Interactive Whiteboards and Web Tools

Interactive whiteboards are more than just glorified overhead projectors - the interactive tools allow teachers to create lessons that actively engage students in creative ways. They also allow us to use a variety of interactive web 2.0 tools with our students in a way that allows all students to participate actively.

I hope to add more items to this page throughout the year - great links to other websites and my favorite Smartboard files. For now, it's a somewhat random listing of files that I've either created ordiscovered on the Internet.

Cool Websites and Applications for Any Computer

BrainPOP Free Video Collection - Do you know Tim and Moby? They are the animated characters in all of the BrainPOP videos. Each video is about 5 minutes long, and somehow Tim and Moby are able to teach the essential aspects of almost any concept in that amount of time. My 5th graders loved them! BrainPOP has an entire collection of free resources for each video, too. Unfortunately, many of the videos can only be accessed with a subscription to the site. However, I found this link to all of the FREE BrainPOP videos on the site, and there are actually quite a few. They have a cool iPad app, too. Definitely worth a look.
Online Countdown Egg Timer - When you click the link, the timer won't look like the one on the right. But after you enter your time and click start, you'll see the sand begin to run out. Cool! This website also has other great timers so you can have fun and add variety to your classroom management. You can learn more about these online timers on Corkboard Connections.
The Hat - A great tool for choosing students randomly! You do have to download and install this free program on your computer, and it is only available for PCs. For ideas on how to use the hat, read Laura's blog post about it on Corkboard Connections.
Cool Timer - Useful program to install on your computer for counting down or up. This comes from the same developer as The Hat.
Stop the Clock Interactive Game - Drag the digital times to match them with the analog clocks. Stop the clock when finished! Can you beat your time?
Bang on Time Interactive Game - Read the time below the clock and watch the hands move. When the time on the clock matches the time in word form, stop the clock. Score points for accuracy.

Webinar Recording: 5 Amazing Web Tools for Classroom Collaboration

Click below to watch the recording of a webinar hosted by Laura Candler featuring five terrific educators and their favorite web tools. Presenters include Joan Young, Paula Naugle, Erin Klein, Suzy Brooks, and Lisa Dabbs.

The version on this page is an Mp4 version that can be viewed on a mobile device or on your computer. To see other options for viewing the webinar or reading the chat log, scroll down below this video.

More Amazing Web Tools Webinar Resources

Full Recording in Blackboard Collaborate - You can't view this file on a mobile device, but it's a nice way to watch the webinar on a computer. You'll feel lik you are right in the webinar room with us in the live session! You'll be able to view the chat area and navigate back and forth through the session.
LiveBinder of Amazing Web Tools Webinar Resources - Thanks to Peggy George for putting together this LiveBinder of all the resources shared in the webinar!

5 Amazing Web Tools Webinar Chat Transcript - PDF File of unedited chat transcript - over 60 pages long but has lots of great strategies and links from participants. Just scroll and scan for book titles, websites, and other info.
PDF File of Webinar Slides - Here's the whole presentation in PDF format for you to scroll through and take a look before you watch it. Links should be clickable.
Presenter Links and Contact Information - If you need to contact one of the presenters, you'll find everything you need here.

$Interactive Fraction App$ Interactive Fractions Program

Check out this amazing free program from British Government's Department for Children Schools and Families! You can download the "exe" Interactive Fraction bar program and also a video that teaches you how to use the application:

Download the Interactive Fraction Bar program here. You will need to save this file on your Desktop or another location and click the file to open it each time you want to use it.
View the Interactive Fraction Bar video demo here. It's an MOV file and should open as a Quicktime Movie. Be patient because it may take awhile to download. Depending on your computer, it may download as a file that you have to open with a program, or it may play in your browser window. Good luck with it!

Smartboard Notebook 10 Files

Mini Pack: Polygon Explorations for the Smartboard

Over 2 dozen pages of patterns, printables, and teaching strategies to supplement any geometry unit. The Smartboard version includes a unique gallery of all 30 "Poly Shapes" used in the activities.

Click through to the Polygon Explorations Mini Pack page to learn more and preview the materials online.

Note: The files below require Smartboard Notebook 10. A free trial of that program can be downloaded from www.smarttech.com. Some of the activities have directions, but you'll have to figure out the others on your own. :-) You may be able to open them with other types of interactive whiteboard software, but I can't guarantee that the features will remain the same.

Attention Firefox users! Right click on each file name below to download the file and open it using your Notebook 10 software. Otherwise, you'll just see gibberish!