December 2009 | PG 1

IN THIS ISSUE NaNcy’S NoTESa NoTE from THE EdITor

Rich Imagery

There has been a lot of talk lately of adecline in both the quantity and qualityof students pursuing careers in science,technology, engineering and mathematics(STEM), by the media and policymakers. Ifyou teach one of these subjects, you aretasked with approaching it in a way thatkeeps your students inspired to learn andkeep learning. In this issue, read thefeature articleto find out about a dynamicprogram that is addressing this subject. Youcan also learn about a teacher who usesSMART products to reach her math studentsin theSMART Showcase School profile, andfind lesson activities to use in your scienceand math classes. We hope this issuewill show you new ways to engage yourstudents – sparking more interest in theseareas and maybe even an increase in thosewho choose to pursue STEM careers.As always, if you have any comments aboutthe newsletter or any of the informationfeatured in this issue, we’d love to hearfrom you. Please e-mail your feedback toeducation@smarttech.com.Nancy’s Notes..........................................1Classroom Content...............................2–3News....................................................2–4Feature Article.........................................3Professional Development........................4SMART Showcase School Profile..............4Product Spotlight..................................5–6They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and for me, that is so true. Like many people,I am constantly capturing images in my mind as my day progresses. Places I have been,people I have met and things I have done all can be vividly recalled with a bit of focus.Not everything, of course, can be seen or done firsthand. Many of the things weexperience today are on TV and online, or come from books and other publications.The SMART Document Camera is one of our more recent tools to encourage powerfulvisualization. Because of its tight integration with SMART Notebook

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collaborativelearning software, displaying any object for your students has never been easier. Asimple touch on the software’s document camera icon launches the capture functionand a couple of simple, intuitive choices. When demonstrating a science experiment or adissection, for example, teachers can capture a series of snapshots or videos to display inclass so the focus is on helping students comprehend, not the live execution of the task.These images can then be made available for students to access after class.At SMART, we think about how we can help you create a rich visual experience through all thetools and content we provide. SMART Notebook software supports all the popular types of fileformats commonly in use so pictures, video and animation can be easily captured and shared.Making words and images come alive is particularly important today. To see teachersusing our education solutions to engage students with rich imagery – that truly is wortha thousand words.Nancy Knowlton

is the CEO of SMART Technologies.

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December 2009

Welcome to the December issueof

EDCompass

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newsletter!

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December 2009 | PG 2

claSSroom coNTENT

Find a comprehensive database ofK–12 lesson activitieson the SMART Exchange

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online community. The activities arecorrelated to local curriculum standards andcreated by classroom teachers or SMART’steam of curriculum resource developers.Try one of the following SMART Notebooklesson activities during your next science ormath class.All About CloudsKindergarten and first-grade science studentscan learn about the three main types ofclouds – cirrus, cumulus and stratus.Organizing and Displaying DataThird- and fourth-grade math students canlearn how to analyze data.Water Cycle ReviewFifth-grade science students can review theentire water cycle by labeling pictures andordering sentences.The People on the BeachSixth-grade science students can learn aboutthe eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79.Writing Equations in Slope-Intercept FormEighth-grade math students can practicewriting the equation of a line in slope-interceptform when given two points on the line.

SMART NotebookLesson Activities

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SMART Products Support STEM Instruction

SMART offers a variety of hardwareand software products that help youmake teaching and learning science,technology and mathematics moreeffective. Here are just some of theways you can use SMART products inyour STEM classes:

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Create multimedia lesson activitiesthat make science and mathconcepts more memorable withSMART Notebook software.Develop themed science pages usinga variety of background colors andimages, or draw freehand shapeswith the Shape Pen and have theminstantly recognized and perfected.

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Engage your class withSMART Notebook Math Tools software, which includes math-specificfeatures such as interactive graphing tools and handwriting recognition for equations

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Enable your students to easily create and share science and math reports usingSMART Notebook SE (Student Edition) software. You can also use it to send themSMART Notebook files, allowing students to add their own comments to the lessonactivity instead of spending time copying notes.

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Visually reinforce difficult math and science concepts and improve students’ retentionof information with theSMART Board interactive whiteboard

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Assess understanding of STEM lessons instantly using theSMART Responseinteractive response system. You can prepare quizzes or exams in advance and ask spontaneousquestions to gauge students’ comprehension at any point during a lesson.

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Use theSMART Document Camerato instantly display real-time images of any staticor moving object onto a SMART Board interactive whiteboard for your entire class tosee. Check out this month’s product spotlight for examples of how teachers are usingthe SMART Document Camera to teach STEM subjects.

Math Rap with Mr. Duey

What do you get when you combine longdivision with hip hop and the SMARTBoard interactive whiteboard? Studentengagement, we’ve discovered.Mr. Duey is a seventh-grade math teacherwho uses the SMART Board interactivewhiteboard to create educational rap musicfor students in elementary and middleschool math classes.Check out his latestlong division videoonTeacherTube – then you can share it with your students.

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December 2009 | PG 3

claSSroom coNTENT

Find a database ofSMART Response question setson the SMART Exchange.Each set includes 10 questions that arecorrelated to state and provincial curriculumstandards.Try one of the following SMART Responsequestion sets in your next science or math class.VariationK–3 science students can test theirknowledge of variation in species usingpictures of animals.Simple ProbabilityMath students in grades 4–6 can test theirknowledge of basic probability.Transport in PlantsScience students in grades 4–6 can testtheir knowledge of transport in plants.Equations and Inequalities InvolvingAbsolute ValueMath students in grades 7–9 can test theirknowledge of absolute value in equationsand inequalities.Homeostasis – the SkinScience students in grades 10–12 can testtheir knowledge of our skin and how itfunctions.

SMART Response

Question Sets

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It’s no secret that high school teachers throughout the United States are struggling toengage their students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)education. As children get older, educators in many school districts across the United Stateswitness a steady decline in student engagement and achievement in these subjects. In recentyears, this trend has started to take its toll in the form of underemployment across a numberof sectors. Despite the dramatic economic downturn, the U.S. Department of Labor listsadvanced manufacturing, automotives, biotechnology, construction, geospatial technology,health care, hospitality and information technology as growth industries. All these industriesrequire postsecondary education in STEM subjects.Read the full article.

fEaTUrE arTIclE

On February 24, 2010, 3:00–4:00 p.m. ET, attend our webinar titled Create. Teach. Learn.Assess. Enhancing Teaching and Accelerating Learning with Technology in 1:1 Environments.You’ll hear administrators talk about how they’ve taken student achievement to new heightsin 1:1 classrooms – specific discussion items will include

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How to transform classrooms into centers of interactive learning where studentsare engaged and teachers are inspired

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How to improve collaboration between students through the effective useof SMART products

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How to increase student achievement by balancing teacher- and student-led learningThe webinar includes an expert panel discussion followed by an online Q & A session.Though it’s designed for administrators and technology directors, teachers will findmuch in this session that is relevant to their practice. By taking part in this webinar,you’ll receive front-of-the-line access to SMART virtual trade shows and the chance toregister early for SMART’s popular Learning Matters seminar at theISTE 2010 conference (formerly known as NECC) in June.Find registration information and details about all our webinars on ourwebsite. And ifyou’ve missed any of our previous webinars, don’t worry – you can watch them at yourconvenience with our complimentaryon-demand viewing.