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AdvantagesofSMARTNotebookvs.

PowerPoint
VarietyofPresentationMethods
SMARTNotebooksoftwarecanshowinformationinlessons/activitiesinmanywaysthatPower Pointcannot.WhendoingapresentationwithaSMARTBoard,additionalmaterialcanbe introducedintoslidesinrealtimeinseveralways. Forexample,inatraditionalPowerPointquestion&answerslidepair,thereissimplyoneslide withaquestion,andasecondslideshowingthequestionwiththeanswerfilledin.WithSMART Notebooksoftware,theanswercouldbeshownusingavarietyofmethods,includingdragging inanswersfromoffscreen,usingtheeraserfromthepentraytorevealhiddenanswers,or movingobjectsontospecificallycolouredbackgroundareastoseepreviouslyinvisibletext.

RealtimeFeedback/Grading
ManyobjectsincludedintheSMARTNotebookGalleryareinteractivequestions(true/false, multiplechoice,categorysorting,etc)thatprovideinstantfeedback.Intheseobjects,students selecttheiranswer(s),andtheycannormallyclickaCheckAnswersbuttontoseetheir answersmarkedwithsomesortofcorrect/incorrectindicators(e.g.checkmarks&xs). SometimesaSolvebuttonisalsoavailable,whichwillsimplyshowthecorrectanswers immediately.

Randomization
SMARTNotebookcanrandomizesomeactivities,whichmakeslessonsmorereusable.For example,amultiplechoicequestionwillscramblethepossibleresponsesinanewsequence eachtimethecorrespondingSMARTNotebookisclosedandopenedagain. Also,SMARThasseveralGalleryobjectsdesignedtogeneratecustomizablerandomoutputs (e.g.rollingdice).Thesecanbeusedtostudyprobability&statistics,orsimplytochangesome partsofthelessoncontentfromdaytoday.

PresentationTools:InkLayer,MagicPen,Highlighter
TherearemanywaystointeractwithaSMARTNotebookpresentationinrealtime.

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InkLayer:Usingthepentray,instructorscanwriteontopofthecurrentNotebookpageto createadditionalnotes,docalculations,etc.Theadditionalwritingtakesplaceonaninklayer whichcanbesavedforlaterifneeded,partiallyerasedwiththeeraserinthepentray,or discardedcompletelywithoutaffectingtheoriginalNotebookfile. MagicPen:ApenfromthepentraycanbeplacedinMagicPenmode.Thismodemakesspecial presentationtoolsavailablebasedonshapesdrawnwiththepen.Drawingacircle/ovalwill activateSpotlightmode,whichemphasizesasmallareaofthescreen.Asquare/rectangle shapewillmagnifytheareainsidetherectangle.Anyothertypeofdrawingwillcreate temporarynoteswhichautomaticallyfadeafterafewseconds,withoutneedingtousethe eraser. Highlighter:ApeninHighlightermodewillvisuallysimulateastandardhighlighter,andwill alignthehighlightingtoanytextautomatically.

Animations
AnybasicGalleryobjectcanbeassignedsimpleanimationsbasedonevents(e.g.initially enteringthepage,clickingontheobject).Also,SMARTNotebookisdesignedtofunction smoothlywithAdobeFlashvideo,whichprovidesrichanimationcapabilities.

RecordUserActionswithSMARTRecorder
TheSMARTRecordercancapturerealtimevideoofaninstructorsactions.Aninstructorcould recordaSMARTNotebooklesson(includingwritingintheinklayer)inrealtimeatthedesired presentationpace.Audiocanalsoberecorded.Theresultingvideocanbesavedin.wmv format,sostudentscouldviewitonanyPC,withoutneedingtohavetheSMARTNotebook softwareinstalled. TheSMARTRecordercanbesettocapturefullscreenvideo,soaninstructorcouldeven includecontentfromoutsidetheSMARTNotebookapplicationinvideorecordings.

Text&ShapeRecognition
AnyInkAwareapplication(includingSMARTNotebookitself,andMicrosoftOffice2007 applications)caninterpretobjectsintheSMARTInteractiveWhiteboardinklayerasimages,or writingcanalsoberecognizedastext/numericaldata.SMARTNotebooksoftwarecanrecognize bothprintedandscriptletters. WiththepeninShapeRecognitionmode,theusercandrawafreehandshape,andtheSMART Notebooksoftwarewillconvertittoapreciseversionoftheshape,makinganexactcircle, square,etcbasedonthedrawing. M:\LinCgroup\Scott\SmartTouchDocs\ComparisonofSMARTNotebookvsPowerPoint

DirectStudentInteractionwiththeLesson/Activity
SincetheSMARTInteractiveWhiteboardisintuitivetouse,studentscanparticipatedirectlyina lessonwithouthavingtousetraditionalcomputerhardware(mouse,keyboard,etc).

SenteoInteractiveResponsecompatibility
SMARTNotebooksoftwareiscompatiblewithSenteoInteractiveResponsehardware,which allowsstudentstoparticipateinrealtimeinSMARTNotebookactivitiessuchassurveys& multiplechoicequestions.

DisadvantagesofSMARTNotebookvs.PowerPoint

AvailabilityofPremadeContent
ThereisasubstantialamountofpremadecontentavailableforPowerPoint.Manytextbook publishersprovidehighqualitycompanionPowerPointfilestoinstructorstoaccompanythe textbooktheyareusingforacourse. SomepremadeSMARTNotebookcontentisavailable,butitisnormallyspecializedtothe originalauthorsneeds,somewhatdifficulttosearchfor,andthequalityofthecontentvariesa greatdeal.

Training
ManyinstructorshavepreviousexperiencewithPowerPointand/orMicrosoftOffice,but wouldrequiresometrainingtobeabletouseSMARTNotebooksoftwareeffectively.

AccessibilityoftheSoftware
Mostinstructorsandstudentsalreadyown,orhaveaccessto,aPowerPointlicenceontheir schoolandhomecomputers,soitiseasytosharePowerPointpresentationswithstudents electronically. EachinstallationofSMARTNotebooksoftwarerequiresalicenceassociatedwithspecific SMARTBoardhardware.StudentsrarelyhaveaccesstoaSMARTNotebooksoftwarelicence, whichmakessharingSMARTNotebookbasedcoursecontentoutsideoftheclassdifficult.

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AccessibilityoftheHardware
Manyclassroomsarealreadysetupwithacomputerandbasicprojectorthatarecapableof displayingaPowerPointpresentation.SMARTNotebookpresentationscouldtheoreticallybe doneonstandardprojectors&screens,butmostSMARTnotebookpresentationsaredesigned tobeshownonaSMARTInteractiveWhiteboard.Also,eachclassroomcomputerthatwouldbe usedforaSMARTNotebookpresentationwouldrequireaninstallationoftheSMARTNotebook software,whereasPowerPointSoftwareisinstalledonmostacademicusecomputersby default.

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