SmartBoard vs. Alternatives
EDTECH Editor-Jones
We have been using SmartBoards, but may want to consider alternatives
(especially since the SmartBoard company requires that schools fill out a
"grant" application to get an educational discount.)
Can anyone recommend an alternative brand to SmartBoard? Can anyone
identify feature differences between brands that make one brand
significantly better than others?
Thank you,
Kevin Eaton
---------------------------------------------------
Kevin Eaton
Director of Technology
The Pennington School
Phone: (609) 737-6140
Fax: (609) 737-7920
Email: kea...@pennington.org
Web: www.pennington.org
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SIGNOFF EDTECH
EDTECH Editor-Jones
Kevin:
We have several technology-enhanced classrooms with SmartBoards. Most of
the faculty who use them, love them. Some of the faculty who don't use
them HATE the SmartBoard (mostly because we installed them over part of
the chalkboard). Don't ask me why anyone would want to use the
chalkboard when a SmartBoard is available.
Lately we've been trying out a digital tablet called InterWrite. It
communicates with the classroom PC using a wireless transceiver
(Bluetooth) that plugs into a USB port on the front of the PC. This
product is really useful in classrooms where permanent installation of
an LCD projector is impractical for the SmartBoard, which is only about
five feet wide and needs the projector installed relatively nearby.
InterWrite is also great in rooms where you have a really BIG screen,
like large lecture halls.
InterWrite allows you to operate computer applications from the tablet,
but instead of standing at SmartBoard, you can be anywhere in the
classroom. You can use the stylus to write/draw on any application, but
InterWrite automatically captures an image of your monitor screen and
THAT's what you're actually writing/drawing on. A touch of the stylus on
an icon, and you're switched back to the live application.
The biggest drawback of the InterWrite is that the tablet is just a
touch pad, not an LCD. So the user has to look at the projected image,
not the tablet. Takes a bit of hand-eye coordination and practice. One
other attractive thing about InterWrite is that it costs about $700,
less than half of what we've been paying for SmartBoards (with the
grants).
So InterWrite is a good alternative you might want to check out. BTW, I
am NOT a representative of the manufacturer; I do NOT sell any products;
and I'm NOT getting paid for promoting it. I just like it, and since you
asked....
___________________________________
Karl Schnapp
Instructional Technology Support Specialist
Lash Center for Teaching and Learning
Bristol Community College
Fall River, MA 02720
ksch...@bristol.mass.edu
508-678-2811 ext-2292
508-730-3266 FAX
Mellita, domi adsum
EDTECH Editor-Jones
We have several SmartBoards in our district and have recently purchased a
couple of ACTIVBoards. The ACTIVBoard has more resources available and you
also have the option of purchasing ACTIVotes which allows you to display a
question on the board and the students each have a voting device with which
they answer the question. Results are displayed.
http://www.activboard.com/
Ann Kinlaw
Instructional Technology Specialist
Bladen County Schools
> We have been using SmartBoards, but may want to consider alternatives
> (especially since the SmartBoard company requires that schools fill out a
> "grant" application to get an educational discount.)
>
> Can anyone recommend an alternative brand to SmartBoard? Can anyone
> identify feature differences between brands that make one brand
> significantly better than others?
>
> Thank you,
>
> Kevin Eaton
>
> ---------------------------------------------------
> Kevin Eaton
> Director of Technology
> The Pennington School
> Email: kea...@pennington.org
> Web: www.pennington.org
> ---------------------------------------------------
---
EDTECH Editor-Jones
> We have been using SmartBoards, but may want to consider
> alternatives
>
> Can anyone recommend an alternative brand to SmartBoard?
One alternative would be a mimio (mimeo?) board. They are certainly
cheaper. We have a Smart Board but I have seen the other and they
would be a good alternative and are more portable.
Kathie
EDTECH Editor-Jones
Hi Kevin,
We are using a Numonics brand "Interactive Presentation Manager"
(electronic whiteboard) with great success in our school. Here is their
website:
http://numonics.com/interactivewhiteboardindex.html
When we looked at them vs. Smart Technologies, we were impressed by the
quality of construction and durability. The Smart brand boards we saw have
a membrane that might get punctured. The Numonics does not, in fact, you
can even use the whiteboard surface as a traditional whiteboard (though it
is not a good idea).
We just ordered our second Numonics IPM and I personally recommend them
heartily.
Hope this helps,
Kevin Jarrett
Technology Facilitator, K-8
Northfield Community School
EDTECH Editor-Jones
We have SmartBoards in several of our schools but we are installing 17
InterWrite boards this summer between high school and new middle school.
We are ordering several of the "tablets" listed below as additional
resources in these rooms but are still installing large InterWrite
boards in all rooms (77" diagonal)--similar in size to SmartBoards. We
will run VGA between PC and ceiling mounted projector but the Board and
the PC interact via bluetooth.
Check out their site....http://www.gtcocalcomp.com/interwrite.htm
We are dealing with a large firm that installs equipment in a very large
metropolitan area and they have had very good success with the
InterWrite boards in schools.
Hope this helps!
Sue Homes
Director of Technology
Collinsville Community Unit School District #10
201 West Clay Street
Collinsville, IL 62234
sho...@kahoks.org
(618) 346-6350 ext. 243
(618) 346-6364 - FAX
EDTECH Editor-Jones
Take a look at eBeam and Mimio--they work with whiteboards that you
already have installed:
http://www.e-beam.com/
http://www.mimio.com/index.shtml
Ellen Murphy
Director of Technology Integration
EDTECH Editor-Jones
> > Can anyone recommend an alternative brand to SmartBoard?
>
> One alternative would be a mimio (mimeo?) board. They are certainly
> cheaper. We have a Smart Board but I have seen the other and they
> would be a good alternative and are more portable.
Another product we are looking at here is the whiteboard tool from e-beam.
(http://www.e-beam.com/)
This tool takes advantage of your existing white boards. There is a
contraption that attaches to the corner of your board, you put your
whiteboard marker into a pen holder which interfaces with the item attached
to your board. This is either tethered to your computer via usb cable or
wirelessly via bluetooth. Without a projector this lets your computer
capture everything you write on the board electronically. With a projector
you can control your computer from the board, just like a SmartBoard.
The really cool thing we've found about this product is that it allows you
to share your board session with other users. This means users at other
locations can view what you are doing on the board on their computer
screens. This has great potential for quick meetings with principals or
teachers that wouldn't require them to drive to a central location for a 15
minute meeting.
I think the price is around $700 last I checked.
chris freeman
technology coordinator
vestavia hills city schools
EDTECH Editor-Jones
Polyvision has a new product called the walk and talk
(http://www.websterboards.com/products/walk_and_talk.html) that may be of
interest. It is similar to the smart board in that you can draw on it,
control the computer and save annotated images. However, drawing is not
limited to pens but rather one can use their finger to draw and use the
mouse. It is very intuitive to use and easy to install. It's definitely
an alternative to look at.
>We have several SmartBoards in our district and have recently purchased a
>couple of ACTIVBoards. The ACTIVBoard has more resources available and you
>also have the option of purchasing ACTIVotes which allows you to display a
>question on the board and the students each have a voting device with which
>they answer the question. Results are displayed.
>http://www.activboard.com/
>
>Ann Kinlaw
>Instructional Technology Specialist
>Bladen County Schools
>
> > We have been using SmartBoards, but may want to consider alternatives
> > (especially since the SmartBoard company requires that schools fill out a
> > "grant" application to get an educational discount.)
> >
> > Can anyone recommend an alternative brand to SmartBoard? Can anyone
> > identify feature differences between brands that make one brand
> > significantly better than others?
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> > Kevin Eaton
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------
> > Kevin Eaton
> > Director of Technology
> > The Pennington School
> > Email: kea...@pennington.org
> > Web: www.pennington.org
> > ---------------------------------------------------
Douglas A. Smith
Director, Classroom Technology Support Services
Interim Director, Faculty Technology Support Services
Illinois State University
Normal, IL 61790
Ph. 309/438-3685 or 309/438-5110
Fax. 309/438-3623
EDTECH Editor-Jones
> Kevin:
>
> Don't ask me why anyone would want to use the
> chalkboard when a SmartBoard is available.
Old habits for teachers are very hard to break. :-)
> Lately we've been trying out a digital tablet called InterWrite. It
> communicates with the classroom PC using a wireless transceiver
> (Bluetooth) that plugs into a USB port on the front of the PC. This
> product is really useful in classrooms where permanent installation of
> an LCD projector is impractical for the SmartBoard, which is only about
> five feet wide and needs the projector installed relatively nearby.
Why would they need to be permanently mounted? We transport all of our
SmartBoards at the highschool around the building. A small rolling cart with
a projector goes with them. Not as nice or easy as permanent mount, but it's
not necessary.
> InterWrite is also great in rooms where you have a really BIG screen,
> like large lecture halls.
>
Agreed
> The biggest drawback of the InterWrite is that the tablet is just a
> touch pad, not an LCD. So the user has to look at the projected image,
> not the tablet. Takes a bit of hand-eye coordination and practice. One
> other attractive thing about InterWrite is that it costs about $700,
> less than half of what we've been paying for SmartBoards (with the
> grants).
>
This is my biggest problem with the InterWrite pad as well as our teachers.
It's so counter-intuitive to anything tool we use now. I find it very
difficult to use and it is really somewhat of a barrier to what it's trying
to accomplish. Our teachers have not really taken to them because of this.
They would much rather just write on the board (via SmartBoard) than try to
manipulate the tablet. It is very awkward and takes a lot of practice to
write well using them. It's also not that easy for the students. It is much
cheaper, but our teachers are not very happy with them.
Chris Freeman
technology coordinator
vestavia hills city schools
---
EDTECH Editor-Jones
> We have several SmartBoards in our district and have recently purchased a
> couple of ACTIVBoards. The ACTIVBoard has more resources available and
> you
> also have the option of purchasing ACTIVotes which allows you to display a
> question on the board and the students each have a voting device with
> which
> they answer the question. Results are displayed.
> http://www.activboard.com/
I think I've looked at just about everything thats available on the market
right now and agree that ACTIVBoards are very nice and pretty powerful. The
main problem I have with these boards is the complexity. It has so many
options/tools that many of our teachers would either be overwhelmed by
accessing them or simply not use them. This is not a knock on ACTIVBoards,
but I really think it depends on the end user. I think technology should be
as transparent as possible. If it can work similar to something everyone is
already use to, the better. These boards require too much of a learning
curve for a lot of teachers, but they do some really cool stuff!
chris freeman