A teacher explores the multi-touch, multi-user SMARTtable in his classroom

From what I can see, multi-touch, multi-user applications are ideal for students to learn collaborative, cooperative social skills at the same time they learn academic skills. Smart Technologies, well-known in the education world for interactive whiteboards, has unleashed a few tables, known as SMARTTables, in classrooms. One teacher, Tom Barret, is sharing his journey with technology, including the SMARTtable, on-line via his blog, SPACE FOR ME TO EXPLORE

The following is a video of young children doing math on a multi-touch SMARTTable. In order to solve the finger- arithmetic problems, the students must work cooperatively

Addition App - Set to multi-touch finger counts from Tom Barrett on Vimeo.

(In the video, you will see some shapes that Tom mistakenly added, so disregard them as you view the video.)

Here is a quote from Tom's blog about his experience with the addition application:

"I was most pleased with the level of engagement from the children and although on the surface this seems to be a simple application, it definitely requires a level of teamwork that you often do not get.

It is intriguing watching the children’s first attempts and how they realise they need to work together. As the challenge is small scale, once they have been successful they begin to refine their approach, communicate better and so get to later answers quicker."

From the move + play + learn blog: iPod Touch in the Elementary Classroom

I recently came across the move + play + learn blog, maintained by Dr. Michael A. Evans, Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech, and graduate students in the instructional design and technology program. A recent post on the blog discussed how 40 iPod Touch devices were "air dropped" to an elementary school for a math and language art teacher to use with their students. The above picture shows how the teachers used their creativity to establish a space to store the iPods when not in use. He'll be posting more about the iPod Touch airdrop in the future.


Dr. Evans supports the use of games in educational settings and posted the following interview with Dr. James Paul Gee about ways videogames can be used for learning and ongoing assessment.


"Grading with Games: An Interview with James Paul Gee"

Dr. Gee is the author of What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2003, Second Edition 2007), and Good Video Games + Good Learning: Collected Essays on Video Games, Learning, and Literacy

The Smart Table is Now Available for Purchase!

The Smart Table is now available for purchase!



Here is the plug:

"The world's first multitouch, multiuser table for primary education - the SMART Table - is now available for purchase.Order the SMART Table"

"As a collaborative learning center, the SMART Table enables engaging and motivating small-group learning experiences. Up to eight students can use their fingers intuitively to sweep, slide and spin objects on the interactive screen. The SMART Table's ready-made activities help primary students gain and further their skills in areas like counting and reading."

"The SMART Table also makes an ideal complement to whole-class activities on the SMART Board^™ interactive whiteboard. It helps reinforce concepts in a small-group setting and ensures students can participate in interactive and creative learning experiences."

(Cross-posted on the Interactive Multimedia Technology and Technology-Supported Human-World Interaction blogs.)