5 Reasons You Shouldn't Be Afraid of the SMART Board

Posted by Leslie

It’s Halloween weekend, and our Friday Five takes on what some might call a frightful topic: the SMART Board!

Are you haunted by visions of these big, ghostly white boards? Does the thought of learning how to use a new technology leave you shaking in your boots? Don’t worry, we’ve put together a list of the top five reasons you shouldn’t be afraid of the SMART Board. So grab another fun-size Snickers and read on!

1. You’ll never have to make another transparency again!
2. Well-integrated SMART Boards can make class time more engaging, challenging and fun.
3. They go way beyond chalkboard capabilities. Students can collaborate on writing and problem-solving, play a movie with a single touch or launch an interactive Web tour.
4. When you’re done, you can save your work and print copies to distribute to the class.
5. There are no limits to what you can do. Check out this awesome collection of interactive whiteboard activities for inspiration.

There you go! Give yourself some time to learn all the great ways you can incorporate the SMART Board into your classroom, and we bet you’ll be happy to add one to your bag of tricks (and treats)!

(Image via Life in 4B)

5 Reasons to Attend the Charter Schools Development Center Fall Conference

Posted by Courtney

The 2011 Fall Leadership Update will be held this coming Monday & Tuesday, October 17-18th at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, California (and then again 11/7-8 at the Hilton in Concord, California).

1. Learn about the latest fiscal, legislative, and regulatory changes affecting charter schools today
2. Hear about ways schools are getting creative about educating "whole child" (this year's conference theme)
3. Network with professionals involved in all areas of charter organizations: Administrators, Board Members, Developers, Teachers, Authorizers, Consultants, CPAs, Attorneys, Community/Civic Leaders, and Government Agency Staff.
4. SoCal weather can't be beat this time of year!
5. Hang out with Thesys--we'll be at booth #24 and look forward to talking to you about hybrid learning!

(Image from the Charter Schools Development Center)

Has Technology Written The Final Chapter for Textbooks?

Posted by Leslie

Costly textbooks require frequent replacement with new editions to include the latest information—a problem schools are increasingly avoiding with the ease and flexibility of technology. With the growing popularity of tablets, we’re beginning to wonder: Are textbooks still relevant?

Yale Medical School doesn’t think so. As of this month, each of its med students have been issued an iPad 2 for use in clinical settings as well as the classroom. The portable and interactive devices allow students to download the entire medical curriculum. And because the iPad is encrypted, confidential patient information is securely stored.

A batch of 6^th-graders at one Southampton school found themselves in the middle of the technology sweet spot. They got to exchange their textbooks for iPad 2s this year, which the school district describes as simply an evolution of the textbook.

How do students feel? This infographic explains just how far students are willing to go in order to never carry a textbook again!

Schools across the country are phasing out textbooks in favor of iPads, Kindles and other tablets. But there’s always a learning curve with new technology, and it’s important to figure out what works best in print format and what works best in a digital format. Learn more about the trade-offs here.

What do you think the “books” of the future will look like? Check out this video from TED.com – software developer Mike Matas demonstrates what the first full-length interactive book on an iPad.

So what are your thoughts? Will textbooks eventually go the way of the quill feather and ink? One thing’s for sure: It’s definitely a trend to watch and one to consider for your school. Besides, who wants to thumb through a clunky dictionary when you can Google it in less time than it takes you to remember what a dictionary is?

(Image via Schools.com)