With the minor problem of adequate funding, many teachers have to make due with their creativity and with the limited supplies they have. And many of us can only dream of having a smart board in our classroom to enhance the learning for our students.
I found this video on teachertube.com, and it displays the creativity and the (amazingly) intelligence of one teacher who made a smartboard with a Nintendo Wii. It goes to show how helpful teaching sites such as this one is for sharing knowledge- I know I would never have thought to do this, let alone know how! He builds a breaksdown the process of building a smartboard with a Wii controller, and says it costs less than $70! Of course, he assumes that the teacher has (or should go out and buy) a Mac laptop, which would alter the price significantly.
http://www.teachertube.com/v.php?viewkey=63eb4e7649bf5513038d
What are some of the advantages/disavantages to implementing a smartboard into your classroom? Is this something you would try in your own classroom? Or does this "simple" strategy seem too complicated? Would the $70 investment (plus perhaps the purchase of a Mac) be worth trying?
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Wow, I am really impressed with how creative that teacher was. I think the whole process might get a little complicated; however, it is worth a try. If teachers watch this video and are too overwhelmed with the complex technology, at least they can see that there are creative ways to work around a low school budget. I think a great advantage to implementing a smartboard in the classroom is that it really captivates the attention of the students. If I were a teacher and my school could not afford a smartboard, I could definitely try out this affordable strategy. =)
ReplyDelete-Erika Gates
Having a smartboard in the classroom can definitely be a great advantage. The teacher would be able to integrate technology into multiple subjects and have many resources at their disposal. However, I often wonder if teachers can rely too much on the smartboard and not enough on their own teaching. I think that the technology can possible overpower the way that students process the topics. I was impressed by the inventiveness that the teacher displayed, and having a smartboard in my own classroom might be interesting, but as of right now I am not really sure.
ReplyDeleteI have never used a Smartboard or even seen one in a classroom, so I have not witnessed the effects, both positive and negative, that it has on our students. I think its great to have them in the classroom, but to not rely on them and overuse them. A computer and a screen is not the teacher of the classroom; the actual trained and credentialed teacher is. Technology does enhance the learning of specific things and make the material more applicable and easier to understand, but we can't rely on it to teach our students everything. The Smartboard also makes organizing and displaying lessons easier for the teacher.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed by the Smartboard the teacher in the clip made! I wish I was that technologically-sound. I think that if I had one in my classroom I'd learn to use it for some lessons, but if I don't have one I'm fine just using the good old fashioned white board.
I think that this video shows how teachers using their creativity can make a huge difference in their classrooms. It is funny how if you have to be creative in your teaching methods, to make your classroom work what things you can come up with. Not everyone will have the resources to create a smartboard with a nintendo wii, because as stated above, a mac computer and wii are needed, however I think that this proves the abilities that teachers have to create an amazing classroom environment, despite what limited resources they might have.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to share this video with all my teacher friends, thanks for posting it!!
ReplyDeleteAs with a lot of technology in the classroom, it's important not to rely on it too much, but the applications with a smarboard such as this are endless! Using a smartboard has the potential to create a much more engaging environment in the classroom, because instead of standing behind a computer screen and constantly having to turn your back to your students to click around, you can stay right in front of them, simply navigating the screen with the flashlight. Teachers can use this smartboard to play videos and navigate the web. It also enables you to draw pictures (using the paint application on most computers) as the man showed toward the end. Real Smartboards retail for something like $1399, so to create one for around $50 (assuming you have a compatible computer) would be amazing!
I don't think putting it together according to the man's directions would be too difficult, and since I own a mac I may just give it a try!
I think this is such a great idea. I love that this teacher found a way to bring technology into his classroom and give his students new opportunities and experiences despite a low budget. Every generation, technology is more and more important, so I think its a great idea to incorporate it into your classroom as much as possible. Our students will not only need to learn how to use technology to function in society, but they are also more familiar with it than we are sometimes. Lessons that would have been decent before, can be made to be more engaging, stimulating, and effective with the use of technology. Since I already have most of the equipment needed to make this Wii smartboard, I think it is definitely something I will try in my future classroom.
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ReplyDeleteI think that a smartboard could be a great asset to classrooms but I personally have never used one so I do not know how much it would affect the classroom. The only thing I would take into consideration as a negative of the smartboard would be that some teachers may rely to much on the smartboard and take away from the lesson at hand. I would defiantly try to create a smart board if given the chance if not just for the experience of building something for the classroom. The guys explained the construction of the board pretty well but I think I might need a little assistance building it as I am pretty inept when it comes to building things. I think it would defiantly be with trying and the guys did a great job explaining it. I was so impressed with the innovative way of thinking as it is so important to be creative at a teacher, especially in this economy. I think it would defiantly be worth a $70 investment. If you needed a computer then I think it would even be worth it with the addition of the Mac because it is a great computer. I think every teacher should have an open mind to things like this and be willing to try different things to enhance their classroom.
ReplyDeleteWow! That was such a creative idea. It shocks me how much technology is advancing. I would definitely try this idea in my class. I already have a Mac so it would be much cheaper for me because I don't have to buy one. I might get frustrated if it doesn't work out as easy as they show on the video but I think it would be a cool I idea to try.
ReplyDeleteI recently went into a high school classroom that used a smartboard and I've got to say that it is the coolest thing that I've ever seen in a classroom. It looks like a white board and is completely interactive, but they certainly are expensive. When I read the heading of this blog post, I was immediately intrigued because it sounded like a great investment at an amazingly low expense. However, when I started to watch the video I began to get discouraged because I didn't realize that it was a whole 4-step process that I would have to bring out my tools for and spend a day in Radio Shack looking for tiny infrared light bulbs. The whole concept of making your own smartboard is genius and I honestly still don't understand how the Wii remote factors into the whole apparatus, but it seems very complicated to execute the key parts to the system. For example, I have a keychain flashlight like the one the gentlemen used in the demonstration video, and it is the hardest light to turn on; always fading in and out of light. There may be other lights that weren't shown as an option, but I think this might be difficult for some to have to replace the battery. At the same time, I am completely amazed that people were able to develop this technology to replicate a smartboard in a highly cheap and efficient way. I would be very interested in trying this our in my classroom if I had all of the appropriate pieces.
ReplyDeleteHaha, the "minor" problem of funding! I think that the lengths this ingenious teacher was willing to go to to create his own "smart board" is a pretty clear sign of how desperate we are getting for funding. I mean, teachers this intelligent using their free time to make their own supplies because their schools can't afford to buy them the best possible resources for their students!?! Crazy! That being said, I think this is a really cool idea, but I have to agree with Heidi when I say that I don't really understand the Wii remote's part in the whole thing. Also, I would love a Mac, but absolutely can not afford one now - much less when I am a teacher being paid basically nothing and having to spend my extra cash on making my teaching materials. I'm sure my brother would have fun trying to get it to work though!
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ReplyDeleteWOW... this is really cool! I have never actually used a smart board before, but all I hear are great things about it, despite how much it costs. Unfortunately, you do need a mac, which not everyone has, but for future teachers who are needing a new computer they might go for the mac in order to have a smart board that might not be in the budget for the school, now that there is another option!
ReplyDeleteI have never used or seen a smartboard in a classroom and have absolutely no clue how it affects the learning being done by the students. After taking the computer applications class I realized how important incorporating technology in the classroom is, however there still needs to be a healthy balance between technology and teaching. Some teachers tend to rely too much on technology and it actually hurts their students when they think they are doing them a favor and advancing them.
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