SMARTboards @ COTR: Main Campus

Cheatsheet #1: Logging in & starting up

  1. Go to the media control panel. The panel will be at the front of the classroom, either right on the podium or mounted on the wall at eye level. Look for a small, pocketbook-sized screen display panel.
  2. Tap on the panel to wake it up. You first need to type in the secret password to unlock the panel. (Call the helpdesk at 3333 or ask a colleague for the latest password.)
  3. If successful, you'll hear the screen reply 'command activated'.
  4. Make sure that the projector is also on. The projector may start automatically when you fire up the system. If not, you may be presented with a menu which gives you the option to tap your finger on the 'projector on' button. If you don’t see this menu, tap the top left button on the control panel, tap on the ‘PC’ button, & turn the projector on.
  5. This should also unlock the computer desk. Locate the power button for the computer (you may need to turn on the room light to see it) & turn the computer on. Do this right away because booting up the computer takes several minutes.
  6. Open the computer desk drawer. Make sure the mouse, which should have been charging in its cradle, shows a little blue light. If there is no blue light, the mouse may be dead! Run down to Library Services to request a fresh battery for the mouse.
  7. You may also remove the keyboard, which operates the computer remotely. Move mouse & keyboard to a desk near the front of the room where you can keep an eye on both SMARTboard panel and your students.
  8. Once the computer has started up, enter your COTR username and password.
  9. The SMARTboard starts when the computer starts, so you’re good to go!

SMARTboards @ COTR

Cheatsheet #2: the desktop & ink layer

Clicking/selecting

On the SMARTboard, your finger is the mouse!

  • Use your finger the same way you’d use your computer mouse
  • Simply tap or double-tap the same way you’d click or double-click
  • If a light tap does nothing, tap harder!
  • There are several ways you can do right-click operations but the easiest is just to tap & hold your finger on the screen for about 3 seconds until the right-click menu appears.

Writing on the desktop, internet browser, etc.

  • Pick up a SMARTboard 'marker' to activate the ink layer: a narrow white border which will appear around the edges of the entire screen.
  • The ink layer is like an overhead transparency over the computer screen. When the ink layer is active, you can write on top of the desktop, browser window, image, etc.
  • The colour of ink you see is the LAST marker you pick up (even if you’re holding more than one marker)
  • Use the eraser to fix mistakes or tidy up the screen.

The SMART menu

  • You can also activate the ink layer by tapping on a marker tool in the SMART menu along the left side of the screen.
  • Just use your finger to write or draw.
  • Tap on the eraser tool to use your hand as an eraser.
  • Choose the selection tool (the arrow at the top) if you want to use your finger like a mouse click instead. (Note: your scribbles will disappear unless you save them! More on this later.)

SMARTboards @ COTR

Cheatsheet #3: working with Word, excel & powerpoint

Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint are “ink aware” programs. This quality instills them with special powers when working on the SMARTboard.

The Ink Aware menu

Look in the top right corner for the ink aware menu.

What the buttons do:

/ Converts your scribbles into a drawing that gets embedded in your document
/ Converts your scribbles (as best it can) into editable text into your document
/ Saves a screen capture of your entire document

An extra menu in PowerPoint

The slide show menu appears (usually in lower left corner) when you choose slide show view.

/ Returns you to the previous slide
/ Brings up the SMART menu (lets you save scribbles/notes you add)
/ Moves you to the next slide

SMARTboards @ COTR

Cheatsheet #4: saving your work

Embedding your scribbles as images in Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Check Cheatsheet #3 for information about saving handwritten notes and diagrams in MS Office programs.

Saving your entire screen in ANY program

In many cases, you will want to save all of your notes: perhaps you used a series of Word documents along with a PowerPoint presentation and maybe a few webpages too, all with your various handwritten notes and scribbles. Your easiest option is to get a screen capture of each page you use or create and save them all as PDF handout slides for your students.

  1. Create or open a page in any program
  2. Add your handwritten notes, diagrams & annotations
  3. Look for the camera icon somewhere on the page (It may look like either image on the left).
  4. Tap on the camera. A camera ‘click’ noise confirms that your screen has been captured.
  5. Repeat this process for every page with notes that you want to capture.
  1. When you have captured all the pages you need, look on the toolbar. You should see the icon (see image on right) for the SMART software program.
  2. Tap on the SMART icon to open the program. You should see a series of thumbnail slides: one for each screen you captured.
  3. Look in the top menu. Click/tap on File  Export  PDF
  4. When the PDF export window opens, you can choose a number of options including the size of handout slides you save for your students.

SMARTboards @ COTR

Cheatsheet #5: calibrating the smartboard

Problem: you touch or write something on the SMARTboard and your touch (or mark) seems to appear somewhere else!

Solution: calibrate the SMARTboard.

There are several ways to launch the calibration program but this is the quickest:

  1. Look on the pen tray for the two buttons on either side of the eraser brush
  2. Press down both buttons at once
  3. Wait a couple of seconds until the calibration screen appears
  4. You’ll see a red “+” near the top left corner of the screen. Tap right in the middle of the +
  5. Another red + will appear in the middle of the left side of the screen. Tap again…

In all, 9 (sometimes 12) red + signs will appear. Once you have tapped them all, the screen will be calibrated.

Cheatsheet #6:using the SMARTboard like one big whiteboard

Sometimes you just want a whiteboard with no bells & whistles. Here’s how to use the SMARTboard like a whiteboard – with the added advantage that you can save your work!

  1. Log into the system & turn on the computer & SMARTboard, as described in CHEATSHEET 1.
  2. Look for the SMART toolbar along the left side of the screen. Click on the little tab you see to expand the toolbar.
  3. Look for the SMART notebook icon. You'll find it on the expanded toolbar, just below the keyboard icon.Click or tap to open a new notebook file.
  4. Look in the top menu for the fullscreen icon. Click/tap on this.
  5. Now you’ve got a nice big whiteboard! But check out the menu in the bottom left corner:
  6. If you tap on the three dots in the middle of the menu, you’ll get quite a number of options. Note the first option: “Insert a blank screen.” You can add any number of new whiteboards & then navigate between them using the arrows on the left of the menu.
  7. If you want to get a screen capture (i.e. save one of your slides), you will have to exit the full screen mode & then tap on the camera icon (which you’ll find in the top menu.)
  8. Note that you can return to the usual SMART notebook page (i.e. the “not fullscreen view) at any time by tapping on the fullscreen icon again.

SMARTboards @ COTR

Cheatsheet #7: extras

Using the SMART notebook

  • Look for the SMART toolbar along the left side of the screen. Click on the little tab you see to expand the toolbar.
  • Look for the SMART notebook icon. You'll find it on the expanded toolbar, just below the keyboard icon.
  • Click to open a new notebook file. Practise using the tools: choose the pencil to draw, the eraser to erase, the arrow to choose objects and move them.
  • NOTE: it is easy to confuse the selection tool (the arrow) & the pencil tool (for drawing)! If you try to draw something & don't see any ink, it could be because the arrow tool is still turned on. Select the pencil tool instead. Similarly, if you try to click on something & end up only making a black dot on it, you probably still have the pencil tool selected. You need the arrow tool to select anything.
  • For more practice, consult the SMARTboard Basics handout.

Finding & using SMARTboard lessons from the internet

  • open an internet browser (Internet Explorer or Firefox) & go to google
  • type in the following search terms: SMARTboard activities <your subject area>
  • Browse what you find. When you find something that looks interesting, click on it.
  • The dialogue box may ask you if you want to view it or download it. If you choose 'view', the resource will automatically open in your SMARTboard notebook. If you choose 'download', the file will download to your specific computer where you can open & view it. If you also want to use the activity on the computers at COTR, be sure to save the file to a USB 'thumb drive' or other portable device.
  • This website: is a great place to start. Search for any subject or topic.
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Education Technology CentreAugust 21, 2013