Are these boards really SMART?

My impression of interactive SMART boards is still the same despite my experience with a SMART board. I believe purchasing the best quality SMART board as the best decision. If the best quality board is not used, then I believe functioning the SMART board will be distracting for the students. On the other hand, I recognize the potential projects that students would benefit from by using an interactive SMART board. For example, allowing students to present with the SMART board is an excellent way to encourage collaboration.
The following are a few more specific thoughts:

LIKES:
1- Internet access with a group of students in a classroom. (which includes an easier way to present recently created videos)
2- Capability to capture an image on the screen for later use.
3- Interactive (touch) abillity during a presentation.

DISLIKES:
1- I'd rather spend money on other classroom technology and resources. For example, a program called LOGGER PRO or a program that can build 3-D representations of molecules. These resources could also be used with a SMART Board in very helpful/interactive ways; however, I feel money would be best spent on this item before the SMART Board investment.
2- The resources for a chemistry classroom depend on the materials used in a laboratory procedure. In order to have a functioning laboratory, my students will need me to purchase chemicals, glassware, and materials needed for laboratory safety.
3- Cheaper versions of the SMART board have drastic problems. For instance, when standing infront of the projector the teacher/student will cause images on the screen to be unavailable.
4- The major purchase of SMART boards has caused teachers to force their curriculum around this device. I believe in a saying- If it ain't broke, den don't fix 'er"- I say this because I feel resources already in the schools are doing an excellent job a presenting material.


Will I use a SMART board?
-> Most definitely!

Will I like it?
-> Probably... once I find a way to effectively use the technology.

The Birth of Earth's Single Moon

I found this video clip on a friend's blog. I wanted to share this with my followers because there are so many interesting people who have created this video. Recreating this representation required dedicated work from scientists, film makers, artists, and even your "techno" lovers.
This supports my mission as a high school science teacher because I believe a good teacher can relate their class to their students' interests and aspirations. By sparking an interest, the students will be motivated to learn.

Revels Webquest: Cosmic Oranges

Click Here.

Webquest Rubric

Criteria	Accomplished (3)	Developing (2)	Beginning (1)	Score & Comments
Introduction	Engagingly describes a compelling question or problem.	A question or problem is described.	The purpose of the WebQuest is unclear.	3- I enjoy the capitvating colors, which draws in the students' attention to specific words.
Task	Task is doable and engaging, and is connected to learning in the real world. It elicits thinking that goes beyond rote comprehension.	The task is doable and elicits higher order thinking but is not relevant to students lives.	Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions.	2.5)- The task is very understandable and is connected to the real world. The task encourages the use of the internet for reasearch, which is very relevant to the students' lives. To add interest, maybe using a Digital Story as the means of communicating the information instead of writing a paper.
Process Checklist	Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next.	Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused.	Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next.	2) I feel like the process is explained well, but  I feel like some steps would benefit by adding some to the description of the steps. For example, I would use a table in Part 2 to explain the roles of each task. A table might help with some confusion as other parts would benefit from more explanation.
Resources	There is a clear and meaningful connection between all the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task.	There is some connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't add anything new.	Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task.	2.9) The resource at the end of the webquest is a world map. The map is excellent, but doesn't completely show because of the size of the page/screen. Only half of the globe is visual on my screen.
Evaluation	Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors.	Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors.	Criteria for success are not described.	3)- Excellent Evaluation. The two rubrics are attached to the page. The evaluation section displays both qualitative and quantitative descriptors.
Visual Appeal	Appropriate and thematic graphic elements are used to make visual connections that contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships.	Graphic elements sometimes, but not always, contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships.	Color is garish and/or typographic variations are overused and legibility suffers. Background interferes with the readability.	2) I think the designer of the webquest is still working on improving the appearance of the page. A few typographical errors are in a few of the sections. For example, "enjoies" and "lable" I will refrain from making any additional comments until completed.
Navigation	Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them.	There are a few places where the learner can get lost and not know where to go next.	There are more than 5 broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	2) I think the order of the pages on the sidebar allow for the learner to easily leave the desired direction of focus. I suggest moving the "Pick A Country" and "World Map" section to another location on the sidebar.

Team Rankings

Best- Shakespeare
2nd- Earthquake Damage Prevention

Worst- Waves and Sounds
2nd- Foreign Country

When reviewing three specific perspectives of each WebQuest, my team based the worst and best in relation to the degree of satisfaction in each perspective. For example, a team member suggested the Gorilla website as being the 2nd worst for time management, but ultimately decided the remaining two perspectives (higher order thinking and collaboration) of the Foreign Country assignment lowered the efficiency of this Webquest in relation to the Gorilla website.

Group Comments:
Shakespeare's collaboration was phenomenal! Each project required the ultimate team effort. The students are going to be forced to express an opinion in the creation of the play and will have to effectively work as a group in order to produce an entertaining scene. The creation of the scene requires the use of prior knowledge of MacBeth and to apply it to the scene, which satisfies the altudinist's perspective. The time police believes that there is a good "bang for the buck", meaning an excess amount of knowledge will be gained over the duration of each project.

Earthquake- The Webquest is very structured. The materials are listed and provided, so the project will quickly come together. Jaime Ford, the altudinist, believes that the limitations on the type and amount of resources used to create an earthquake enduring structure is an application to a situation we constantly contemplate in a real world dilemma. The collaboration is obvious in this project because the teams are constantly going to be working together. Designing and discussing ideas is just one example of the collaboration aspect of this project.

Waves and Sound- My group unanimously agrees the website is disorganized and hard to follow. The goals are hard to find, the teamwork requirement is not evident, and it seems like a lot of time could be wasting deciphering the purpose of the webquest.

Foreign Country- Overall, the project didn't seem to have strategies as strong as the other projects, including the Gorilla Webquest. A competitive atmosphere drives the collaboration factor in this assignment.

The Affiliator

Your Impressions

WebQuest	Strengths	Weaknesses
Gorillas	The introduction demonstrated class collaboration during the class conclusion process. The students are required to find a solution to the Gorilla dilema at hand.	The Webquest project displays efficient collaboration.
Shakespeare	All three projects supply ample amounts of teamwork experiences. Especially the scene of Macbeth, the scrapbook, and sonnet.	No deficiencies found.
Earthquake	I feel like the teacher sets up a beauitful learning strategy that nearly forces the students to work together on this project. The limitations on number and type of resources really requires a higher order of thinking that can only be solved with a team's effort.	Not applicable in my opinion.
Foreign Country	The fact that the assignment is a contest really induces a competitive collaboration of the student's project. Especially in the sense that the students have to prepare a presentation that fits the attention of the audience.	The project appears to be an individual Power Point project. If the students perform in groups, then I believe the collaboration is at a minimum and is not shared evenly across the team's mental capacity.
Waves & Sound	The site contained a few neat things to watch and play with...	Extremely deficient in collaboration. The Webquest's organization was hard to follow, and the goals and objectives the teacher outlined did not appear obtainable with the projects on the webquest.

The Top Ten School Experiences

After watching this fourth grade class experience, I started reflecting on my personal class experiences in K-12 classrooms. The first thought I had was how lucky it is for these young students to have this gifted, dedicated teacher! A lot of the projects I participated in happened near the end of my high school career. Prior to this only one teacher really jumped out of the comfort zone of education. Her name is Mrs. Laura Fullen. Mrs. Fullen was my 7th grade language arts and science teacher at Lumpberport Middle School in Lumberport, West Virginia. We performed a lot of hands on projects in both classes because she wanted to revolutionize learning in her classroom. In fact, Mrs. Fullen's plan was to eliminate the use of textbooks in her classroom! She used the state C.S.O.'s to create methods to not only prepare use for state testing but also improve our reading, writing, and scientific thinking skills. During high school, Mr. John Mitchell Jr introduced collaborative work sessions to his classes. These classes weren't as effective as others because I was the major contributor in EVERY project... Students lacked pride and interest in pretty much EVERYTHING in my high school.

My instructor asked this question...

Is your learning style addressed in this activity? How? Give me an example.

I'm not sure if my learning style was addressed in this activity... I did listen and watch the video. I read a few things from the students and the teacher's project description.
Hmm.... I don't know how to repsond to this question.
[11/18/10]-->At the time, I mistook the perspective of the question. If I were one of her students, then I believe she addressed my learning style. A multimodal learner involuntarily requires a teacher to "spit" every form of his or her knowledge out. For example, I grasp a better understanding of a concept the more I see, hear, touch, read, and write. I think she sets up each of these opportunities (for me) in many aspects of the project.

I want to become a teacher as powerful as the one displayed in the video I have included with this posting; however, I feel that  numerous amounts of barriers will keep this as a challenge. I can talk for days about barriers and hurdles, but I would  rather talk about them as they arrive. I think every day is going to bring a barrier of some sort. The best way to open the doors for my students is to come with a never give up attitude and continue working on being an extemporanous person.