Hey all! 
     So I hope you all are having an amazing week. Besides my kiddos were full of spunk today and I actually love it. We were having lots of fun, especially because we received an awesome little gadget in the mail! It’s called the now!Board and it’s from Learning Resources. So it will retail for $499 and will be available in April, 2012. Learning Resources asked me if I would like to try it out and review the product and of course obliged. 
     In our school we have one SMART board interactive whiteboard per grade.  Not ideal, as we have 3 or 4 classrooms per grade. They are on wheels, which make them portable but ginormous! Furthermore, they take up half a classroom I swear, and you totally have to rearrange your room to accommodate them. Last year we took turns using it every 3 months. Quite a pain! So this year, one teacher took it and the rest of us, GOT NOTHIN’! It’s no ones fault, they are just expensive, can’t be mounted in old schools full of asbestos and we can’t afford one for each teacher. Just a white board and a dry erase marker for me this year. Until now! The now!Board is very portable.  In addition, it includes and small camera, a fun, easy to use pointer and stylus.  So, you will need a projector. I used mine from my ELMO.   In fact… the now!Board and my ELMO fit together on the same cart. Which I LOVE! Below is my set up. Also it’s just a small cart, see the camera in corner. That is the now! Board camera, the pointer and the stylus is also on the top of the cart as well.   

     So you are probably wondering what I think of how it works.  Well…at first I had trouble calibrating it.  It took a while to figure out the perfect set up on the cart, distance from the whiteboard, etc. But once that was all figured out, I LOVED it.  I have to say that the now!Board stylus is much easier for students to learn than the SMART board pens.  As a person who is completely obsessed with neat handwriting, I can honestly say that the writing on the now!Board is much more precise, as well.  So today we had lots of fun with an interactive calendar and a cool synonym soccer game.   I’m very excited about this addition to my classroom. 
     Therefore, if you teach in a sweet little school like mine that doesn’t have money for fancy cameras and projectors hanging from your ceiling, this is an excellent tool for you.  Plus, I really think it’s easier to use than alternative interactive whiteboards.  Learning Resources gets a big thumbs up from me. 
                                                          NOW….
For a great giveaway.  Learning Resources is allowing me to give my readers a chance to win a $100 dollar gift card.  I’m super excited for y’all!  Also I am trying to use a new giveaway tool. Check out the widget below to enter. Good luck friends! 

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