simSchool and SMART Boards
What can they do for us?
By: Angela Potorski
What is “simSchool”?
A classroom simulation program funded by
the Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Teach
with Technology (PT3) program of the U.S.
Department of Education
simSchool immerses novice teachers in some
of the complexities of teaching 7th-12th grade
students who have different learning
characteristics and personalities.
Additionally…
simSchool players must analyze
student needs, make
instructional decisions, and
evaluate the impact of their
actions on student learning in
order to succeed at the game.
simSchool classroom
simulations…
Play an important role in aiding new
teachers in real classroom situations by
providing immediate feedback.
Better educate teachers for this first
encounters.
Allows teachers to experience more
practice time and allows them to try out
new teaching strategies and methods.
simSchool is…
A “first person” game where the player,
a teacher, is responsible for the success
of students.
The player’s choice of interactions affects
the students’ academic and behavioral
responses.
simSchool example scenario:
As class begins, the
player immediately
gauges students’
reactions by
observing their
posture.
Conversation Controller
Using the conversation
controller, players may
select particular phrases
to interact with students.
Particular phrases reflect a
particular stance
pertaining to behavior or
academics. Whatever the
player chooses will
automatically trigger a
variety of student
responses.
Lesson simulation
If a task the player gives
to the students exceeds
the students’ abilities
but lies within their
zone of proximal
development, students
will learn. If the task
falls short, students get
bored and learning
declines.
Time Simulation
The clock on the wall of
the “simClassroom”
records the passage of
time. High-performing
students may finish
tasks early and begin to
get bored. The player
must devise an extra
challenge for them.
Feedback…
It is crucial that teachers learn the
importance of time management and
how to engage a wide range of abilities
for students in a diverse world.
At the end of class, simSchool
generates a summary assessment for
each student in the role of a grade
book.
Populating the classroom…
Each classroom will have a
different mix of races,
performance profiles, and
personalities, enabling the play
of the simulation many times
with many different results.
Personalities of the “students”
In simSchool, each student’s
personality consists of three classes of
components with ten settings in each:
1) Five “Traits and Needs”
2) Seventeen “Learning Preferences”
3) A variable for “Social Expectations”
Traits and Needs
Constructed from the Five Factor
(OCEAN) Model of McCrae & Costa
(1996), for example:
Extroversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional stability
Intellectual openness
Learning Preferences
Based on the theories and models such as
Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple
Intelligences.
Verbal (writing and oral)
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Logical-math
Spatial
Kinesthetic
Music
Social Expectations
Simulations include…
How will they react in small and large
groups?
How will students react when you are
speaking with students individually? Will
they remain quiet or become
disruptive?
The player (teacher) has two forms
action to influence student
performance:
1) Designing and adjusting tasks
2) Talking to students through selected
phrases that appear in dialogue
balloons
The downside is?
This is a new technology that is just
beginning.
Many people may feel that simSchool is a
“videogame” and may respond negatively to
this new technology.
Dialogue between student and teacher is pre-
programmed into the program. Although
there are trillions of scenarios in this
program, you cannot personalize your
conversation.
Conclusion
Simulations are a powerful way for new
teachers to connect with new classroom
situations.
simSchool allows teachers to test out new
ideas before entering the classroom.
simSchool is a relatively simple game to learn
how to manipulate with enormous
opportunities for teacher education.
What is a SMART board?
The SMART Board is an affordable
interactive whiteboard that works with a
computer and a multi-media projection
system to create a powerful tool for
teaching, discussing and learning.
With a computer image projected onto
the Board, the surface becomes a touch
screen to control any application.
What is a SMART board?
You can interrupt the application to highlight
key information with a color electronic pen or
use the Board as a chalkboard to list
instructions, draw diagrams, offer notes,
illustrate ideas and highlight important
information.
You can capture the information at any time,
print it out, save it or email it to your
students and colleagues.
Is it hard to use?
No, in fact, it is quite simple to use!
If you can use a computer, you can use a
SMART Board interactive whiteboard.
The touch-sensitive
interactive whiteboard
saves time.
You can use notes over
computer applications,
save them in a file and
deliver the notes
electronically to all of your
students.
The interactive
whiteboard also facilitates
lesson planning.
Case studies have shown…
In the Bridge School, SMART boards have helped
special education students who have difficulties
in holding pens.
Kearsney College has reported that after using
interactive whiteboards the impact on students
was tremendous, specifically in their science
matriculation scores.
Mammoth-San Manuel Unified School District has
reported a drastic improvement in their reading
skills using a SMART Board interactive
whiteboard in their classroom.
BOCES students declare
that they are “eager to
incorporate the
technology into daily
classroom activities.”
Teachers will like that
they can stand at the
front of the room and
simply touch the screen to
move to the next slide.
They aren’t anchored to a
computer.
Interactive whiteboards
allows teachers and
students to access and
display websites, run
educational software,
run live video from a
camera, record,
capture, highlight and
review notes from a
classroom discussion,
deliver PowerPoint
presentations and more.
What’s the bad news?
SMART boards are expensive. One
interactive whiteboard and the
accompanying tools costs thousands.
But don’t worry! There are several
grants that may help to cover these
costs, such as the PD, eInstruction,
NEC, PREP, and much more.
What’s the bad news?
Teacher training is also inevitable and
time consuming.
Luckily, SMART boards are easy to use
and several teachers have some
experience with them now.
There are several workshops that one
could attend to learn the technology.
Conclusion
The SMART Board interactive whiteboard is
an amazing product because it is interactive,
flexible, and easy of use.
There has been a significant increase in
teacher productivity and student performance
across all grade levels with the
implementation of the SMART Board
interactive whiteboard within the K–12
learning environment.
Conclusion
This technology tool is one of the most reliable
ways for schools to change the way students
interact and learn with the least amount of
capital investment.
Teachers will appreciate the selection of user
templates and other great features that can only
enhance their existing instructional
methodologies.
This is the technology tool for teachers and
classes of the 21st century
References
http://www.smarttech.com/
http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-
US/Products/
Gibson, David and Zibit, Melanie.
simSchool: The Game of Teaching.
2005