Topic 1.1: What is SMART Board? A quick guide to better understanding the history, the development, and implementation of the SMART Board.

 In 1987, a gentleman by the name of David Martin developed the SMART company which distributed projectors.  The monies incurred from these product sales were invested into the study and development of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard.  The Smart Board was created to detect touch for user input. The History…Background

 In 1991 SMART Technologies manufactured the first interactive whiteboard.  The first group of people or organization to realize the potential of the interactive whiteboard was educators.  Educators quickly saw the tool as a potential for improving instruction, student engagement, student learning outcomes. Quick Facts

 A SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that has a touch-sensitive screen and works in conjunction with a computer and a projector. What is a SMART Board?

 The SMART Board functions using the interactive whiteboard, a computer, a projector, and specific SMART Board software.  The equipment can be connected using serial cables or there is the option for wireless capabilities.  The projector will display the images on the interactive whiteboard that are on the desktop.  The interactive whiteboard detects touch by a solid object such as your finger, palm, SMART Board pen, etc. How It Works…

 The SMART Board uses technology called DViT to recognize and respond to touch on the whiteboard surface.  DViT stands for Digital Vision Touch, and it is camera- based technology software being used to detect touch. How it Works

 A majority of the SMART Boards come with a pen tray mounted on the front or side of the interactive board that contains 2 to 4 interactive pens and an eraser.  The pen tray is comprised of all of the technology to make the pens and eraser interactive.  The interactive pens do not have ink or electronic elements.  Once a pen is removed from its designated tray, a colored light appears and a sensor indicates that the pen has been removed. Using the Interactive Equipment

 When a pen is removed from the tray, the user can now write on the interactive board. Unless the user changes the ink options through their tools and menu, they ink will appear on the board the same color as it is indicated on the pen tray.  The whiteboard processes the next contact with the screen with whatever interactive tool last chosen by the user. That chosen tool is now viewed as “active” by the interactive board. Using the Interactive Equipment

 There are 2 buttons on the pen tray.  When pressed simultaneously, it allows you to calibrate the touch screen using one of the SMART Board pens.  The button on the right allows the user to do basic functions such as copy, cut, paste, select, and so on.  The button on the left will allow a keyboard to appear and users may type letters, words, and or numbers. The Pen Tray

 When purchasing a SMART Board, SMART Notebook software is included and allows users to upload or create new files to be projected on the screen.  There is a variety of other SMART software products available to the consumers such as: Smart Response interactive response, the Smart Document Camera, Smart Ideas concept-mapping software, Smart Notebook Math Tools and Smart Slates.  The SMART Board interactive whiteboard is designed to work with any program available on the host computer. Software

 The SMART Board can be used in teaching, training, delivering presentations, conducting meetings, and hosting conferences.  Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel are applications that are mostly used with the SMART Board. Uses of SMART Board

 The information was gathered from the documents and manuals available with the purchase of the SMART Board equipment.  For more information you may visit the official SMART Board website: References & Citations