Getting set up

Having taken receipt of the four boards and associated data projectors because we also had to teach and fulfill a range of other tasks, it was quite a few weeks before we could find time to actually open them. (This is a bit of a continuing theme and needs to be taken account of when undertaking any new major initiative, especially where ICT is involved.)

Finally it was only by going up to school on the Easter weekend that I could find time to "play" with the board. The initial setup was quite simple, the board itself being quite light and easy to rest against a bookshelf. Installing the software was also quite easy. The biggest problem was getting the projector to work. The instructions were uncharacteristically lacking in information. Finally with a mix of Function keys and other mix and match we had projection.

The resultant playtime was huge fun as we realised that the possibilities for using the board were far greater than what we had originally envisaged. Just about anything you can do on the computer can also be viewed an and operated from the board.

The proprietary software included with the SMART Board is also very interesting and quite intuitive. We loved the character recognition aspect and changing text to type. We also loved the Smart Ideas software that operates just like Inspiration software only in some cases even more creatively.