New Toy!

I have a new toy at school.  It's a SmartBoard  --I think it's that one-- and it is THE BOMB.  I admit it definitely has the novelty factor - hey a little novelty never hurt anyone!  And at times it is a bit consuming switching my plans to the smartboard software (Notebook).  Oh, and there are the technological glitches.  Thank goodness for Mr. G who is our guru of technology even though he's not the tech guy.  BUT for the most part it's a great addition to my room.  One of my kiddos hardly ever wants to write anything, but if I say, "Well, you need to write it on your paper first and then you can write something on the board." -- that is all it takes to get him to write a notebook page full!  I'm hoping it actually is teaching kids something and enhances their learning...  I've done almost all of my math lessons on the smartboard since I've gotten it.  Just even having the whole space blank to work out work makes it seem that much more fantastic!  It's even turned into a social skills lesson - "We can only use it if we are kind to each other and help each other out.  I need help sometimes.  Your classmates will need help sometimes.  We have to be patient or we will go back to the white board."  My kids were like cheering each other on - clapping when they did the work right, being gracious about taking turns, etc.  YAY Smartboard!