One of the most valuable new tools you can add to your office conference room is the smart board. What is a smart board, exactly, and how does it differ from an ordinary whiteboard or from a computer display screen?
Features of a Smart Board
A smart board is actually the combination of both a display screen and a traditional whiteboard. These fantastic products are electronic, interactive whiteboards that allow you to display digital information as you usually would with a display monitor connected to a laptop or other digital device, as well as interact with directly.
Smart board capabilities can truly revolutionize how you give lectures, hold conferences and conduct strategic planning meetings. They are flexible, dynamic and easy-to-use.
How Do Smart Boards Work?
Your smart board will come with software to install on your computer to connect it to the board. Once you have mounted the smart board, installed the software and connected it to your laptop, open the smartboard application on your computer.
Next, connect the smart board to a projector as you would with an ordinary display screen when you want to share your laptop screen with the group. Your smartboard application will have simple instructions on how to do this.
Turn on the smart board and log in. Before you can start using the smart board to give a lecture or a presentation, you will need to calibrate it by pressing the keyboard and right mouse button simultaneously. Various targets should appear on the board, which you will then tap with your smartpen to make sure the pen is properly communicating with the board.
Once the smart board is set up, you can do just about anything with it. Load information on your laptop as normal, and it will appear on the smart board screen.
You can then treat the smart board screen just like your phone screen. Drag icons around the screen, tap on files to open them and press various buttons to select them, either using your finger or the smartpen. Even more exciting, you can write or draw directly on the board with the smartpen, something you might not be able to do with your phone. There’s even a smart eraser to remove your pen markings when necessary.
Where Can You Use a Smart Board?
You can use a smart board anywhere you would normally use either a traditional whiteboard or a laptop, display screen and projector array setup. They work optimally in school situations for professors giving lectures, in training seminars and, of course, at work conferences where one or more members of the team are giving a presentation.
Why Should You Use a Smart Board for Your Business?
In addition to the fact that they are simply fun and exciting to use, you can cite many reasons for employing smart board technology in your workplace. For one, they encourage greater collaboration — any employee can jump in and add their knowledge to the presentation by grabbing a smartpen.
For another, they facilitate presentations. If digital presentations are not the strong suit of a particular employee, they may find that the smart board capabilities make the process much smoother and easier. Additionally, smart boards can save a lot of time. Presenters don’t have to waste valuable minutes running to the computer to perform actions for people to see on the screen or trying to explain something when they can just draw it.
Smartboards can also be useful tools in huddle rooms, smaller spaces where leaner teams may meet for quick collaborative sessions from time to time.
Where Can I Get a Smart Board for My Business in North Carolina?
If you need assistance finding and installing your smart board for your business or institution in the Research Triangle Park area or other locations in and around Durham and additional select regions of North Carolina and South Carolina, Intellicom USA can help. As Durham's local audiovisual solution experts, we can help you with all your conference room needs, including helping you pick out and set up your smart board.
We’re happy to tell you all about all our audiovisual solutions for your conference room or classroom today, from smart boards to other wireless display solutions to video conferencing solutions. To learn more about smart boards — or for a free quote on any needed AV system products, setup or design — get in touch with Intellicom USA now.