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November 2008 | PG 1
IN THIS ISSUE NaNcy’S NoTESa NoTE from THE EdITor 
Giving them a chance
Implementing technology in the classroomis just one step toward improving studentlearning outcomes. When you addproessional development into the mix,you’re setting yoursel up or success –ensuring you get the most out o yourproducts each and every day, while yourstudents get the most out o their classroomexperience. Our new issue is illed withinormation about proessional developmentopportunities and related resources romSMART. It highlights best practices in thisarea and provides examples rom otherteachers who use proessional developmentand social networking to advance their skillsand enhance their proessional lives.You may have noticed that we’ve changedthe look o the newsletter. I you haveany comments about it or any o theinormation eatured in this issue, we’dlove to hear rom you. Please e-mail youreedback toeducation@smarttech.com.Nancy’s Notes..........................................1Classroom Content...............................2–4News....................................................2–4Feature Article.........................................3SMART Showcase School Proile..............4Product Spotlight..................................5–6One o my avorite things to do is visit classrooms. I love to see how the diligentdevelopment o children helps them to take their rightul place in the world – educated andsocialized. The emphasis that a country, state or community puts on educating its young is agood indication o its vibrancy and outlook.I visited an elementary classroom this past week, and I was struck by the eagerness toparticipate and learn that is inherent in most children. Teachers have the power to eitherenhance or dampen that natural curiosity. Children love to show what they know, and strongteachers bring out their will to do so.World economic stability has been rocked in the last couple o months in an unprecedentedashion. Things turned on a dime, and now great uncertainty exists about how and wheneverything will return to normal. People are concerned about their jobs and their inancialutures as businesses retrench, housing prices plummet and credit tightens.But lie in the classroom goes on through all this turmoil. Great uncertainty doesn’t shakeeducation – it reinorces the need or it. Many students today will work in careers that havenot yet emerged. The only type o preparation that makes any sense in this context is onethat is broad and based on solid undamentals.For me, education is all about giving children a chance – a chance to show what they canmake o themselves, no matter the circumstances into which they have been born. Settingconditions in the classroom to enable these children to thrive as individuals and collaboratorsis all they need. We hope that you ind our products help you do just that.Nancy Knowlton
is the CEO of SMART Technologies.
Welcome to the November issueof EDCompass
™
newsletter!
Nes n esues  euts usin SmarT puts
newsletter
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November 2008
 
November 2008 | PG 2
Proessional development is key to ensuring you are making the most o your SMARTproducts. SMART oers a variety o programs and resources to help you build and shareyour education technology knowledge.
SMART education consultants
There are a growing numbero SMART education consultantsin North America and around theworld. Their mission is to supportyou and your use o SMARTproducts to maximize studentachievement. Education consultantsshare tools, resources and bestpractice strategies. They also helpyou develop proessional learningcommunities to collaborate withother teachers using SMARTproducts.Contact SMARTtoind an education consultantin your area.
SMART user conferences
SMART user conerences areorganized throughout North Americaby our many education consultants.These conerences provide opportunities or you to connect with other educators,learn tips and tricks or using your SMART products and discover new ways tosupport whole-class and learner-centric teaching. I you’re in the Dallas area, checkout our next SMART user conerence on January 10, 2009, at Bishop Dunne HighSchool.Registrationopens on December 1, 2008. Space is limited, so be sure tocheck back to sign up!
Peer Educator program
ThePeer Educator programsupports you as you share your SMART product knowledge withother educators. We give you the tools to lead a workshop on developing SMART Notebooklesson activities, including a complete package o workshop materials. Peer Educators areoicially recognized with a certiicate and with a letter written to their school or district.
SMART Exemplary Educator program
OurSMART Exemplary Educator programrecognizes educators around the worldwho use SMART products in innovative and eective ways to improve learning outcomes.SMART Exemplary Educators are committed to developing eective educational technologypractices and sharing their knowledge with other educators on a global level.
Trade Show Teacher program
TheTrade Show Teacher programis exclusive to SMART Exemplary Educators andoers them the opportunity to attend a national education conerence with SMART.Trade Show Teachers share their lessons with trade show audiences and demonstratehow they use SMART products in their own classrooms.
claSSroom coNTENT
Find hundreds o high-quality K–12 lessonactivities on oureducation solutions website.Each lesson is correlated to local curriculumstandards and created by classroom teachers orSMART’s own curriculum resource developers.Try one o the ollowing lesson activitiesduring your next math or English class.VolumeMath students in grades 7–9 can learn theormulas or calculating volume and thendetermine the volume o various shapes.Forming paragraphsGrade 10–12 English students can learnhow to construct meaningul paragraphsby connecting sentences with transitionalwords and phrases.
SMART Notebook tip – layering
See Joe Scrivens, one o SMART’scurriculum resource developers,demonstrate advanced layering techniquesin SMART Notebook sotware.In this seven-minute video on SMART’sYouTube channel, Joe provides step-by-stepinstructions to help you create dynamic,interactive lesson activities.Watch the video and use this eature in your next lesson!
SMART Notebooklesson activities
NEwS
Proessional development and SMART
 
November 2008 | PG 3
claSSroom coNTENT
You can ind a database o Senteo
™
questionsets on oureducation solutions website.Each set includes 10 questions that arecorrelated to local curriculum standards andare compatible with a matching SMART-created lesson activity on the same topic.Try one o the ollowing Senteo question setswith your language arts, social studies ormath students.Adventurous Vocabulary – Good and BadK–3 language arts students can test theirability to use adventurous and wide-rangingvocabulary related to the concepts ogood and bad. Find thelesson activitythatcomplements this question set.Slavery, Part OneSocial studies students in grades 7–9can test their knowledge o importantevents in the history o slavery rom 1500to 1800 CE. Find thelesson activitythatcomplements this question set.Pythagorean Theorem, Part ThreeGrade 10–12 math students can practiceusing the Pythagorean theorem. Findthelesson activitythat complements thisquestion set.
Senteo question sets
NEwS
“I really believe that true PD happens in small chunks. That’s what social networkslike Twitter and Plurk and Ning provide – small bits o real eedback, right there at theexact right time. Teachers have always talked and shared their ideas in the hallways otheir school between classes. Well, now those hallways have gone online,” says Lori Reed,a 20-year veteran third-grade teacher rom Kress Independent School District in Kress, Texas.Social networking, she adds, connects her to people and resources that help her do her jobbetter.Read the ull article.
fEaTUrE arTIclE
Researchers at the University o New Brunswick recently completed work on a year-long SMART-sponsored study investigating the impact o interactive whiteboardusage in a K–12 environment. The report outlines the positive eects appropriate andadequate proessional development has on teaching and learning during a school-wideimplementation o SMART products.Their indings, as summarized in our research brie, include the ollowing: 95 percent o teachers reported using their SMART Board
•
™
interactive whiteboard ona daily basis to present instructional content or engage students in learning activitiesTeachers unanimously agreed that SMART Board interactive whiteboards are a beneit
•
in their classrooms, and 85 percent strongly agreed81 percent o teachers said that having access to a SMART Board interactive
•
whiteboard enhanced their ability to dierentiate instructionRead theull report. For more studies, visit theresearch pageon our website.
Proessional development cited as key tosuccessul SMART product implementationFind SMART on Facebook
SMART now has a Facebook page, and you can join our growing community o ans. I you’renot already a an o SMART, it’s quick and easyto become one. Just ollow these steps:Join Faceboo1.k(i you haven’t already) and log inSearch or SMART Technologies2.in the search boxBecome a an3.Once you’re a an o SMART, you can receiveupdates, watch videos o our products in use,start a discussion with other educators and learnabout new contests to win products or your school.Become a ano SMART today and keep the community growing!
21st-century hallways
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