SMART Table - How do I...?

A little background before I begin (yup - another "life and times of Vanessa" segment)!

I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. Sure, I often alternated this with periods of wanting to be a vet, an astronaut, a ballerina or a time traveller, but I always came back to teaching. What I also thought I knew all along was that I wanted to teach young children. As in 5 - 7 year olds. In fact, I was so sure about this that when it came time for my very first "pre-practicum" at the Faculty of Education within the University of Lethbridge, I begged my prof to put me in a Grade 1 classroom. Grade 5? No way. Grade 6? Even worse.

Funny how life has a way of changing.

For those who don't know, I DID do that very first practicum in Grade 1. And promptly changed my mind about wanting to teach young children. Don't get me wrong - I adore little kids. I love the neck rolls that little babies have, the cute lisp that most 5 year olds haven't lost yet and their adorable innocent outlook on life. Half a closet at home is filled with infant, toddler and small children's clothing for future gifts to pregnant friends because I can't resist clothes in miniature size that mimic adult fashion trends (size 2 Uggs, anyone?)

But I've decided that I prefer my 5 year olds in groups of 5 or less. I had the world's BEST Grade 1 teacher as a mentor for those 6 weeks that I was in there, so my experience was still fantastic. But I realized something about myself -- I don't do well with the bi-polar-like tendencies of little children. You know what I'm talking about. One minute they're kicking you in the shin because you're putting them in a time out away from story time after you caught them punching little Suzy and the next minute they're hugging you, crying and begging you not to leave them at 3:30 pm. Times that erratic behaviour by 25 and you have a breeding ground for disaster (in my mind, any way). Plus, I'm a fairly logical person, and have also discovered that you can't rationalize with little ones. ("She...*sniff*...called...me...*sniff*...stupid!" Ummm...what should my response be to this? You're going to forget this happened by lunchtime anyway! lol)

And so, after 3 more practicums in Grades 4 - 9, I took a maternity leave position for 7 months in Grade 5, followed by 4 solid years with Grades 9 - 12. And I loved every minute of it. Sure, 17 year olds might drop the occasional f-bomb in my direction or have serious problems that lead them down a potentially disasterous path in life, but they get it. As in sarcasm, logic, rational thought (I'm generalizing here).

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However, I've never gotten over my fascination with all things "little kid". So when I first saw the SMART Table, I fell in love instantly! Bright colours? Dazzling effects? Collaborative activities? Cartoonish visuals? All within a beautiful, child-resistant casing that is designed to be at the child's level. LOVE. IT.

And so, I'm always ridiculously happy when I get a phone call/email from a client requesting me to come out and spend a day with their staff introducing the SMART Table. I love my job (have I mentioned that yet?)

It's often the same old story -- the kids almost instantly figure out how to use the table and it's applications, but the teachers are needed just a bit of a step-by-step how-to tutorial on the ins and outs of the product.

And since we, as educators, always have a bazillion ideas of how to use something in the classroom, the first question nearly ALWAYS is: "How do I make my own activities that center around the topics we're learning about?"

Luckily, SMART has many free, 2-minute tutorials on these basic questions. Not that I want to pass the responsibility over to anyone, nor do I want to put myself out of a job, but the reality is that often times the following little tutorial does the trick to get the teacher comfortable with the table initially. I can then save my trips for the more advanced, pedagogical based pd and discussions at a later date.

Looking into the possibility of a SMART Table? Have one, but need a quick overview to get you up and running? Look no further...click on the picture below to see a 2 minute tutorial produced by SMART.