Functionality of Smart Boards

Abstract
Smart boards are an up and coming tool that is being used not only in classrooms around the world, but also during business meetings. This device allows the users to interact with the board manually on the board while displaying all actions clearing to the room. This paper will outline the benefits and set-backs of Smart board devices, as well as the creation and technology used to manufacture the Smart board itself.

Functionality of Smart Boards A Smart Board is an interactive device that uses a projector to transmit the image from a computer onto the board. The image and content can then manipulated by a finger, a hand, or a stylus; acting as a traditional blackboard used in schools. The board also has the ability to connect to the internet where the user can control what’s on the screen using the computer or the board itself because the screen is touch-sensitive and can therefore control the computer as well. The board is used mainly in classrooms as a learning tool for children to learn from and interact with themselves. Businesses also use the board in meetings to display work-related objectives, collaborate on ideas, and then share the work with others digitally. The Smart Board was established in the United States by Smart Technologies Inc. in 1991, and proves to be the biggest producer of the Smart Board today. There are many benefits of the Smart board that could enrich the lives of children, as well as the way in which employees interact with each other. In classrooms, Smart Boards are used to execute lesson plans that draw the attention of children by allowing them to have fun while learning. The board has access to many different mediums of learning, such as playing games, drawing on the boards, or using colorful applications; which allow children who learn differently to be satisfied. The large-scale operation of the board also engages children to pay attention so that they may learn effectively as well. The board also has the ability to save any work done on the surface of the board, which can in turn be shared digitally through e-mail to parents of children. Children look forward to being able to use the Smart Board, so it also acts as a reward system for the classroom to have the ability to use the Smart Board for learning. The other useful benefit that a Smart Board technology has occurs in the modern work-place. During business meetings, employees can collaborate on ideas and business moves together by doing so on a Smart Board. Without having a hard copy of the work created or performed, the Smart Board can save and recall work sessions, and then e-mail the work out to the employees immediately. For example, instead of being at a boring work meeting watching the time tick by, employees are interacting together and creating business ideas by using the Smart Board. There are a few set-backs to the Smart Board evolution that should be mentioned and understood. Smart Board systems today require a projector, a flat-touch-screen interactive board, and accessories; because the technology used is so advanced, Smart Boards can cost anywhere from seven hundred dollars to four thousand five hundred dollars. If a school wishes to place a Smart Board in even half of the classrooms, this can cost the school money that they don’t necessarily have; then if only a few are placed in the school, then classes must take turns using the Smart Board, and is not used in every day learning. The basic Smart Board package is also not very portable. The board itself is usually mounted to the wall. Portable Smart Boards on wheels are available, but then cost again comes into play. Some of the Smart Boards come with attached projectors, but others, are not included. Therefore, schools or businesses must invest in a projector as well. Replacement projector bulbs themselves can cost a few hundred dollars, adding again to the price of regular use of the Smart Board. Another con would be that if the Smart Board is moved in the slightest bit, it must be recalibrated to the projector screen. Using the Smart Board takes a lot of practice and patience to get used to the way that the sensitive board works and functions. Therefore, manipulators of the Smart Board usually have to go through additional training in order to understand the full potential of the Smart Board technology as well as the proper usage and techniques needed to utilize the board. Smart Technologies Inc. was established twenty-four years ago by husband and wife, David Martin and Nancy Knowlton. In 1987, the pair decided to experiment with LCD flat screens, which at the time were expensive and not even in color. By 1991, the first Smart Board was built and taken to a tech trade show for a demo. Collaborating with Intel, the company and the Martins made extensive efforts to create the interactive board. Resistive technology was used to create the board; which is where they “used two conductive layers separated by a few thousandths of an inch of air.” When pressure was applied to the board using a finger or another tool, the layers would connect and would in turn send the data and commands to the computer. Another software that was patented by Martin was one that would record the location of the pressure, and use a grid to create an image. Finally in the late 1990s, flat screen costs decreased as the technology for making them thinner increased. The web and wireless connectivity also grew, which helped to establish the way in which the Smart Board connected to a computer. By 1999, Smart Technologies had accumulated twenty-one million dollars in sales on the Smart Board. The sales of Smart Boards have since sky-rocketed from schools and business scenes taking advantage of the amazing interactive technology that Smart Technologies Inc. has created. Smart Boards, created by Smart Technologies, are great tools that can be used in many different ways by schools as well as businesses. Although there are some disadvantages to the Smart Board, there are plenty of advantages that seem to outweigh the negatives that the new technology generates. As the world of technology continues to evolve and establish new software and creations; Smart Board technology will also improve to eliminate the cons and produce more useful and economical Smart Boards.