Occasional Observations of Traveling Technology Coach

Part 2, Names on the board

After students were seated and they saw my ID card, I informed them I would write my name on the Smartboard. Notebook software was open to Full Screen view. Only the tool bar was showing.

I clicked the three buttons in the middle of the toolbar to reveal the menu.

I chose Pen and told the students that green was my favorite color, and that there may be a quiz at the end of the period. I asked them “what was my favorite color?” and they all responded “green.” Some students called out their fave colors.

I also showed them the Calligraphic Pen. I explained how calligraphy was different then script, and that calligraphy was used for fancy invitations to weddings and such.

I wrote my name in green ink on the smartboard.

I demonstrated how the smartboard was so sensitive, that sleeves and knuckles could also make stray lines when writing. Students could erase these types of mistakes by using the “eraser trick:” make a fist, and drag the side of the hand across the smartboard to erase stray ink marks. Some students had a hard time not making stray marks, as to be expected.

I called up each student and invited them to come to the board to write their name. They could use the Pen or the Calligraphic Pen. (After the first couple of classes, I only offered students the Pen.) Students had to remember the sequence to get to the Pen(s) and choose a color. Students helped other students. (In one of the classes, a student erased another students name, then denied doing it. A quick “undo” put the name back on the screen, and a warning was issued that it would no be tolerated in future.

As the students were writing their names, I was advancing down the line writing down their names in my book and playing my ID card trick (see Teaching in 36K computer lab, part 1).

Here are day 1 names:

Fun Fact: “Jaquin” is really Anthony. Can you find his name?

To be continued