The Importance of Smart Board

Blog 6: SmartBoard

These are the questions for you to reflect on.

1. Do you understand the basic knowledge using Note book function in SMART board? If yes which part that you understand most? If not why you did not understand.
2. Do you understand the basic knowledge to use gallery feature and attachment picture in SMART board incorporate for teaching English vocabulary for standard 4 students?
3. Do you find that SMART board is useful tool to support in teaching and learning? If yes, why it is useful? If not, what is the problem?
The SMART Board is an interactive, electronic whiteboard which can enhance instruction and learning. The SMART Notebook software makes it possible for teachers to create content rich, dynamic lessons which address specific student skills.

On that fine day, my friends and I had been introduced to the using SMART board by Miss Fenny. She had taught us on how to use SMART Board for primary education.It’s so cool!! She gave clear instructions and demonstration on how to use the SMART Board correctly. Besides that, most of us are given opportunity to ‘touch’ and operate with that particular tool. Haha. It soOO nice to handle Smart Board especially when to create activity for ESL classroom .
This is an exciting technology that every teacher should have in the classroom…Someday… Smart Board is an interactive whiteboard that allows you to manipulate objects on the screen by just touching them. As English language teacher, this is especially exciting because many of young learners are tactile learners. They can actually go to the Smart Board, and move numbers and variables around in the equations.

Last time when I was at IPIK, I had a visited to English Language Teaching Centre(ELTC) which is situated at Pantai Dalam,KL. It was an interesting and meaningful visit that exposed me with teaching professions. And I agreed with the ELTC ethos which is ‘Professional Development for Quality Language Teaching’. There, I have been introduced with Mr. Smart Board and there were 2 persons that demonstrated the use of Smart Board. I feel amazed on how that particular whiteboard functions. I cannot remember clearly who had conducted that session but I still remember how that particular whiteboard functioned. Some advantages of SmartBoard are:

- Integrates the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of a computer to bring an interactive, flexible tool into single- site meetings or lessons and data or video conferences.
- Enhances information sharing by allowing meeting or lesson participants to run a variety of multi- media materials form a touch-sensitive screen.
- Enriches group collaboration and productivity by allowing teams to work together on computer files and save notes over applications for future reference.
- Encourages meeting or class involvement by providing participants with an intuitive, natural interface and familiar whiteboard tools.
- Displays high-quality data and video images without light reflections or shadows. Best of all, the full-featured SMART Board interactive whiteboard is incredibly easy to use. If you can use a computer, you can use a SMART Board interactive whiteboard.

Educators should aware of the importance of technology since nowadays we have to communicate through the internet, such as blogs. Research skills and navigation skills are important at most any age in order to pull information for projects of all kinds. I do feel that every teacher should know how to use a Smart Board. Somehow, we are teachers, which means we are flexible and find myriads of ways to make things just as great without pricey technology. Some places can't afford these luxuries especially the schools at rural and remote area. As far as I am concern, the price for a SmartBoard is about RM5000++…Phew… it’s quite costly.

Furthermore, the SmartBoard works together with LCD and computers which means that the school should provide with computer and LCD as well. Hmm…I feel that money is not everything. In order to produce IT literate and knowledgeable students, the government should invest vast amount of money for the sake of education. Besides, the Ministry of Education should aware the situation and try to equip the schools and students with such facilities in order to produce high-quality students that able to contribute to the country.

Perhaps someday, the government will equip all the schools in Malaysia with SmartBoard, internet networks and etc. As for what I would include, I would put internet/technology ethics on this list as well. The internet is a wonderful resource and is quite often misused, causing it to be viewed as a negative, rather than a positive learning tool. Educators should always seek ways to improve their technology knowledge, but it should be relevant to their needs and the needs of their students.
I have just retrieved from the internet the use of Smart Board and it is useful for your better understanding of Smart Board.

ADVANTAGES of using a SMART BOARD - dynamic interaction with user
1. Touch of screen functions as cursor on computer. Allows blackboard-like presentation to students as you manipulate computer by
touching the screen instead of bending over the computer.
2. Input directly from screen to computer facilitates focus and emphasis on particular
content.Light pens enable highlighting or added comments.
3. Lessons can be saved for review or for access by absent students. Can use Smart Board Notebook or other applications.

WRITING TO THE SCREEN using LIGHT PENS and the ERASER:
1. Pick up the color light pen that you want to use.
2. Use either the pen or your finger to write on the screen.
3. When you are finished writing, return the pen to its position on the tray.
4. If more than one pen is off the tray, the last pen to leave the tray will determine the color of the writing.
5. Use the eraser to remove any mistakes. When the eraser is lifted from the tray a small circle will appear on the screen and any writing touched on the screen will be erased.

USING THE NOTEBOOK and CAPTURE TOOLS:

1. Capture tools appear on the screen when you lift up a light pen, even when you are in other applications. Capture part of the screen or the whole screen by selecting the corresponding icon. To capture part of the screen:
· Hold your finger or pen firmly in a corner of the box you will draw. Keeping your finger/pen firmly on the surface of the Smart Board, move diagonally across to the opposite corner.
· Lift your finger/pen. The image of what you have outlined will automatically be put in your Notebook. Since the Smart Board software uses the clipboard to accomplish this, you may also paste the same image into any other application you prefer using, eg: Word, PowerPoint, etc.
2. Move images around the notebook pages. You can touch and drag any image from one page to another in the notebook. Or you can copy/paste from one notebook page to another.
3. Save your work.
You can save your work as a notebook file or as a gallery image. The notebook file can only be read by computers with the Smart Board software. Thegallery image could be saved on the network on Shared Student, and students could access it from any computer at school.
· You could use the Notebook capture capabilities to paste into other software, eg: Word, and then save that file wherever you want it accessed.