Smartboards with Connective Technology (Bridges)

I’ve been doing some twittering on the Techitup conference but wanted to switch back to the blog… You can see previous microblogging @jbellsd60 on twitter.

Bridges distributes edtech and assistive tech across Canada – looking at today how their tech and new tech (smartboards) integrate.

  • Bridges conference this year is looking at RTI.
  • As we move forward with technology we cannot leave students behind. Kids with special needs or socio-economically disadvantaged must not be left behind.
  • We cannot reach the mind that we don’t engage!
  • Extensively look at UDL
  • UDL: framework that considers the diverse learning styles of all students prior to setting goals and designing curriculum and assessment materials
  • UDL: essential for some, beneficial for all
  • Google: CAST – http://www.google.ca/search?q=CAST&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
  • CAST believes that “barriers to learning are not in fact, inherent in the capacities of learners, but instead arise in learners interactions with inflexible educational goals, materials, methods, and assessments”
  • students have multiple means of representations, engagement, and expression
  • Smartboards support auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Symbols for receptive and expressive communication modeling
  • multiple examples are simple with digital technology
  • smart notebook can capture the file as well as audio recorded
  • -note that the mov file is large for smartboard recordings. It could be converted with versions of imovie to a smaller size, or a m4v file.
  • little research of kids on IEP and the use of smartboards
  • Robert Marzano looked at the Promethean board (kind of interactive white board: IWB) and found a gain of 17 percentile points
  • -most successful scenario was experienced teachers using the smartboards for a two year period of time with training
  • Smartboards are opening the door to technology in classrooms where there has been little use of technology before.
  • Boardmaker cards combined with smartboard technology for students point to graphic symbols and having them speak their word (language aided stimulation)
  • smartboards become the new “bib” for organizing the boardmaker cards
  • Smart ideas – concept mapping software – amazing – possible replacement for inspirations. As long as we own a copy for school we have a site license. -need to check and see if own a copy means we have a smartboard… this will be done next year in all schools.
  • Looked at Classroom Suite – great for smartboard as there is a repository on the companies website of pre-created resources. We are already using this in multiple schools.
  • Boardmaker plus also have voice support now
  • Clicker5 integrates reading and writing, smartboard helps model it