Gretchen Monahan, a teacher of Reading and Math, Reading Recovery and Leveled Literacy Intervention for K–2 students at Avalon Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, sent in this fun SMART Notebook tip that shows how you can use the Fading Ink feature in your lessons.

I like to use the fading pen in SMART Notebook 11 to write math facts.  I adjust the fading time so students have a set amount of time to solve the math problem.  I also like to use it when we are learning vocabulary.  Fading Ink is a great addition to SMART Notebook 11 collaborative learning software.

Here’s how you can use this feature in your lessons:

First click the Pens icon found in the toolbar, and then the Properties tab along the side of your Notebook page, and select Fill Effects.

Check the box beside the option to Enable ink to fade after you write it.  That will enable the Fade time, which you can adjust from two seconds to 12.  If you think your students will need more time to answer the question, you might want to select longer than six seconds for your ink to fade. I’d suggest using 10 seconds for younger grades.

Right below Fill Effects, you can click the Line Style to pick the color, thickness and style of the line you want to fade. When you are happy with your selections, click Save Tool Properties, to save your changes.

If you want to make these changes permanent for one of the pens, click on the pen at the top of the toolbar and Save Tool Properties again.

After you have set up the fading ink pen, you can create any activity or problem for your students to solve.

You can use this feature with something as easy as 2+2=4, or as complicated as an algebra equation like -5x + 20 = 25 where X=-1.

The fading ink pen timing would have to be adjusted for the appropriate grades.

I like to use the Fading Pen in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.  My students use it for continued practice, and it’s a great way to get them solving facts quicker, which is important in their every day math use.

Find my lessons on the SMART Exchange website.

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About the author

Gretchen Monahan is a K-2 Title I Reading and Math, Reading Recovery and Leveled Literacy Teacher at Avalon Elementary School in the Northgate School District just outside of Pittsburgh, PA.  She became a SMART Exemplary Educator in 2010 and attended the 2012 SEE Summit in Calgary, Canada.  Monahan is a 2008 Pennsylvania Keystone Integrator of Technology and has been using a SMART Board interactive whiteboard ever since!

She has presented at various local conferences and presented at the SMART Board User’s Conference at the Tatnall School in Wilmington, Delaware.

“I am looking forward to more professional development opportunities now that I am back from the SEE Summit and have made such wonderful contacts and connections from around the world.”