8:16 pm Assignments
Hello -
SMARTboard
Katie Crowley and I have been using the SMARTboard in our classes on a routine basis. It may appear to be intimidating at first, but it is unbelievably user friendly! The SMARTboard is a combination of your computer’s desktop and a white board – anything that you open on the computer is projected onto the board. You can write on images, movies, websites, word documents, powerpoint presentations… and then save and print everything! Useful when a student has missed an important lecture or even when you run out of time at the end of class… just open up the document and everything is there.
It is particularly useful to discuss documents and images. We have used the board with our students to analyze paintings, political cartoons, and other primary sources. The students have a real sense of ownership as they are the ones taking apart the documents and teaching their classmates the material. Students that do not usually take notes on activities like these take notes with the SMARTboard. Standard level students love this technology.
One of our favorite things: when studying the age of Absolutism, visiting interactive websites like this one. When Katie showed this to her students, one of her standard level students who is not normally enthusiastic about history got very excited. He is interested in woodworking and told his classmates about how much time and money the inlaid floors would have cost.
stjlabs.com blog
I have been using the blog (www.dscavitto.stjlabs.com!) to post assignments. I will be sending the address to parents as well so they have a chance to check on assignments and what we are doing in class. This has been great for some of my absentminded kids who tend to lose their syllabi…
gmail.stjlabs email and Google Docs
I am in love with Google Docs and knowing that my students can communicate with me over email. I have cleared up many questions about assignments – especially our research project! Having email lists has been handy as I find websites that will be helpful for their project. I’ve also chatted with a few of my students using the chat feature in Gmail when we are both online and the kids love it.
I’m also collecting papers over Google Docs and grading them and sending them back to my students that way. We’ll be using it more as we start writing our musicals in small groups (Oh yes! Musicals on the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, and the French Revolution!!) and the students can collaborate that way.
We’ll post more later as we try new things! Thanks Josh for all of your help with everything!
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