Posts tagged SMART Board

Master Technology for Your Classroom

0 Comment read AV Everywhere, AV in Education, AV in the Classroom

This year’s Summer Series events have doubled from last year.  At four locations — Tampa, Orlando, Detroit and Lanham, Maryland — you can learn about integrating technology into your teaching practice during three-hour sessions.  Topics will include:  SMART Notebook Software,  SMART Response software, iPad apps for education and creating digital content for your classroom.  Select the links below to see what you can learn this summer.

 

Summer Time is Learning Time for Teachers

0 Comment read AV Everywhere, AV in Education, AV in the Classroom, AVI-SPL

Two Summer Institutes are planned for the Tampa and Detroit areas this year.  Dunedin Highland Middle School located in beautiful Dunedin, Florida, is the host site for our four-day event, July 23rd to 26th. The prestigious Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan is the site for the Summer Institute, held August 23rd and 24th. Hundreds of teachers are expected to gather and work in Professional Learning Communities and create engaging strategies that support higher-order thinking skills for their students. And the cool thing is they will be learning how to use the latest in classroom technology at the same time!

Registration is currently open for both events.  To learn more about the Summer Institutes, select one of these links:

Summer Series Events

This year’s Summer Series event locations have doubled!  There are four areas where you can learn more about integrating technology into your teaching practice during three-hour sessions.  Topics will include:  SMART Notebook Software,  SMART Response software, iPad apps for education and creating digital content for your classroom.  Select the links below to see what you can learn this summer!

AVI-SPL Hosts 50+ Kids for Bring Your Child to Work Day

0 Comment read AV Everywhere, AVI-SPL

"Bring Your Child to Work Day" "SMART Board"For the second year, AVI-SPL sponsored activities for Bring Your Child to Work Day. On April 26, our Tampa, New York and Denver offices welcomed more than 50 of our team’s children for a day of activities.

These young men and women spent the day learning about business and what we do at AVI-SPL.

Each office tailored activities to their specific group of visitors, including an office tour, budgeting discussion, technology demonstrations – 3D, video conferencing, a control room and play time on a SMART board and SMART table- movie time on the projector and lots more. Denver even got a bounce house for the event! The kids also competed in AV word searches and crossword puzzles in activity books we created for this year’s event.

In Tampa, the older kids spent their afternoon learning about marketing. We challenged three teams of four to mix their own soda flavor (out of a variety of juices), name their drink, create a logo and film a short commercial advertising the soda to the younger kids. At the end of the day, we let the younger kids vote on their favorites. It was a hit!

Overall the day was a huge success! Big thanks to everyone who helped with the event and to all of the kids for joining us at AVI-SPL!

View Bring Your Child to Work Day Photos on Facebook >>

Students Give Their Thoughts on Classrooom Technology

0 Comment read AV in Education, AV in the Classroom, AVI-SPL

If you want to know how students learn, just ask them. Their opinions and insights are authentic and more valuable than just about anyone else’s!  I had the privilege to interview a few sixth-grade students in Ms. Janet Tolson’s math class at Seven Springs Middle School in Pasco County. I wanted to know what they thought about using technology in the classroom to improve their learning.

I asked Rachel, a student in Ms. Tolson’s class, what technology she already uses at school to improve learning:

“We do research on the computer, we have two computers in this classroom, and a computer lab we can go do,” Rachel told me. “One of my teachers has a SMART board which helps me to understand things better. I do well in all of my classes,  and most of my tests are paper and pencil.  I have an iPad and can purchase books to read on it. My sister is in high school, and she has an iPad and uses it there. I also use technology at home for learning, like Study Island, and Coolmath.com for math facts, and games for learning math.”

When I asked what she thought it would be like to have all of her textbooks on a digital device, Rachel answered that while it would be nice not having to carry around a backpack, students might not be prepared to take care of technology devices. She also said she’d still like to use textbooks.

Emma, Ellen and Chandler from Ms. Tolson’s class provided me with more valuable insight.  Here are a few of their quotes:

“Having an iPad would keep you from carrying books. We could get digital books from the school website. Kids would know how to use any device if their teachers know what websites to show us.”

 “SMART boards would help to visualize concepts, because you can write on them better than a regular erase board.” 

 “We use the computer lab but are allowed to bring digital readers to school.”

 “I like computers for some things but not all.  I would rather have paper and pencil for FCAT to help you focus more. Looking at a screen hurts your eyes.”

 “Kindles look more like a book than an iPad.”

 “SMART boards help if you interact with it.”

 “We use Study Island for homework.”

 “If you have a device, you might get distracted.”

 “Teachers should use apps so kids could play and learn.”

I was also lucky enough to talk with Ms. Tolson to find out what type of professional development would really help her to use technology more effectively. Ms. Tolson has been teaching for over 20 years and is a Pasco County Teacher of the Year finalist. In summary:  “At least one full week with one team at one school, of co-teach work-embedded lesson planning and delivery would help to change the way we teach and the students learn.  Or spend the week with department heads who can then model for their teachers.  I need someone ‘on call’ who can come assist me and help to move the lesson forward.  I can take it from there.”

To learn what is really happening in school today, ask to visit and spend time with the folks that matter – the students, who really do know more than adults about how they learn; and the professional educators, who know what would help them to use technology. Listening and providing a variety of opportunities for all teachers, such as onsite co-teach, can help reach more educators and make a difference.

SMART and Cisco TelePresence Deliver Enhanced Collaboration

0 Comment read Video Communications

Cisco and SMART have entered into a joint interoperability agreement that integrates Cisco TelePresence with SMART products, allowing conference participants to share notes and applications in real time while participating in live video conferencing. Cisco TelePresence Synch makes the interactivity between the two possible, so that participants can share diagrams that are visible to everyone participating in a TelePresence call. This solution enhances distance learning in the classroom, as well as collaborative efforts that require face-to-face meetings and the sharing of documents that can be annotated, for a collaborative experience. Learn more about the benefits of Cisco TelePresence Synch.

Watch a demonstration of SMART and Cisco TelePresence interactivity below. Contact AVI-SPL at 1-800-282-2733 to learn how you can bring the power of Cisco and SMART into your enterprise with the design and support of the world’s leading communication solutions integrator.