Wednesday, October 29, 2008

What Time is it Mr Wolf? Timekeeping Tools

In one of my Masters classes, I was talking to a fellow student about ways to make the SmartBoard an on-going useful tool, rather than a once-in-a-blue-moon activity. I think the secret is to use this resource as much as possible, even if it's only for a simple mundane purpose initially. Then, once using it is built into your routine, you can add more applications.

Take for example the "problem" of timekeeping. Often, it's a great strategy to give students a time limit to reflect, discuss with a partner or work through a problem. This keeps the activity focused and avoids unproductive lulls in your lesson. The timers you can buy for the overhead can be quite expensive, but there are "free" on-line tools that will to the same this. For example, having these links bookmarked on your SmartBoard means you can pull it up at moment's notice.