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Macworld Expo 2011: Smart Technologies' interactive whiteboards

One of the most interesting booths at last week's Macworld Expo was that of Smart Technologies, who were showing off their interactive touch surface systems. These aren't necessarily Mac-related, unfortunately -- the equipment Smart sells is just an interface, or rather a series of interfaces designed to work with touch-based software. But Smart has supported the Mac platform for over 15 years, we were told, and the demo units on the floor were running OS X.

There were a few different concepts up and running (including a table-style touchscreen that used a camera in the table looking up at the touch canvas to optically detect where you were touching), but the most interesting was probably the interactive whiteboard system -- it's a traditional whiteboard with four cameras mounted on each corner facing the board itself, tracking optically on where and when the user is touching the board. The technology works great -- it can tell the difference between a finger, a paintbrush or a full hand swipe, and while Smart's drivers do work with the normal OS X system, they're also building hooks for their technology into various apps -- ArtRage is one that works well with the tech -- and Smart Technologies has their own app called Notebook as well.

Again, all of these things run on almost any platform, but Smart says they're committed to "the Mac customer base." Not only has Apple brought touch interfaces to the forefront with the iPhone and the iPad, but Smart told me that Apple is "now bringing the concept of touch into the [desktop] operating system" as well. Smart's solutions for touch will likely live outside of Apple's own definitions, but it was interesting to see what's possible these days in terms of these interfaces.

We've got a video demo from the show floor, embedded in the rest of this post.

Video below:



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Apple Developer OS X

One of the most interesting booths at last week's Macworld Expo was that of Smart Technologies, who were showing off their interactive...
 

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Calbing

Interactive whiteboards are used in many schools as replacements for traditional whiteboards or flipcharts. They provide ways to show students any thing which can be presented on a computer's desktop (educational software, web sites, and others). In addition, interactive whiteboards allow teachers to record their instruction and post the material for review by students at a later time. This can be a very effective instructional strategy for students who benefit from repetition, who need to see the material presented again, for students who are absent from school, for struggling learners, and for review for examinations. Brief instructional blocks can be recorded for review by students—they will see the exact presentation that occurred in the classroom with the teacher's audio input. This can help transform learning and instruction.
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February 15 2011 at 5:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
JD

Hitachi had this technology available almost 3 years ago.

February 03 2011 at 6:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
auxio

With regard to boardroom usage, it's a tough barrier to break down when people only want to use what they know (laptop + projector) because they're afraid to look bad in front of others (or they don't have time to bother with anything different). It was similar back when the transition from physical slides (transparencies) to laptop presentations was happening in the 1990s.

That's also why they tend to work better in lower school grades -- because children at that age don't have any preconceived notion about how a presentation should be done. Nor do they have any fear about making a fool of themselves.

I remember doing a presentation at a university on a SMART Board back in 1999 and I could have been talking about the technical details of paint drying for all the audience cared. They were literally mesmerized by how I was presenting: not looking at the laptop screen to navigate through the slides, writing notes as I spoke and/or people asked questions, highlighting important areas, etc. Definitely an ace in the hole if you want your presentation to really stand out.

February 02 2011 at 10:41 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Codeman

My district has a ton of these. They are pretty good quality. The Mac software is not that well written. It continually causes problems. The kids do love them, and it is great to see teachers using them.

February 02 2011 at 12:13 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ryan

Been using these for almost a decade now, and they're a little overrated. Maybe good in a school, but in gov, we use them as a projector screen and little more.

February 02 2011 at 12:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jdrbrn

Most underused product at my school

February 01 2011 at 10:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
MRCUR

I've dealt with a few hundred Smart Boards at this point between working at two different school districts. They're really great. Unfortunately, Smart's Mac software is really poor compared to its Windows counterpart.

February 01 2011 at 10:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
britgirl8409

We have several of these in my children's elementary school. The kids love them, apparently there are also Smart Slates that are useful teaching tools in upper grades.

February 01 2011 at 9:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Daniel Brim

Oh hot dang... That is the coolest piece of educational technology I've ever seen. I'm a high school student and I can see awesome applications for these smart boards in every class I have. Unfortunately, the school system doesn't have enough money to even pay teachers, let alone give super advanced technology to every teacher. This is what taxes and the educational budget should be used for.

February 01 2011 at 9:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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