Wednesday, September 10, 2008

SmartBoard Blues

Hey gang! It's been an exciting time; as many of you know, we've been in session at Hanson for almost two months now!!!!

I have really become comfortable in utilizing the SmartBoard in the classroom. Interestingly enough, I had issues at the beginning of the school year in getting the SmartBoard out of "mouse" mode (blinking green light). It would not let me use the full capabilities of what I knew it could do, so I jumped onto their user-friendly support help site. I followed through with the instructions, but, alas, to no avail (dreaded red light). I ended up reinstalling a driver, and the thing's kickin' up like new (steady green light-Yes!). I also went on ebay and got a fifty dollar wireless presenter mouse for twenty-two bucks; I HIGHLY recommend it for those of you who enjoy the mobility of checking student work while being able to emphasize points and present from anywhere in the room.

I believe that I expressed some of my frustration at the limited access that we had been granted on putting new programs on our classroom computers. We were juggling in the first few weeks just to retrieve our files, which really didn't add to the overall happiness. Still, kudos to the tech folks for dealing with a bazillion open tickets at one time.

I am really excited about being able to mentor other teachers in incorporating technology into their classroom.

Comin' soon to a blog near you...

"Ending the Isolation - Collaboration Rules!"

- Justin


2 comments:

Ruminator in Residence said...

Would you mind saying what brand and model of presenter mouse you are using? I am looking for one to use with CPS clicker technology and powerpoints. Regular remotes that simply advance the slides are not compatible, but apparently a presenter mouse can enable you to click on the CPS buttons from across the room. I am a little baffled by the array of choices and not sure they all function the same way.

Dave Tarwater said...

Karen,

I have been using the Gyration Presenter for about 5 years. After trying several brands I settled on the Gyration because of the "airless option" and great software features. It works great and has lasted a long time. They are a little more expensive but well worth the extra cost. You can check them out at: .cc/if4db http://tiny.cc/if4db