity just to "wow" the students, because it WILL wear off". I really appreciate his advice, because it's true - if you use things in moderation, especially something as "cool" as the SMART board, the novelty and excitement won't wear off. I noticed that if I used the SMART board once a week or even once every 2 weeks, the students became much more excited to use it than when it was brought out every day.
Enough said - remembering how much fun we had with the SMART board gave me the idea to add a "SMART" page. Feel free to look there for various SMART activities (for French) or various websites where you can find pre-made SMART activities. Enjoy!
