So far in the Amplify Learning series, we’ve discussed how SMART Audio can benefit you, and what the system is and how it works.

One of the main reasons that SMART Audio is a valuable addition to a SMART-enabled classroom is its seamless integration with SMART Notebook collaborative learning software.

That’s because you’ll never have to leave your SMART Notebook lesson to adjust the volume of your audio – whether it’s the volume of a second microphone, your MP3 player or the video file you downloaded from the SMART Exchange website.

When SMART Audio is connected to your SMART Board interactive whiteboard, a SMART Audio icon appears in your SMART Notebook toolbar. When you press the icon, you can quickly adjust the volume on up to five separate audio inputs.

Audio inspiration from around the Web

In addition to the video, audio and multimedia files found on SMART Exchange and in the SMART Notebook Gallery, there are great audio and video resources all over the Internet. Here a just a few:

• Mustech Wiki – music teachers share their SMART Notebook lessons, PowerPoint slides and ideas
• Soundbible.com – free sound clips, sound bites and sound effects
• Soungle.com – Search engine for sounds
• Wavcentral.com – short clips from TV shows and movies
• Lit2Go: free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format
• Soundboard.com – Create a collection of sounds (or a soundboard) from over 380,000 different sounds
• Thefutureschannel.com – Educational videos covering topics ranging from science and technology to sports.
• iTunes U – free lectures, audio books and language lessons
• SnagFilms – large, free collection of independent movies

(Thank you to teacherslovesmartboards.com for some of these resource ideas)

Up next: Part 4 of the Amplify Learning Series will summarize some of the relevant research available about hearing and learning and classroom amplification systems.