Friend Named “Smarty”
October 18, 2011 in Spotlight by John Brougher
Students in Mrs. Ebersole’s class have a new friend named “Smarty”. Smarty is the nickname for the new Smartboard that was installed in the classroom this summer as part of the district’s GetSmart initiative. A Smartboard is an interactive display that allows teachers and students to interact with a computer using special pens, erasers, or just their fingers.
Mrs. Ebersole’s students work with Smarty in many different subject areas. One lesson focused on spelling and used various styles of hands-on learning, from paper and scissors to using the Smartboard. The students started by cutting out small letter tiles and when asked about Smarty, Mrs. Ebersole replied, “We are learning more about the Smartboard every day and the kiddos have even taught me some things as they are not afraid to experiment!”forming words at their seat. Next, individual students stepped up to work with Smarty using a program called Fridge Magnets. The program simulates letters that look like old-fashioned refrigerator magnets and allows the student to easily maneuver them to make a word. Once the student has arranged the letters to make a word, all of the other students in class wrote it down, concentrating on both their spelling and their handwriting skills. Lastly, students focused on forming other words by just changing one letter (for example, box to fox) and arranging the words by word families or by words that rhyme.
When asked about Smarty, Mrs. Ebersole replied, “We are learning more about the Smartboard every day and the kiddos have even taught me some things as they are not afraid to experiment!”
