A great
number of ready-made resources are packaged with interactive whiteboard software. ACTIVstudio, for example, comes with number of engaging interactive "ACTIVities"
for lessons in literacy, numeracy, science and other subjects suitable for
all Key Stages. It also has other resources such as ready-made pages and
flipcharts. A visit to the Promethean Planet gives you access to well over a thousand free
flipcharts and web resources. If you sign up (it's free) for the
Promethean Forum you can get access to resources being shared by
other users of ACTIVboards, ACTIVprimary and ACTIVstudio.
A visit to the
SMART Board and Easiteach
sites will lead to similar resources. Register (again, it's free) with
SMART Education and get access to resources for SMART Notebook.
However, there are a growing number
of websites, often LEA or school websites, that offer high quality, free
resources to download or to use online. This page contains links, with
accompanying short reviews, to the best of these.
ACCE Interactive
Whiteboard Resources
This Cardiff
website is the gateway to interactive whiteboard resources for
SMART
Board, Promethean's
ACTIVboard and general resources for use with any board.
Some of these can be used without a whiteboard, either with a projector,
or simply on the computer itself. This site contains plenty of resources
for any subject and links to sites with many more.
Active Maths
Interactive
resources to "enhance and enrich the teaching and learning of maths". The
site is aimed at KS 2 and has four sections - Whiteboard Worksheets,
Active Worksheets, Active Fractions & Decimals and Active Algebra. The
site has many "tasters" that can be used for free. Active Maths is a
certified Curriculum Online product and the content can be purchased with eLearning Credits (eLCs) from the website.
Big Screen Calculator
There are
many big screen calculators especially made for interactive whiteboards.
This is one of the better ones, courtesy of AmbleWeb, that is free to use.
Of course, a calculator comes free as part of Windows (just look in
"Accessories" under "All Programs" on the Start menu) and this could be
used. However, this one is far more child-friendly.
BT Better World
This site
has interactive content of the highest standard. What is more, the site
concentrates on themes a little different from most of the sites mentioned
on this page. Being made by BT there is a lot about communication and
interaction.
TalkDog
is excellent for the development of speaking and listening skills for
example. There is plenty, also, about PSHE issues such as friendship,
bullying and the problems children have. A very useful site for teachers
that children will find very engaging.
Count Us In
These are
lovely interactive games for Foundation Stage and KS 1 children that help
develop early mathematical skills of counting, adding, subtracting and so on.
Full of colour and animation, young children will find the site very
appealing.
Educator Resources
This
American site is an online community for educators using SMART products.
It has a bulletin board where you can share information and you can sign up
for the monthly newsletter if you wish. There are downloads available for
SMART boards and best of all there are many
lesson activities freely available. SMART board users would do well to
fully explore this site.
ICT Games
This site is
divided up into two parts - Literacy and Numeracy. These engaging
interactive games are for Foundation Stage and KS 1 children. They are
linked to National Literacy Strategy and National Numeracy Strategy
objectives. All in all, a wonderful free resource for interactive whiteboards.
Interactive Resources
This site
has many excellent interactive maths games under various headings
including Primary Games, Teaching Time, Teaching Measures, Teaching Money
and Teaching Tables. All the games can be bought with eLCs but all can be
played free online with a "Demo" or "Evaluation Version" notice in the
background (which is not too intrusive).
Interactive Whiteboards - Classroom Resources (Stockton)
Stockton LEA
have put together numerous resources for interactive whiteboards including
Textease files and PowerPoint presentations for use in the core subjects
at KS 1 and 2. As well as many other 'home-grown' products they also have
links to other resources on the Web.
Crickweb's Flash
Studio
Someone has
been working very hard at Crick Primary School building the most
marvellous collection of Flash produced interactive whiteboard games for
use in Maths, Literacy and Science. There is also a lovely collection of
games for Early Years children.
Furbles
Furbles are
strange little creatures that can be sorted according various criteria -
colour, eyes, shape. They can be graphed (bar charts and pie charts) and
it hoped that they "motivate thought about statistical representations of
populations and links between probability and statistics". Sounds
complicated - but it isn't. Made especially for the interactive
whiteboard, it is a joy to use.
The Standards Site - Numeracy
The National
Numeracy Strategy publications page (on The Standards Site) has a section
entitled "Interactive teaching programs". Here you will find twenty-six
maths programs involving many different maths topics for use across the
primary age range. They have been made especially for whole-class teaching
using an interactive whiteboard. Use them online or download the programs.
Below these you will find "ICT resources". If you haven't got them already
(on CD-ROM) then these are well worth adding to your whiteboard resources.
Rainforest Maths
Jenny
Eather's marvellously colourful site is a veritable treasure trove of
maths games for pupils of all ages across the primary school. Games at
various levels covering topics in number, algebra, measurement, shape,
space, data-handling, probability and many more are at you disposal here.
The site is Australian but will be fine for use in UK schools - except
when studying a topic on money!
Interactive
Whiteboard Resources (eRiding)
This LEA
website offers Promethean, SMART and other board resources. Here you will
find many Excel, Word and PowerPoint files for use in primary literacy and
numeracy.
Interactive
Websites
An exhaustive collection of
links to interactive sites that are particularly good for use with the
interactive whiteboard. This is an American site but there are many
excellent resources here under various subject headings. Worth a look.
Maths Zone
A truly marvellous resource for
maths lessons! The people responsible for Maths Zone have collected
together links to an amazing number of interactive websites on the Web and
categorised them. Click on the 'KS1/KS2' button and you will see a menu on
your left comprising of Number, Shape and Space, Measures, Data Handling
and Mental Maths. Click on the topic of your choice and numerous links
appear in the right-hand frame. A not-to-be-missed resource!
Maths Stuff
Another great maths site
ideally suited to the interactive whiteboard. Mainly for older primary
school children you will find investigations, games and resources. There's
a useful revision section as well as a variety of quizzes. Look in "Other
Stuff" for a few surprises!
NAACE Primary
Classroom Activities
This site, formerly known as
KidsMAPE, is full of very useful free resources for primary teachers. Most
can be used online but many can be downloaded and installed as programs on
your computer. There are a lot of programs that are well suited to the
interactive whiteboard, for example DISCLOZE (a text disclosure program),
SORTING GAMES (rather like using a branching database ) and JUMBO (a
simulation that involves sequencing instructions). Best of all there is a
selection of BIG BOOKS for use in the Literacy Hour - one or two of them
even have sound. A great site whether you use an interactive whiteboard or
not!
National Whiteboard
Network
There are so many resources to
download from here. There are
Literacy and
Mathematics
resources for use with the Foundation Stage through to Year 6. In the
ICT Across the
Curriculum section you will find science, history and geography
resources. The
Submitted resources section contains many files shared by teachers and
LEA teams. These resources come in the form of Easiteach, ACTIVstudio and
SMART Board files and files for Office programs.
Number Gym
Another certified Curriculum
Online product which includes many free interactive activities if you want
to save those eLCs. These resources are for use right across the primary
age range (and beyond) with many different maths topics covered.
Primary Interactive
Lots of good mathematics and
literacy games for the whiteboard can be found here. There is also a
selection related to science and to the early years. Only a few are for
foundation subjects but perhaps there are more to come.
Poisson Rouge
Wonderful website for
Foundation Stage children! And for the interactive whiteboard! This
colourful site could be useful in many different areas of learning
including mathematical, language and creative development. Early years
practitioners are strongly advised to check out this site - it's a
delight! More superb whiteboard content, presumably by the same people,
can be found at Interactica
where you can visit (on the Metro) the Turner Gallery, Rycroft Park, Toy
Avenue and the School of English.
Whiteboard Resources (BfGL)
Birmingham Grid for Learning
have provided some exceptional free resources here for use in English,
Mathematics, Science and other subjects. These resources are for
Foundation Stage, KS 1 and KS 2 children. They have a 'normal' version
(for the PC) and a dedicated whiteboard version. They also provide links
to interactive activities on other websites. Excellent!
Interactive
Whiteboard Resources (Oxon)
Yet another LEA website with
superb free resources for the interactive whiteboard. There are a lot of
SMART Notebook files for literacy and numeracy on offer but there are many
other types of file as well including many for use with ACTIVstudio and
Easiteach. There are also useful links to other sites too.
IWB.org.uk (Interactive Whiteboard
Resources)
Wow! This site has "a rapidly
growing bank of free to use tools and resources created for teachers who
are teaching with an interactive whiteboard (IWB)." These resources come
in a wide variety of formats. There are resources for the Foundation
Stage, Key Stage 1 and 2 in a range of subjects. You can contribute your
own resources and there's even a forum to discuss IWB issues or to ask
questions.
The Promethean
Lighthouse Flipcharts
The Lighthouse for Education is
an excellent website and their collection of Promethean flipcharts has to
be seen to be believed. Here you will find flipcharts (for ACTIVstudio and
some for ACTIVprimary) for all core and most foundation subjects. There
are flipcharts for use with Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and 2 children.
The Further Literacy Support section could be particularly useful.
Science Clips (BBC)
This typically brilliant BBC
website has animated content for Years 1 through to 6. Each section has
six 'clips' devoted to appropriate science topics for that particular year
group, from "Ourselves" (Ages 5 - 6) to "Changing Circuits" (Ages 10 -
11). Packed with information and including a quiz, these have obviously
been made with the interactive whiteboard in mind and for whole class
teaching. Click on the "Resources for Teachers" button for some really
useful teaching materials.
Children's
University of Manchester
This institution is obviously
trying to "catch 'em early" and these interactive resources on science
topics such as "The Earth and Beyond" and "Teeth and Eating" are just the
kind of thing to grab the attention of Key Stage 2 children. There is also
an English topic ("Words") and an art and design topic ("Talking
Textiles") which may well prove very useful to busy primary practitioners.
Santa's
Christmas Flipcharts
There will, of course, be many
other websites that should be part of this list. If you have one in mind
email the
webmaster and, if appropriate, it will be added. The
BBC Schools website has
brilliant interactive content in all subjects appropriate for 4-11 year
olds and much of it will be eminently suitable for the whiteboard. More
free whiteboard resources will be available at the
Teacher Resource Exchange. Simply
type "interactive whiteboards" (or other keywords) into the search
facility on these sites to bring up a large number of resources.
Thanks to Tony Poulter for these links
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