Ask Slashdot: Alternate Software For Use On Smartboards? 96
SmarterThanMe (1679358) writes Teacher here, you can call me Mr. SmarterThanMe. I have a fancy smartboard installed in my room. Smartboards allow me to show students a whole range of other stuff other than just whatever I'm writing. I can prepare instructions and activities before the lesson and just move through the boards. I can pull up some students' work and display it through the projector. I can bring up some stimulus for use in a writing task. So much better than blackboards. Except the software that comes bundled with this particular brand of smartboard is ridiculously clunky. Without naming this particular piece of software, and highlighting its shortfalls, has anyone got any suggestions on alternatives (open source or otherwise)? The main features that I'd like are:
- Handwriting recognition
- The ability to make and use templates
- Grids or guides or *something* to be able to teach measurement
I have gold star stickers for any good suggestions.
SMART? (Score:2)
What advice can I offer? (Score:3)
Re:What advice can I offer? (Score:5, Insightful)
Believe it or not, I sincerely believe that this introduction was his way of eating the humble pie, in advance - prostrating himself at our altar and asking for help. We should give him a break!
Re:What advice can I offer? (Score:5, Informative)
I would like to offer an alternate explanation for why he is here.
As a user of the same hardware and software as the OP, I can tell you in the 10+ years I've been using them, teachers on a whole are NOT the right people to ask. There may be a forum where this is discussed and thoughtful input is shared, but I don't know it. Most of my coworkers in three separate school, both public and private generally barely use the hardware and software. Most use the Smartboard as a glorified projector screen, and those that do use it barely scratch the surface. I use it daily, have years of saved "notebook" files, and still feel I barely scratch the surface. Most of the comments I get from coworkers who have them in their rooms but only use the projector feature, claim they lack the time to explore on their own, and lack the training to do much, or even feel confident doing anything for fear of "breaking" something. This is in a large urban school district that on average has 15+ smartboard in each school, many have a SB in every teaching space, and in a medium sized private school that installed them in EVERY teaching space as soon as they went on sale. I have seen this trend continue for years. i have talked with administrators about the need for training over buying more hardware ad nausium. I suspect this is the case countrywide. So very "few" educators are pushing the boundaries and as such, there can only be a few actively asking for more on the "teacher" forums. But here, you smart folks talk about stuff like this all the time.
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Yeah. That's more or less the problem. Most teachers don't use them any more than as glorified blackboard/video projector hybrids. There's very little training available. The schools that are trying to make better use of them set up "user groups", where the teachers who have a bit more ability with them are expected to pass on their skills and knowledge to their colleagues (and be, more or less, completely ignored).
I'm pretty much at the top of the game regarding the use of the standard software, but, as I'
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claim they lack the time to explore on their own, and lack the training to do much, or even feel confident doing anything for fear of "breaking" something
Those who can do. Those who can't teach.
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I work in IT in a school, and the biggest problem I find is that those who teach, can't (or won't?) be taught. Teachers really do make the worst students.
In our environment:
5-10% of teachers are able to take the vendor's training and apply it close to its full potential,
20% explore with some of the tools but tend to use the very simple tools (i.e. writing).
40% use the basic tools only and are blissfully ignorant of the rest
and 30% of them forget what button to press to do X, which is something they've been
Re:What advice can I offer? (Score:4, Informative)
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I'm guessing that some over sensitive teachers modded me down because they thought I was ripping on them. I'm not, simply making a statement that it is unfortunate that our education system is in a state where a teacher has to go to these lengths to find the answer they need. This should be a solved problem already.
Teaching is an exceptionally parochial profession, and I, personally, don't like to be limited to doing things the way that they're usually done.
I commend your effort to stick with it. Teaching (or rather, the political side of the teaching profession) doesn't really encourage maverickism.
Re:What advice can I offer? (Score:4, Insightful)
It's called 'Ask Slashdot' for a reason. What better group of people to ask than a group of geeks with diverse backgrounds? It's attitudes like yours that keep people from asking for help when they need it.
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It's called 'Ask Slashdot' for a reason. What better group of people to ask than a group of geeks with diverse backgrounds? It's attitudes like yours that keep people from asking for help when they need it.
Wouldn't it be great then if Timothy would post it into the "Ask Slashdot" section?
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What better group of people to ask than a group of geeks with diverse backgrounds?
So, if you were a chef and there was a new type of oven that was really nice but not quite what you wanted, you would go to an internet forum for computer geeks to see what suggestions they might have, because hey, they're diverse?
If it were me, I would be looking for exactly the opposite of a diverse group of people. I would want to hear the suggestions of a very specific group of people (in the case of my example, chefs) that are actually experienced with using the things I'm talking about.
It's attitudes like yours that keep people from asking for help when they need it.
How are you ab
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Do teachers have forums? Considering all the constraints that they face about the commercial confidentiality of their schools and their customers/ product/ victims (however they classify the kids), what would they be allowed to talk about?
It's been a few years since talked to (knowingly) a teacher, so I genuinely don't know. But you do see frequent enough news reports of teachers getting sacked for talking about the kids online that I'd expect them to treat
Re: What advice can I offer? (Score:2)
Game/Set/Match (Score:5, Informative)
http://alternativeto.net/software/smart-notebook/ [alternativeto.net]
And, you can also use the question as a reading/research/teach Google excercise for your students, which would allow them input and to feel a sense of ownership in the Learning Process (tm).
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Agreed, game / set / match, and helping him use the advice you have given to teach the class as well, earns you extra points.
Even with points deducted for smugness...
You win 1 internets.
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I only joked about being smug because of the game/set/match concept, I'm not that cruel, and yours really was a very constructive comment!
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Thank you for letting me off the hook.
On re-reading my reply to yours, I was like - Um, that may have gone beyond the realm of asking for consent... deep into Snark-Land (tm)... (and double hella creepy)
Have a good weekend (if you choose to)
LOL
Thanks (Score:2)
Google Chrome (Score:2)
You wouldn't believe the battle I had to fight to get Google Chrome installed on my classroom computer and the bank of laptops that I use with my students. If you can believe it, the preference was for IE9.
Have you got a particular extension in mind? I have looked...
genericized trademark. (Score:1)
Unfortunately (unless this changed), they aren't multi-touch.
Multi-touch models have been available for a few years now.
genericized trademark. (Score:2)
Honestly? (Score:2)
Without naming this particular piece of software, and highlighting its shortfalls, has anyone got any suggestions on alternatives
What does the smartboard run, windows/linux/amiga os?
Is it a locked down custom embedded OS?
Whats the CPU/RAM/HDD specs of the smartboard?
Without any of this information, we (or i) cant assist you.
"Smart" is a misnomer (Score:5, Interesting)
A "smart" board is just a touch sensitive surface that is recognized by the computer as pretty much a standard mouse. It plugs in through USB. The only thing "smart" about it is that there are a few extra sensors on the board that identify which color "marker" you're using (simple IR sensors in the holders) and a calibration button.
It's no smarter than the touch surface on your tablet or phone.
It's pretty much the worst investment a school can make, but the alternatives somewhat require a resident nerd willing to put in the effort to assembly them. I'm checking the price on Alibaba for a 48" x 96" infrared overlay. If I can get it for $300 a less I'll buy it and see how it goes with my own set up at my house.
Frankly, a $100 document camera and a simple whiteboard are perfectly sufficient for 90% of what a "smart"board is used for.
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If it is the SmartBoard, then these things are usually connected to a Windows PC that runs the software and feeds the image to the projector. Most people run PowerPoint slides on these ...
Otherwise it is either a resistive touch sensor + projector and a few sensors (RFID or even magnets) for the markers. The newer boards use a camera instead of the resistive system.
Smartboard with Linux (Score:5, Informative)
I use a Smartboard in the classroom with Linux. The pens don't work, but I don't really care. It is basically just a touch screen for me. Here are a few tips.
-Our Smartboards were mounted by the custodian using angle iron. Alignment does not work. You will have to reposition the projector to align everything. Mock up the position of the projector and make sure that it has a versatile mount.
-Compiz works great with the Smartboard. All of the effects work, including writing with fire. You may need to get a faster graphics card though.
-Physics programs like Phun work great. Even flash games and Angry Birds work fine.
http://phun.en.softonic.com/
-DrGeo is similar to geometer's sketchpad, and works fine with the Smartboard. You can do all sorts of measurement with it. For instance, I use it to teach the difference between area and circumference.
http://www.drgeo.eu/ (installable through repositories)
-Cisco Packet Tracer works well with a Smartboard (if you teach networking).
-My Smartboard is not multitouch. Get a Wii remote and a light pen if you want to use it for that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s5EvhHy7eQ
-There are plenty of good handwriting recognition pieces of software for Linux, but Smartboards smudge and get dirty.
-Use Google Drive as a school (FERPA compliant) and organize assignments and student work into shared folders. Everything is at hand, instantly updated, and easily managed.
Conclusion: My Smartboard is a convienient novelty at times. I could work just fine without it.
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The Smarrtech ones are not simple IR sensors. I tried to duplicate their pens. IR cameras, yes - including a DSP processor. The patent outlines some of the maths involved in determining if pen or finger is poking at the board - the preprocessing part I can just about follow, but then it uses a neural network as a classifier.
I failed. I don't know how it identifies a pen from a finger - according to the patent it's on shape alone, but I tried both 3D printing and plaster-casting an exact replica without succ
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About the only reason that the smartboard is useful is because administrators like teachers to stand in front of the class
Gold Stars (Score:1)
http://www.alfiekohn.org/parenting/tcags.htm
You really need to offer the make/model of smartboard for your request to be acted upon, not gold stars.
Far too open question (Score:1)
Use a wii remote control and Wiimote Whiteboard (Score:1)
The wii remote connects via bluetooth to your laptop or desktop, the Wiimote Whiteboard
software uses the infrared camera on the wii remote to track an infrared light (pen that you are holding which has a momentary switch). It works surprisingly well and allows for drawing on projection screens, annotating projected power point slides, etc. I have no affiliation with any of these products, see Wiimote Whiteboard at http://www.smoothboard.net/wiimotewhiteboard/
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Are the wii controllers still as clumsy as they were when they first came out? If they are, I can't imagine trying to actually use one to draw things on a wall from a distance.
Of course, I'm basing this on a recent experience with that Big Buck Hunter arcade game. It used to use the standard IR sensor at the muzzle like any shooting arcade game. Now it uses something that feels exactly like a wii controller and it's totally awkward and frustrating to play.
Ditch the smartboard (Score:3, Informative)
Teacher here. Smartboards are like Apple computers. If you want to do exactly what they want you to do, they are great. If you want to tinker (let alone be actually creative with technology), you are using the wrong device.
Last year I switched to a LCD projector coupled to a tablet (Surface Pro 2) displayed on a dry erase whiteboard. Despite the MS hate, OneNote on a tablet is an absolutely killer app. My instruction has been forever changed for the better. I now write on my tablet at my desk rather than writing at the board, allowing students to view the information unobstructed by my body. Each lesson is saved in OneNote, so if I ever want to recall an earlier idea for review, it's just a matter of pulling up that lesson. Just yesterday, I pulled up a Geometer's Sketchpad animation seamlessly during my lesson by simply switching tabs. I frequently pull up a TI emulator so I can live demo keystrokes for the kids. In future lessons, I will be pulling up some Mathematica workbooks I made. Interacting with worksheets as a class is so much easier when I can simply display a Word document, directing my students' attention to key phrases, augment diagrams, etc.
Finally, with software such as Camtasia Studio, you can even record each lesson and post them online for students' later use. See vimeo.com/hillercalculus for some Calculus lessons demonstrating the aforementioned functionality.
Ditch the SmartBoard. They are about as useful in a classroom as an iPad - maybe better than nothing, but there are far superior solutions out there.
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I'm a OneNote convert myself. I find it useful to embed photos and audio directly into lecture notes, and you can synchronize audio with the notes and post them online easily. This allows students to reference not only the notes from within class, but the context of the notes from the audio spoken in class. You can also record video in OneNote and embed it within the notebooks.
I personally use a tablet (Samsung Ativ 500T) and screencast to a projector. If for some reason something is done on someone's p
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Try OneNote with the smartboard. It sounds like others have done it successfully: http://shc-edutech.hct.ac.ae/p... [hct.ac.ae]
http://blogs.office.com/2014/0... [office.com]
http://emrefirat.edublogs.org/... [edublogs.org]
One problem that I have read is that OneNote's hand-writing recognition is not as good on smart boards as it is on a tablet (especially one with a Wacom pen), but it still works relatively well. Set OneNote to automatically index all handwriting, photos, and audio, and it can make it easy for students to search the notebooks i
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Smartboards are like Apple computers.
(You obviously don't have a lot of experience with OS X.)
If you want to tinker [...] Surface Pro 2 [...]
[interactive whiteboards] are about as useful in a classroom as an iPad
Yeah... right... So, in your opinion, the superior solution is a Surface Pro? Really?!
You can totally use even an iPad, load it up with the right apps and hook it up to a projector to achieve the same or an even better experience than you are describing, like with almost any other device.
What would actually be an improvement is something like a Wacom Cintiq (or their much cheaper predecessors) to give you more control over your drawing, but what plat
Re:Ditch the smartboard (Score:5, Insightful)
We've been buying more and more of them lately simply because they work so bloody well for this sort of task.
/Waiting for the "Troll" downmods I get everytime I mention that they are far nicer than most people realize.
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I didn't know that the Surface has a built-in digitizer, but anyhow, a Cintiq will be better in any case, just because you can connect it to whatever you choose and have different choices of size, as well as run it with any program you'd like, be it OneNote or something entirely else.
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I run my tablet through Air Parrot and Reflector running on an ancient desktop hooked up to the projector. This implements A
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I still have my old Fujitsu Lifebook convertible 'tablet'. It's got a nice Wacom digitizer, so I can write with the precision needed for teaching math. I've used various brands of smart boards, and provided support for them. I'd take my tablet any day. The only thing I like about most smart boards is the short-throw projectors, which tend to work better in a well lit classroom than the ones mounted in the middle of the ceiling. I also hate being in front of the board, blocking my students' view.
I use OneNot
Hello Mr. SmarterThanMe! (Score:1)
My name's Mr. SmarterThanI!
Do you want a grammar lesson?
Hello Mr. SmarterThanMe! (Score:2)
Keeping it discreet (Score:5, Funny)
Except the software that comes bundled with this particular brand of smartboard is ridiculously clunky. Without naming this particular piece of software, and highlighting its shortfalls
I have a particular plan which involves some unnamed hardware and software. I won't go into details, but let's just say that everything of it is implemented through some specific steps. It allows the users to leverage various possibilities. Maybe this could be the solution?
Regular boards are a lot smarter (Score:1)
Smart boards can be useful for businesses. The people who manage schools want the schools to have the same stuff as the businesses, so they end up investing in smart boards. Unfortunately, they are not all that useful in school.
Students quickly get tired of powerpoint slide shows (which is how smart boards would normally be used, run some type of slide show and draw circles and stuff as you go), and most presenters tend to overload slides with information - because they can, and because they are bad at orga
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It's funny, I've never, ever (in 20+yrs in IT including plenty of travel to client-sites) seen a smartboard used in business and only once seen one (possibly broken, never used) in a business at all. On the other hand I have seen loads and loads of them in schools.
In business it's a
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It's funny, I've never, ever (in 20+yrs in IT including plenty of travel to client-sites) seen a smartboard used in business and only once seen one (possibly broken, never used) in a business at all. On the other hand I have seen loads and loads of them in schools.
Good point, they are not as widespread as I projected they would be at this point (I've left business to do other things the last 4-5 years). Though in a business, it could actually be useful. Not so much for interactive apps, but for interactive presentations, and for note keeping. I've had countless meetings using whiteboards, and at some point "invented" (locally in my company) the technique of using the cell phone camera for taking pictures of the whiteboard. It was quite frustrating having to work with
InterLACE (Score:3, Informative)
InterLACE (Score:2)
The SMART Notebook software does that already. (Score:2)
SMART Boards can be used with SMART Notebook (for Education) or SMART Meeting Pro (for business) software from the company that makes the SMART Boards, or they can be used with any software that can run on your computer; if you can control the software with a mouse, you can also control it with a SMART Board.
With both the SMART Notebook (for Education) and the SMART Meeting Pro (for business) software from the company that makes the SMART Boards, handwriting recognition is already included as a default feat
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SMART boards are very nice hardware-wise, but their software is less than reliable. The service keeps stopping - we had to set up a login script that restarts it each session.
There's an app for that! (Score:2)
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ClassFlow rocks! (Score:1)
Ok. (Score:2)
What an arrogant start to a summary. People who need to go out of their way to seem smarter usually aren't.
MyPaint and a tablet with a stylus (Score:2)
I use MyPaint with my Lenovo X201 tablet, it supports touch and stylus input. The machine is connected to a regular projector and my students and I are very satisfied with this.
Here is an example of a discussion about hash functions in Python [youtube.com]; it is a screencast where you can see me doing stuff in the terminal as well as sketching explanations on a blank canvas.
MyPaint is cross platform, it is designed for artists and painters, but I am happy with it as a teacher. I used to rely on OneNote in the past, but