Two websites that I like to use for storytelling/story writing are Kerpoof and Big Universe. The first, Kerpoof, will allow students to choose a scene and then add characters to the scene. You can add motions and effects to the characters making for a really cool little “movie making” lite experience. The other allows students to create online books. Students can write story and then add...

As reported earlier, Smart Technologies recently released a new piece of software called Notebook Student Edition (NSE). According to Smart, “It caters to nonlinear, higher order thinking and enables them to manage, sort and categorize their in-class and at-home assignments. With more mouse tools, the software is designed for use on a computing device and not on a whiteboard.” This program...

Smart has released Notebook 10 for download. You will need a serial number from a Smart device to register and unlock the software for more than a 30-Day trail. Once registered, that activation code can be used on multiple computers and multiple installs of Notebook. The first 10,000 to register can a free 60 MB trail to the Smart Learning Marketplace. Also, the Lesson Activity Toolkit has come out...

Deal or No Deal? What’s the likelihood that $1,000,000 will be in the case that you picked? This game will encourage students to think about probability in relationship to the popular game show Deal or No Deal. (You might want to watch a show online to brush up on your Howie Mandel impersonation). This Notebook file includes the Theme Music, several versions of the Think Music, the Banker’s...

Throughout history people have told and written stories about their heroes. A tall tale is a special kind of hero story because the heroes of tall tales are “larger than life.” They are bigger and stronger than real people, even when the tall tale is based on a real person. Tall tale heroes solve problems in funny ways that are hard to believe. Tall tales are a way people can express their...

There are many symbols of national pride. This SmartBoard Notebook file goes over several including The National Anthem, Uncle Sam and the Liberty Bell.

The edTech Ninja is a very busy person even with his faster than light movements. Even though, the Ninja makes sure that he always catches up with the SmartBoard Lesson Podcast. This useful and entertaining podcast contains mountains of useful information for SmartBoard users. From lessons that you can download to sites that you can use with the SmartBoard. Ben and Joan have even mentioned the Ninja’s...

New beta version of the Notebook software is out now. You can download it here. The new version includes some very cool new features including themes, tables, alignment guides, and a new magic pen. And that’s not everything. This is of course is beta software which may not have all the bugs worked out. Upgrade at your own risk and be sure that you read all the documentation before doing any upgrade....

Here is an introductory lesson for telling time to the nearest hour, half-hour, and quarter-hour. In this lesson, students look at the clock cut into quarters to see when the quarters land. The lesson also discusses the different methods of saying and writing a time. Then whole group has practice problems. Other objectives covered include a.m. and p.m., likely times of doing an activity, reading a...

Creating, using, and interpreting graphs is a major part of the math curriculum. Here we have an introductory Smartboard Notebook lesson for pictographs and bar graphs. I would probably do this Notebook lesson over two math periods. First, students are introduced to what graphing is. Then students take a closer look at pictographs and the different parts of pictographs. There are some interactive elements...