Thursday, September 22, 2011

Technology is wonderful...

...except when it isn't. Our smartboard has decided not to co-operate. For a few days we had quite a psychedelic light show as the board flickered on and off at random intervals. Very annoying. Then, on Monday, it just died. It won't turn on. It won't do anything. Sigh...

The tech guy came and it looks like a new bulb or possibly a new arm for the board. This could come in a week or it could come in a month. There is no way to know. And once the part arrives, I will have to wait for the tech guy to come back out and fix it. I guess it is one of the perils of technology.

In the meantime, I am having to work it old school. This is not as easy as I had hoped. I didn't realize how much I have come to rely on the smartboard in the year I have had it in our classroom. Morning attendance, calendar, mini-lessons in math, reading, writing, social studies, all are on the smartboard.

Thank goodness I kept the chart stand when I got the smartboard AND that I ordered chart paper in June because I am using it all day long right now. On the bright side, it is giving me lots of opportunities to use my smelly felts. I do love those Mr. Sketch markers. Yum!
Also, it has reminded me how much I like having the class do things on charts that I can hang up. Today we started a mini-unit on healthy eating and the class brainstormed all of the things that they know about fruits and vegetables. It was really nice to be able to write down their ideas and let them choose a smelly marker to write their name beside their ideas. They liked it because it was the first time I let them use the markers! The smartboard is super convenient and has become a mainstay in my teaching but it is still nice sometimes to do things the way I did for the first 17 years of my teaching career!

Ms. Hughes

1 comment:

  1. I had to laugh when I read this post. Last year, my smartboard messed up for a couple of days and I about lost my mind! We could barely function. Since then, I have found an old calendar set and have started doing more on paper and on our white board. I have to say, sometimes, it is a little better to go "old school".

    Teachin' First

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