SmartBoards

Setting up

      SmartBoard is a brand name for a group of interactive whiteboards. The required SmartBoard equipment is a board that is sensitive to touch, a projector which may be any brand or a built-in SmartBoard projector, a computer and appropriate software. Software either comes with the equipment through a access code, as a free sample or as purchased software. Software is available under Support at smarttech.com

      Like any tool, electronic or not, is only as good as how it is used. Check out this video.

Some Interactive Basics

      Touching the screen is similar to clicking on a computer. Typical components are pens and erasers this time similar to those used on a standard "non-interactive white boards." A quick erase is to drag a circle around an item and tappng in the middle. Other tools can be found and added to the quick reference with a simple touch and drag. A sample tool is the spotlight which comes in different shapes, can be distorted and moved around the screen. While the spotlight focuses on a particular portion of the screen there's a shade which hides a part of the screen. There are also tools to grab screenshots and to record a video of the action.

The Notebook

      The most commonly perceived use of the interactive whiteboard is the notebook, an application which allows users to write and draw on the board, modify, edit and save. Some compare it to a series of PowerPoint slides instead of pages of a notebook.

      A sample activity is to grab a pen and write word on the board, click on the word and then the iconic triangle in the upper right corner of the resulting rectangle to see a drop down menu. The menu includes an option to recognize the handwritten word as text. Open a webpage and highlight a section of the page, and with screen capture, grab and put on the notebook.

      One can save the notebook for later uses, print it or export it as a .jpg or .pdf. To add more pages, click on the add page icon.

Interactive Gallery

      In the gallery, find the sampler and choose the lesson activity toolkit and templates. Choose interactive/multimedia, edit, and pictures. Click on reset and drag the answers to the appropriate places.

Coming Soon

      Coming soon