Successful Lesson

What has been your most successful lesson where you have integrated technology so far? What made it successful? How would you modify it for the next time you use it?  What are some other ways you are planning on integrating technology this year?

The most successful lessons I have had with the students have been end of unit reviews.  The students really enjoy "playing" with the smart board.  Whether it is an interactive crossword puzzle, vocabulary race, drag and drop or beat the timer pictionary the participation and enthusiasm level is high.  

Each time I do a review, I modify it for the student group; however, I would love to be able to have 2 people write on the smartboard at the same time.

I continue to try to integrate technology into my classes when ever I have the time to prep for it.  I would like to have students create videos/ audio files of labs or presentations in the classroom for an "LACS virtual library."  I would also like to have students maintain a classroom blog.  Most of my students are very net savvy and tech ready...unfortunately, not all of my students have equal access to computers or gadgets outside of the classroom, so what we provide in the classroom is the extent of their experiences. 

3.19 Favorite smart board lesson

For me, I love that I can quickly move between note pages, video links and graphics (like interactive maps) while simultanously recording notes with the kids all from the front of the classroom (or better yet, students can do it!).
Students are so much more engaged when they help to select and analyze our sources, write our notes / record data on the smartboard for all to see and together follow a (meaningful) tangent. For example, today we were learning about the global water crisis. We pulled up an interactive map of the world that showed water data and stats, pulled up google earth to see more details about the landscapes, explored individual nations websites for statistics and watched videos clips from a variety of sources on the quality of water and water availability in different nations. Did I mention that a student was leading the class? It was fantastic, fun and educational!