05+Developing+Lessons

[[image:statenislandsmart:Picture4.jpg width="220" height="161" align="left"]]Creating Your Own Lesson
You are now going to write a lesson plan for an activity that will allow you to integrate a SMART product into your classroom. Remember to keep this lesson simple to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Focused practice with new skills will increase the likelihood that SMART tools become a permanent part of your instruction.

You may download this lesson plan template or use your own. Regardless of the method you choose for recording your lesson, remember to:
 * **Consider beginning from an existing SMART lesson:** One of the easiest ways to begin experimenting with SMART products is to download one of the [|sample lessons] from the SMART Web site. After saving the lesson to your computer, you can either implement it as is, or revise it to meet the specific needs of the students in your classroom.
 * **Limit the length of your lesson:** If you plan to design a lesson from scratch, consider keeping it to only two or three slides. This will give you the opportunity to try out a few specific features without having to invest countless hours into preparation. Also remember that SMART products are new to your students too! Working through simple activities will serve to introduce them to the new interactive elements that you plan to use in your classroom.
 * **Build in opportunities for interaction:** Carefully consider ways that students can manipulate hardware devices and the Notebook software suite to interact with content during the course of your lesson. Try to move your lesson beyond a simple presentation to take full advantage of the powerful tools
 * **Seek out advice from building experts:** Remember that there are experts at using technology right in your building! Seek out their advice when designing and implementing your lesson. Ask to see materials that they have used successfully and consider observing their classrooms while they teach a lesson integrating SMART products.
 * **Revisit the tutorials available at the SMART Web site:** There are dozens of [|short video tutorials] available on SMART's Web site providing step-by-step directions for using the annotation, editing, presentation, and file management tools available. Consider taking time to review several of these tutorials while developing your lesson. They are a terrific source of valuable information for novice users of the technology.