Questions+and+Tips

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=Saving Images to Show on Wiki=

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Thanks for posting images of your classrooms. Before you post you may wish to reduce the size of the image so they load quickly. There are two things to consider. One is the physical size of the picture. The other is the actual bit size. Photoshop allows you to quickly make the image ready for the web. Open your image in Photoshop and under File you will see Save for Web. Use the functions here to resize and reduce. Remember, most pictures for the web are smaller than 500 x 500 pixels. Your image can be in a jpeg format and under 100K without losing detail. Good luck.====== =Online Tutorials for how to use the smartboard=

http://www.teacheronlinetraining.com/library/mod/resource/index.php?id=17
=Using Student Link's NLVM math site with the Smartboard= My students and I love using this site with the smartboard! The colour patterning activity for grades 4 and 5 under the algebra strand was a great activity for an introduction to patterning. We have also enjoyed the peg puzzle found under the algebra strand for grade 6. Mastermind is another favourite activity which can be found under the number sense strand. Once they have learned how to complete the activities on the Smartboard, many of them are happy to work in pairs or independently at the computers. nlvm.usu.edu

=How do I know when people have made changes to the wiki?= You can check recent changes or you can use the notify me tab. Another way is to subscribe to the wiki with RSS feeds. This is what I do to have changes come into my igoogle page. Not sure what an igoogle page is?...ask Brenda next week.

=Using the Smartboard with Nelson Math= I used the data projector/ Smartboard last year with my math program. I was able to use the CD's that came with our Nelson Math program to bring the textbook pages into the Notebook software. From there, I (or the class) was able to write on the pages or to add pages, solutions, etc right on the textbook pages. I believe if you insert the CD, it will start automatically. Then select print, and when the print box comes up, go to the "select printer" drop down menu and select "Smart Notebook Capture", it will then copy the page into the Notebook software. I was working from the Grade 3 Nelson Math program.

That's a great tip as I have been wondering about French resources and I believe that the French equivalent to Nelson also came with a CD. Thanks for the tip!

=Do you have to belong to a wiki to view the content? If not, is there a way to change the settings of a wiki so that only the members can view the content?= No, everyone can view our wiki on the web, but only we (members) can edit the content or make discussion comments. We could also pay for a subscription that would allow our wiki to be completely hidden if we wanted. People can download any of the files we post however, so other teachers may end up using your lessons!

=**I would like to use a scanned document {a modified patterning/algebra lesson with diagrams, shapes, T-tables} as a group lesson on the Smartboard. How can I capture that document and put it into a Notebook page that we can use and save the written equations and explanation that the students can then have to use as a guide/model for later practice ?**= You use the screen capture tool, or you can virtually print with your Smart software. We'll make sure to cover both of those things at next week's session....great question!

=**Has anyone tried to use their laptop to go onto the Wiki? For some reason I am able to log on using desktops both at school and at home, but I have been unable to get past the login screen on the laptop.**= Do you mean that the internet explorer icon keeps spitting out an IE shortcut? Matty was having that problem too and we discovered that you need to click on Internet Explorer from the Start menu. Weird, but true. We'll try to get the fix for that for next week.


 * Just another helpful resource. The website www.mathcanbefun.com was created by 2 Upper Grand teachers and has some great info for parents and links to math websites (including the NLVM site above).**

Another wiki you might like for smartboard resources is www.tech2learn.wikispaces.com, especially the online resources section. There are also some sample lessons there. Smart Exchange for teachers is now improved @http://www.exchange.smarttech.com/?WT.ac=exchangeseptnewsltr09 (Sample lessons)

=**Does anyone know of any great websites for primary science lessons using the smartboard?** http://eduscapes.com/sessions/smartboard/ I love the educapes website for lots of different things, but here is the smartboard section. Lots of good stuff for science and other things.= I tried [] - it has a great section on simple machines I did with my Grade 3's last year. It even has a pre-test/post-test (they are the same except for the title) based on the website. Worked great on the Smartboard, lots of things for the entire class to do/try. Incidentally, an Intermediate teacher found the same website at about the same time and used some of the materials with either Grade 7 or 8 science and found it worked well. While not specifically Smartboard related, I have also used the Hinterland Who's Who website [] to show short videos related to animals in Grade 2 (some are the same as the TV commercials, some are slightly longer).

=**Use YouTube videos without an internet connection or worrying about inappropriate stuff on the sidebar!**= To download you tube videos to use with the smartboard, you'll see a section on http://tech2learn.wikispaces.com/Smartboards called Online File Converters. Favourites are www.pwnyoutube.com and www.keepvid.com You need to download the .flv file to embed with Smart Notebook. You can watch a webinar about how to do that here: []

=Troubleshooting with lights on your smartboard and how to reset your smartboard=