As I have been planning my lessons this school year I have stumbled across a few a-ha’s when creating lessons. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite.
1. SMART Exchange – I know many of us know about this already but did you know that you can filter your searching by 3D lessons, manipulatives, math, etc. ? You can find this option on the left hand side of the screen. *Just a reminder too – SMART Exchange now requires a login, you can create your own for free on the site.

2. Did you know that you can combine slide from two different SMARTBoard lessons into one? I have been using this feature when I find a lesson I like on the SMART Exchange but want to use just a couple of slides from it in my own lesson. Here are the steps:
– Open the first lesson and then minimize it
– Open the second lesson and “restore down” the lesson (that’ s the button next to the close (red X) in your browser.
– Then open lesson 1 and “restore down” so you can see each lesson side by side.
– Drag the slides from one lesson to another
Are you a visual learner? Watch a video of how it’s done.
3. Did yo know that in SMART Exchange, if you search by file type you will see “manipulatives” – here there a couple I would recommend you download. First the SMART Speller and Number Crunchers. These are awesome manipulatives for your students to use on the SMARTBoard.

So, what I want to know is what is the a-ha you’ve had? I’d love to hear what you have found that has made life just a little easier.