SIG 4 IWB

Merriam-Webster's Word Central is a great tool for students to see a larger version of a dictionary. Teachers can also utilize the games available. The understanding of the arrangement of information in a dictionary is a fundamental skill that will benefit all learners. Utilizing this tool on an IWB collectively gives students an experience with a dictionary.

A useful site for teaching basic punctuation marks such as question marks, exclamation marks and full stops. Includes a download option and multiple interactive activities. Punctuation is a focus area. This tool also has a multiple choice quiz. Though it uses British spellings, the fundamentals of grammar are presented in a fun format! This is especially important due to the nature of grammar concepts.

Comic cartoon creator great for creative writing on both a collaborative and an individual basis. This is an engaging tool especially for the unmotivated or those who like anime or graphic novels. This tool would be useful in creating a synopsis of a reading, plot analysis in literature, or to generate the basic concepts for creative writing.

Interactive Lesson Development Software ActivInspire is the educational software that powers the ActivClassroom on Promethean brand IWB's. ActivInspire 1.5 is the software that may be useable on any IWB. It provides limited access to wealth of Promethean teacher resources.

Founded in 1943, ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing best practices and policies for the success of each learner. This organization has incredible up-to-the-minute resources. This is a 2009 IWB article about using this technology in the classroom by Dr. Marzano.

This article explains how IWB can benefit the needs of all types of learners. It focuses on using IWB and other technology to make accommodations of special needs students. It touches base on the fact that teachers feel overwhelmed with the increasing work load of general and special education students. In reference to this, IWB are able to create a sense of flexibility that allows teachers to make quick and effective adaptations with the click of a button.

This website provides audio reading, games, and puzzles that correlate to the books listed. My school district uses these books to enforce weekly vocabulary. I enjoy using hangman, crossword puzzles, interactive flashcards, word searches, and multiple choice questions within my own classroom. Students, teachers, and families can access this website in order to study and interact with vocabulary.

Although I posted SMART resources in previous posts, these resources are specifically designed for vocabulary instruction. Since I am focusing on vocabulary within Interactive White Boards, these pre-made lessons will allow me to adapt the words and use these interactive board games, activities, matching forms, etc. in my own classroom.

This resource has information that describes what a voicethread is and how you can plan and create one. It also includes links to other websites for information, handouts, examples of voicethreads, and an annotated list of image sources that can be used when creating a voicethread. This is a great place to start for an overview of this web tool.

A social website geared for collaboration centered around the effective use of iwb's in the classroom. * Requires a login *

Skype in the classroom is a website community designed to connect teachers, classrooms, and learning all around the world. You can submit a project idea or browse projects already submitted and consider joining. A great resource to connect and collaborate world wide with projects in all subject areas.

Promotes teacher training on interactive whiteboards so they can be used effectively versus teachers that don't utilize interactive features of the whiteboard.

Published Online: January 8, 2010 Published in Print: February 3, 2010, as Beyond Teacher Chalk Talk Students hop out of their seats during Lonnise Gilley's lessons as they compete to solve a geometry problem or compare the sides of color-coded shapes on the board in front of the class. This is a great article stressing the importance of how the teacher uses an IWB that determines how effective it is.

Dr. Marzano's research laboratory. He is often considered the IWB "guru" in completing research about the use and impact of IWB and how students respond.

This paper presents the results of a study that gathered information from pupils on their views of using IWB's inthe classroom. Specifically the researchers were interested in learning, metacognition, and how an interactive whiteboard affected this process. The report shares positive results from students as well as some of the students' frustrations. * note - To read the paper in complete you must sign up for an account.

This article discusses the importance of having 21st century technologies in classrooms to promote collaboration, creative thinking, problem solving, and communication. The article describes these technologies including interactive whiteboards, student response systems, and video conferencing.

A paper that presents research and case study observations from the US, UK, and Australia. The information highlights increased student engagement and motivation with the use of interactive whiteboards, attention to different student learning styles, and the impact of using iwb's for review.

This is a science site that can be used with an interactive whiteboard. It provides games, multimedia, graphics, and animations all related to science content. Creating an account is free.

Promotes teacher training on interactive whiteboards so they can be used effectively versus teachers that don't utilize interactive features of the whiteboard.

This article discusses the advantages and downfalls of using IWB in special education. One suggestion is to give special education students 'jobs' that allow them to complete IWB tasks according to their strengths. The article also suggests that "content based" professional development on IWB should be provided to special education teachers. The manipulation of objects, ability to change font size, and large pens provide special needs children with the opportunity to actively engage in whole class lessons.

This article defines and illustrates effective use of an IWB in a classroom setting. A response system is also a key component to effective use. First hand experience is used to determine effective use.