Using the Advanced SmartBoards Features

Table of Contents

The SmartBoard acts as an interactive computer touch screen with either a Mac or PC connected to a projector. This document explains the special features available in the PC version of the SmartBoard software. SmartBoards are available in Library 277, Old Main 11, Old Main 15, Science Center 184, and Flaten 10.

Using the SmartBoard

  1. Turn on the SmartCart and projector as directed in the section "Turning on the SmartCart" in the "SmartCart Documentation"
  2. Turn on either the PC or the Mac using the directions in the sections "Operating the PC" or "Operating the Mac."
  3. Orient the board by double-clicking the SmartBoard Driver icon on the desktop, or in the system tray. Select the "Orient Board" option. You can choose either the Quick setup or Standard, depending on how accurate you want the touch screen to be.
  4. Lightly tap the board to click, using your fingers just like you would use a mouse. The board reads your finger-clicking as a left mouse button. You can right click on objects on the board by pushing the "R click" button located on the right side of the pen trays.
  5. Use the pens in the color-coded trays to draw on the projected computer desktop. Use the eraser to erase the "virtual" pen drawings.
  6. You can get other options by clicking on the Floating Tools button on the SmartBoard menu. A toolbar will appear with options such as pen, highlight, erase, and right click.

Text Input from the SmartBoard

  1. Select the Keyboard button on the SmartBoard Desktop menu.
  2. The SmartBoard Keyboard window will appear with either a white handwriting recognition area or virtual keyboard. If the keyboard appears, click on the "Write" button on the upper part of the keyboard to switch to handwriting recognition.
  3. Use one of the pens from the tray to write in the large white area. The handwriting will automatically be transferred to text.
  4. Edit the text if necessary.
  5. Press the "Commit" button on the lower right side of the window to have the text transferred to your open document.
  6. You can also use the onscreen keyboard by pressing the "keyboard" button to enter text directly into your document.


Notepad

Notepad is a program similar to PowerPoint that is used to create slide shows for class use or online distribution. One can save these "slide shows" as an html or PDF document as well as in Notepad's own file format.
  1. Select the Notepad button on the SmartBoard desktop menu.
  2. Write your notes in the first slide using the pens from the tray . To change the handwriting into text, put the pen back on the tray and touch/click on the writing. This will put a box around the selected words with an "A" in the upper right corner. Press the "A" to change the words to text.
  3. To start a new slide, press the "+ Blank" button on the left toolbar.
  4. Use the "Back" and "Next" buttons on the toolbar to navigate from slide to slide. Use the "Undo" button to remove an unwanted change.
  5. To delete a page, go to Edit and select "Delete Page"
  6. The View menu has options for viewing the slides in a full screen mode or a page sorting mode.
  7. To insert images into a slide, select Insert and select Clipart or Picture from File.
  8. To save the slideshow as a PDF or html document for online distribution, select the desired save option from the File menu.


Recording Digital Video Clips

The SmartBoard software allows you to digitally record your actions on the computer screen to the .avi format. These files can be played using MediaPlayer or can be inserted into Powerpoint presentations.

  1. Select the Record button from the SmartBoard desktop menu.
  2. Press the record button.
  3. Perform the desired action and select Stop from the Smart Recorder toolbar. This will bring up the Save window allowing you to save the .avi file to the desired location.
  4. To pause recording select the Pause button from the Smart Recorder toolbar, and then select record again to resume recording.
  5. Note: this feature is useful for brief recordings only because file sizes are very large.
  6. To make the .avi file available for viewing insert it into a PowerPoint presentation or put it on the Web for downloading.


Special PowerPoint Features

  1. When you view a PowerPoint show, the SmartBoard will display a toolbar with left and right arrow buttons. Use these to navigate from slide to slide.
  2. You can also use finger taps to navigate. Tap once and then tap again to the right of the first tap to go to the next slide. Tap once and then tap again to the left of the first tap to go to the previous slide.

 

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