U N I V E R S I T Y  O F  P I T T S B U R G H

How SMART Is Your Classroom?

Nick Laudato Photo by Jim Burke, CIDDE

By Nick Laudato, CIDDE Associate Director

The University recently acquired new software and hardware solutions from SMART Technologies that can help you prepare for class, engage your students, and capture your “chalk” board writings.

Touch sensitive computing options are evolving at a rapid pace and promise to dramatically change the way we make classroom presentations and interact with our students.

You have probably already heard about “Janus,” the University of Pittsburgh’s term for a combination of hardware and software technologies named after the Roman god of portals, who can see in opposite directions simultaneously. Janus allows you to face your class while making drawings and annotations on a touch-sensitive LCD graphics pad so your students can view them on a screen behind you via a data/video projector. (See TeachingTimes Vol. VIII No. 1 for a description of Janus.)

This fall term, Janus has been given a new face with the addition of hardware and software from SMART Technologies, the Canadian-based company that created the original SMART boards. On the hardware side is the new Sympodium DT770 interactive pen display. The DT770 is larger than its predecessors (17 inches diagonal) and can respond to either touch or to a tethered pen. The touch capability allows you to quickly use your finger to make simple annotations (such as using “digital ink” in PowerPoint). If you pick up the pen and place it close to the screen, the touch sensitivity will be automatically turned off and you can use the pen for finer annotations at sharper resolutions. The Sympodium series also provides a set of hardware buttons at the top of the panel that allow you to switch between pen and mouse modes, select different pen colors, and invoke a software keyboard.

SMART Sympodium in WWPH 1700 Photo by Nick Laudato, CIDDE

On the software side, the University now has a site license that allows all faculty, students, and staff to run the SMART software, particularly the SMART Notebook. The software is available through Computing Services and Systems Development’s (CSSD) electronic software distribution service <software.pitt.edu> and can be installed on your desktop or laptop computer so you can learn the software, prepare classroom presentation components in advance, or edit previously saved notebooks.

The SMART Notebook software is characterized by its ease of use, rich instructional toolset, useful output options, and consistent user interface. Among many other things, it allows you to:

• Annotate over the slides of a PowerPoint presentation during class with the pen, highlighting important information or making ad hoc drawings to illustrate a concept.
• Create a virtual whiteboard (an effectively unlimited chalkboard space). It is easy to move back and forth between whiteboard pages and nothing needs to be erased to make room for a new page.
• Insert backgrounds and illustrations (including Flash programs) into your presentation from discipline-specific galleries of objects.
• Display and save classroom annotations in popular formats such as Adobe Acrobat (PDF), and post them to CourseWeb (Blackboard) for later review by your students.
• Prepare illustrations and notes in advance and then modify or supplement them in the classroom.
• Capture whatever is displayed on the computer screen, make annotations on it using the pen, and save it as a graphic image.

SMART Notebook - Background from the Gallery

The “Gallery” feature is particularly interesting, providing a rich array of backgrounds and graphics that can dramatically enhance your presentations.

The Provost’s Classroom Management Team (CMT) has equipped three newly renovated classrooms in Posvar Hall (1500, 1501, and 1700) with the new Sympodium DT770. The Sympodium panels can be used from the built-in computer (you can login with your University of Pittsburgh account) or from a personal laptop (once you’ve loaded the SMART software). Instructional Media Services (IMS) can also deliver similar LCD panels and laptops to any classroom location on campus.

Instructional Media Services can deliver this technology solution to any classroom and the Faculty Instructional Development Lab (FIDL) can provide training in its use.

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