SMART Board Interactive Whiteboard For Dummies

Brainstorming

One of the most powerful things you can do with the interactive whiteboard is to allow your participants to use it in collaborative activities and brainstorming sessions. Set them up either with one blank page in Word or a page in SMART Notebook software, and let them problem-solve.

One rule I have in brainstorming sessions is that nothing is erased or deleted. Here’s one of my brainstorming strategies you may want to try:

1. Open SMART Notebook.

2. Create a number of different pages, letting each group choose how many pages they want.

3. Name the pages by pressing the date under the page thumbnail in the Page Sorter, or press the drop-down arrow next to the page and select Rename Page.

4. Show students where the themed backgrounds, graphs, and other objects are located (in the Gallery tab), or ask them to import their notes.

5. Let them brainstorm by writing on the page with the Pen Tray pens, telling them that the only rule is that they can’t delete or erase anything.

6. Export the session as a PDF.

You can upload the PDF to SlideShare (www.slideshare.net ). You can even get some code from SlideShare and embed the PDF in your personal website or blog, enabling students to continue to work with their ideas. You also can use Google Docs (see the nearby sidebar).

This process works well for any problem-solving exercise where it’s useful to show problem-solving ...