While few teachers would dispute the benefits of a SMART Board interactive whiteboard in the classroom, successfully incorporating new technology into their everyday teaching is another matter. Numerous interactive whiteboard installations in classrooms around the world have revealed three key factors that facilitate the successful integration of a new technology product...

To read the full article, see News

Bigelow, John (ed). Integrating Interactive Whiteboards into the classroom. The Education Technology Guide - Cameras in the classroom, Issue 5, Australian Media Group, pp 44.

SMART’s AirLiner^TM Wireless Slate enables you to teach from anywhere in your classroom and allows students to interact with information from their seats. Multiple AirLiner slate users can write at the same time as the person using the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. To find out more about this amazing new product, visit AirLiner.

The Sympodium DT770 interactive pen display allows teachers to comfortably interact with material at the front of the room, while your students simultaneously view the same content on a large screen. Either navigate with your finger or instantly flip to writing notes with a pen. Notes can be saved directly into several software applications (e.g. Windows versions of Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Excel).

Just how long will a SMART Board interactive whiteboard last is a question that many educators ask. Most people budget for a three- to five-year useful life for projectors and PCs and expect about the same for the SMART Board. However, there are a number of things you should know about our product.

• A substantial amount of the utility of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard is derived from the software. We provide free, online upgrades to the SMART Board software, so no matter when you bought your SMART Board interactive whiteboard you will always have the same, most up-to-date functionality as someone who purchases today.
• The hardware warranty is a full five years, including electronics, cables and surface.
• The surface material of the whiteboard is a hardcoat polyester which is extremely durable. It doesn’t wear out.
• Beyond the software and hardware, there is a large and growing library of classroom-ready, teacher-prepared materials to go along with the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. And the best part – they’re free.

There really aren’t many things that get better with age, but we’d like you to think that’s exactly what happens with the SMART Board interactive whiteboards that our customers own. Not only is the hardware durable and reliable, the fact that our customers can download the latest version of the SMART Board software means that you get new features and functions as they are added to the product.

See: Advice for the whole article.

We have extended our training services to include half and full day courses for intermediate and advanced users.

Coloured Backgrounds

Coloured backgrounds are a great way to help focus attention on your presentation material. To change the background colour of your whiteboard surface simply:

• right click on the whiteboard,
• select ‘set background colour’ and
• choose the colour you desire from the list.

You can even colour code your slides to signal important information, or to distinguish between an activity and an information slide.

Image transparency options

If you have changed the colour of your background and then capture images to Notebook, you will notice that the page background is coloured but the image background is white. This means that it looks like there is a white square around your images. To blend the captured image into the background of the page, right click on the object, select “set image transparency” and choose from the two transparency options offered. This will make your presentations look far more eye catching as your images are now integrated into the background colour of the page.

A well structured United Kingdom teacher resource website. Its strength is in its powerful search engine and extensively checked resources. The Teacher Resource Exchange (TRE) boosts an extensive database of resources and activities created by teachers and checked by subject specialists to ensure they are of the highest possible quality. You can search by type (interactive whiteboards being one of the options), age range, subject and tier (e.g. first thought, developing ideas, complete resource). Well worth a look!

A great resource for grabbing free printable worksheets (though be aware it is based on American curriculum). Tthis webpage is more than just a download site- you can create your own documents; scrapbooks, word searchers, word unscrambles, crossword puzzles and more. Great for jazzing up your lessons!

Just starting up, but a website with a lot of potential. Flash Classroom is a Queensland Learning Development Centre initiative which aims to provide educators from preschool to year 12 with the support, resources and inspiration they need to exploit the full potential of Flash in the classroom. It’s all about flash!

Charnwood Primary School set out to find the perfect teaching tool - a tool which would both enhance lesson delivery and enable students to learn and develop the skills they'll need for future employment and everyday life. What they found was the interactive whiteboard.

Since implementing their first SMART Board interactive whiteboard in early 2004, both the teachers and students at Charnwood Primary have experienced many benefits from the technology.

"We have clearly seen an improved level of concentration and focus in our students," said Peter Ross, Principal of Charnwood Primary. "The clarity and quality of the presentation adds to the lesson and with direct access to the internet and other facilities as we teach, ICT is in the classroom every minute of every day."

"The students absolutely love the SMART Boards in the classroom and given the many and significant benefits we've seen, we cannot wait to get more!"

To read the full profile on Charnwood Primary or to view other interactive whiteboard school profiles, please visit Case Studies.