Brightlinks Light Up Classroom Experience

By Mrs. Liz Peters, Corpus Christi Teacher

New to our classrooms this year are Brightlink projectors!  These projectors allow teachers to turn the white board already hanging in the classrooms into interactive white boards.  This technology, which is hooked into the classroom computers, allows teachers to share information from the internet with students, create review and quiz activities, extend learning with interactive websites, and email or print notes for students.

 I can’t believe how lucky I am to have a Brightlink projector in my classroom!  It has really opened up the world to my students.  When we first began investigating the idea of a “smart board” type projector for each room, I had all kinds of ideas about how I could use the Brightlink.  I am amazed at how many other ways that I have discovered to use the Brightlink to enhance the subjects and engage my students. 

My Brightlink was hooked  up in September,  so I was able to begin using the new technology  almost from the first day of school.  This allowed me to find websites that were relevant to the material I was teaching and share it with the kids.  I found some really great sites to enhance the science and social studies units that I teach.  For example, when the students were learning about coral reefs, I was able to find photos on-line of different reefs and types of coral to share with the students.  I also found great sites to share with my students when we studied about space.  We recently viewed a time-lapse video of the Discovery launch.  I think one of the most memorable ways the Brightlink was used was when the Chilean miners were being rescued; we had CNN on all day so we could watch the miners come up one by one.  I know I won’t ever forget seeing that, and I doubt my students will either. 

I have spent much of the year trying to tie what my students were learning into Brightlink lessons.  Luckily, the projectors we purchased came with educational software that was preloaded with hundreds of lessons for all grade levels and subjects.  There were many interactive lessons where the students could come up to the board and manipulate the objects as part of their learning.  I also searched on-line and found thousands of interactive sites that allowed students to be more involved with religion, social studies, math, and literature.  When I find a site that the students really like, I email it to parents allowing students to continue learning at home.  The students love the sites and it doesn’t feel like homework!

Along with the websites and interactive sites I have also created quizzes for my students.  I borrowed the Turning Point Clicker system from the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District and used the software to create power point quizzes that the students could take.  The clickers allow students to privately answer questions on the board in a group setting, similar to how they audience votes on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”  The students love to use the clickers and also to see immediately if they got an answer right or not.

Another way that I use the Brightlink is for notes and other daily activities.  I put notes on the board for the students to copy for different lessons.  When a student is absent, I can now print the notes they missed for the day.  I can also email notes home to parents for students who may not have gotten everything written down during class.  This has really made a difference for my students who are absent because they know they can get the correct notes for the days they missed.

I can’t wait until next year when I find more uses for the Brightlink projector.  As these types of projectors become more popular I am sure I can find even more websites with activities that will enhance the learning in my classroom.