now!Board review and a giveaway!!

Hi everyone! I am so excited to share this new product with you!! (plus it's been like an eon since I've been on here--I've missed you all so!).

So...I first learned about now!Board from Erin Klein's fantastic and comprehensive blog, over at Kleinspiration. I was then asked to review the product and was ecstatic to try it out!

So what is this product?

The now!Board is a technology created to turn any flat surface into an interactive whiteboard (you do need a computer and projector in order to use this tool).

The now!Board also meant to be portable and easy to set up. And it is! It comes with just a few basic parts:

• A camera that plugs into your computer (with a USB cable) and faces your whiteboard (or other surface). The camera is very easy to maneuver and line up for calibration...

• A stylus for calibration and interaction with the whiteboard...

• And a wand that makes it easy for students to point and click away on the screen...

And that's it! It only took me a few moments to get everything up and running. And once it was running...it was amazing!

The software comes with a wonderful menu of tools you can use to assist your instruction...

The highlighter tool is one of our favorites! We've used it on passages from Study Island and to highlight excerpts from books during Reader's Workshop (on our document camera)...

I think the most exciting thing about this technology is that now!Board has already changed how I use the Internet for instruction.

For instance, my students have always used Spelling City on their own or with partners. But they tended to gravitate to the same basic games, since some of the other games were a bit more challenging to complete on their own (language-wise).

With the now!Board, we are able to work as a class on some the more difficult games that focus on word meaning. And we don't just play the games. We stop, discuss strategies for finding word meanings, circle and highlight key words, and so much more!

There are so many wonderful (and free!) interactive websites out there. With the now!Board, there are countless possibilities to enhance student learning. In all honesty, I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a piece of technology (and you know I love technology!).

One more fantastic thing about this product! Once calibrated, it stays calibrated! I don't have any other interactive whiteboards in my classroom, but I have used some in the past that lost their calibration from a little movement. I was delighted to discover this is not the case with now!Board. I've had some students bump into the table where the camera is set up (I've cautioned them but kids will be kids, right?) and it doesn't matter! It stays calibrated!! I love it!

So, this product will be available this April and will cost $499. If you are interested in learning more about now!Board, you can access the website via the green link above.

Now for the giveaway part! Learning Resources is offering a $100 giftcard for any of their products!! There two chances to enter this giveaway (each can be a separate comment):

1. Like now!Board on their Facebook
2. Follow Ladybug's Teacher Files (or leave me a comment saying hello if you already follow my blog--I miss talking to you guys!).

The winning name will be announced on Sunday, February 26th!

P.S. My sweet friend Cheryl over at Primary Graffiti is having the same giveaway, she announced hers yesterday--be sure to head over to read her review and enter her giveaway as well...more chances to win!

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my first review (squeee!!).