A Simple Definition of What Interactive White Boards and Smart Boards Are

Smartboard in the classroom

The term "SmartBoard" is actually a trademarked brand of device generically referred to as an Interactive White Board (IWB). In the US, the term SmartBoard has become the common name used to refer to IWB’s even though there are many different companies that currently manufacture and distribute similar IWB technologies. But what exactly is a SmartBoard or an IWB?

An Interactive White Board is a broad name for a device that, when used with a computer and some type of large video display, makes the surface of the display become touch sensitive in some manner and allows it to be used to control the computer. In the United States SmartBoards (sold by Smart Technologies Inc.) are the most well known manufacturers of IWB’s. Another company, Promethean Technologies, is equally popular in Europe, but is only recently making a push in the American market. Both the Promethean and the SmartBoard products are compatible with both Windows and Macintosh computers and both come with numerous tools for creating SmartBoard and IWB resources.

Interactive White Board

Other companies also make IWB products, with some such as Mimio and EBeam making portable devices that attach by suction cups to existing traditional white boards, turning them into interactive devices when coupled with a video projector and computer. The portable units are more appropriate for traveling business people and those who do not have the room or budget to retrofit a room to use the permanently mounted devices mentioned previously.

What Are SmartBoards and Interactive White Boards Used For?

Pens

IWB’s are fast becoming a popular addition to school classrooms as well as to office meeting spaces. The interactivity that an IWB provides allows teachers or professional presenters to let their audience collaborate, draw, and interact with information on the screen. Lessons and activities in a classroom setting become more engrossing for students and increase overall retention of the lesson content. Research done by Smart as well as by the British Economic and Social Research Council shows clearly that teachers that use IWB’s see greater improvement from their students compared to classrooms that do not use IWB enriched classroom content.

In business situations SmartBoards and Interactive White Boards increase productivity by allowing collaborative work sessions to be shared digitally, saved, and reused without having a physical hard copy. Anything drawn on the SmartBoard can be saved as an image and recalled days, months, or years later. Visual copies of written data can be sent via email quickly and easily without the need for cameras or retyping.

Applications

While not for everyone, SmartBoards and Interactive White Boards are powerful tools that can be used in many useful ways to help individuals share and process information. Ranging in cost from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, Interactive White Board products are available for almost every budget.

Refer to the link below for the example of smart board application:

Respiration