EdIT - Educational Information Technology
Using the Smartboard
Getting Started
Controlling the Computer
Writing on the Board
Save Session
Troubleshooting
About the Smartboard
SMARTBoard interactive white boards and projectors are located in the 417 (TALS), 420 and 106 Computer Classroom Labs. A portable SMART Board is also available for checkout from the LTRC Media Center.
The SMART Board in each lab is connected to the instructor's station, allowing the instructor to display his or her computer desktop to the whiteboard. Pressing lightly on the touch-sensitive board creates contact points which the SMART Board software tracks and interprets into mouse clicks or pen marks, depending upon which tool is selected.
The instructor is thus able to control the computer (move windows, launch applications, navigate the internet, etc) and write and draw upon the projected desktop. These notations can then be saved and exported to several different formats.
The following instructions are only intended as an introduction to the use of the SMART Boards in the labs. If you will be using one of the lab SMART Boards extensively or plan to save and export the work you will be doing, you should consider visiting the Software Library at the SMARTBoard home page and downloading your own copy of the software, which is free and comes with extensive documentation.
Please note, the SMART Boards in the computer classroom labs should not to be confused with the SoftBoard interactive white boards in the 216 Auditorium and the 202 Distance Learning Lab.
The SMART Board software should automatically launch upon login, placing an icon in the system tray and opening the SMART Board menu window. Because the instructor's stations and projectors in each lab enjoy some measure of mobility, it is common for the projector and SMART Board to get bumped out of alignment. Any time you intend to use the SMART Board, you should take a moment to orient the board, which allows the SMART Board software to align the touch-sensitive board with the projected image.Select Orient Board from either the SMART Board menu window or from the icon in the system tray. Depending upon the SMART Board version, you may or may not be promted to select a calibration level. For normal usage, select the Standard (20 Points) setting and click Next.
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By default, all contact points on the SMART Board are interpreted as mouse clicks. Use your finger as you would use a mouse: double-tap on an icon to open or launch it, tap once on hyperlinks within web pages, press down (gently) and slide your finger across the screen to drag windows, etc.
"Right-clicking" is also
possible.
Select Floating Tools from the SMARTBoard menu to bring up the
Floating
Tools window. Select the Right Mouse Button tool (circled here
in red).
When the mouse icon in the Tools window changes color, the next tap
will
be interpreted as a right button mouse click.While most people
will prefer to return to the computer itself whenever they require use
of
the keyboard, it is possible to do some keyboarding from the board.
Selecting Keyboard from the SMARTBoard menu will bring up the SMART
Keyboard window.
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Along the bottom of the SMART Board is a Pen Tray containing an eraser and four colored stylus-pens. To draw on the projected computer screen, simply pick up one of the "pens" and use it (or your finger) to write on the SMART Board. The trays contain optical sensors that detect which pen is lifted, enabling you to write in the corresponding color. If more than one pen is removed from the tray, writing will be the color of the pen most recently removed from the tray.
To "erase" your
writing, simply use the eraser in the Pen Tray.You can by-pass the use of
stylus and Pen Tray by using the Floating Tools window
(available
through the SMART Board menu). The Floating Tools window allows you to
switch
between controlling the cursor, a pen, the eraser and a hi-liting tool
without
using any of the tools in the Pen Tray. You can also instantly erase
all
your writing with the clear screen button.There are several means by which you can save the content you create on the SMART Board.
Screen Captures - You can take individual screen captures of your work. The Floating Tools palette has both a 'capture entire screen' and 'capture selection' button.
Screen captures are saved as standard BMP files which you can edit with most graphics applications.
Notebooks - If you'll be taking several screen captures, you can also create SMART Notebooks (select Notebook from the SMART Board menu). When working in a SMART Notebook, screen captures are automatically thumbnailed in a navigation bar to the right, making it easy to go back and see previous screens.
Notebooks can be saved in their own format which can then be viewed with the downloadable SMART software. Notebooks can also be be exported to HTML or PDF formats for easy posting to the internet. For detailed instructions on working with Notebooks, see the documentation accompanying the downloadable SMART Board software.
Movies - By select Recorder from the SMART Board menu, you can record you work as playable AVI or QuickTime movies which can be watched in real time. You can change the recording quality and frame rate to suit your preferences and space restrictions. For more information on saving your work as movies, see the documentation accompanying the downloadable SMART Board software.
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After logging in, I get a message saying the computer doesn't see the SMARTBoard 1) Check the SMART Board status lights
Toward the bottom of the Pen Tray where the serial cable connects to the SMART Board is a status light. This light should be red. The other end of the serial cable connects to the back of the computer. This serial connection has a small light which should be green.If either of these status lights is not showing properly, check the serial connection at the SMART Board and on the back of the computer.
In the SMART Board menu select Control Panel.
If the SMART Board is connected and active but refuses to let you control the cursor or write on the board:
3) Check
the Pen Tray
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For additional assistance with the SMARTBoard interactive whiteboards, please contact the Poe Hall Computer Help Desk.
