SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Transparent Background View

Teachers today utilize a number of resources in their classroom when teaching a lesson.  For those who would like to be able to use all of the SMART Notebook tools that they have come to love with those resources (e.g. websites, simulations, online textbook, content software), check out the video tutorial below which demonstrates the use of "transparent background" view.

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Printing to SMART Notebook

For many teachers, SMART Notebook is not the one and only presentation software that they have used in their classroom.  Oftentimes, teachers have lots of other digital files (Word docs, PDFs, etc.) that they want to use in their classroom.  SMART Notebook has a pretty cool feature that will import those files and get you annotating in no time!  Check out the short video tutorial below:

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Viewing Full Screen Page Borders

When presenting in full screen view in SMART Notebook it can be confusing to students if you have to keep scrolling down to show them more content.  Watch the video below to see how you can quickly and easily turn on a page guide which will help you to ensure that your content will never be cut off again.

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Audio

Looking to get your students more involved in using the SMARTboard?  How about including some engaging audio to get their attention!  Check out the video below to see how you can incorporate sound clips (or your own voice) into a SMART Notebook file.

SMART Notebook Interactive Viewer

Did you know that your students could be accessing your SMART Notebook lessons outside of school?  Check out the SMART Notebook Interactive Viewer and you will see how your students can download a free Notebook viewer which reproduces all of the lesson content and interactivity.  One of the best parts about this viewer is that you don't need the internet to access the files.  Once downloaded, users can open a SMART Notebook file and its attachments without an Internet connection.  You can even view flash files, videos and object animations which are embedded in the file.  One feature that I know students will love is the ability to use the digital ink to annotate over the file.

Now What?

Many teachers are using SMART Notebook to create their lessons but there really isn't an easy way to share those lessons with students unless it is in the form of a static PDF file.  The SMART Notebook Interactive Viewer is a game changer in that now students can be accessing your Notebook files and interacting with them in the way that you intended...all without a software license.

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Random Name & Group Generator

As a classroom teacher it is always a challenge to call on a variety of students and not fall into the practice of calling on the same students each and every day.  The same goes for randomly putting students into groups for classwork or projects.  Check out the video below to see how you can add some pizzazz to the process using SMART's random name and group generators...

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Tables

A great way to organize your lesson content is through the use of tables in SMART Notebook.  Tables are a great way to visually categorize information but also to build interactivity into your lessons.  Check out the video below to see how you can get started using tables in your Notebook lessons today...

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Customizing Digital Ink Fade

One of the more magical features of SMART Notebook is the ability to use the "Magic Pen" to create ink that disappears as you write.  One of the flaws of that feature originally was the inability to customize the time before the ink would fade.  That has been addressed in the latest release of Notebook.  Take a look at the tutorial below to see it in action.

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Custom Creative Pens

Looking for a new and creative way to engage students using your SMARTboard?  How about using some new customized creative pens?  Check out the tutorial below to see how you can use your very own images as creative pens in SMART Notebook 11.

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - SMART Notebook Internet Browser

There were many changes to Notebook over the summer (June was the official release) including the ability to embed a web browser right into your Notebook lessons.  It's as simple as clicking on insert and then internet browser.  The question is how can you use this new feature to it's maximum potential?  Check out the video below to learn more...

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - SMART Notebook Document Writer

At this point you are probably creating all of your new lessons in SMART Notebook...but what about all of those Word documents or PDFs that you want to use in your lesson?  Check out the short video below which demonstrates the use of SMART Notebook Document Writer.

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Image Fill & Reveal

As you know there are lots of ways to build interactivity into your Notebook lessons.  One of the most difficult parts of creating each page is finding space to fit all of your information, images, etc.  Using the trick outlined below, you will be able to use image fill and object animation to squeeze in some more interactive content.

SMART Notebook Tips & Tricks - Creating a Gallery Item

For those users who are moving beyond simply writing notes on a white background in Notebook...this tutorial is for you.  In Notebook you can easily create your very own gallery items which can then be accessed and reused from lesson to lesson.  Check out the tutorial below to see how you can start creating gallery items for your Notebook lessons.

SMARTboard Tips & Tricks - Magic Reveal

When using SMART Notebook in the classroom one of the main reasons is to increase student engagement in the lesson.  In order to do just that you should always try to make the content interactive to some degree.  A common misconception is that interactivity always have to involve the student.  This is not the case.  As a matter of fact interactivity can just be making the content interactive where you have to "click" to reveal information.  Why not introduce a little magic into your classroom with this technique below...

SMARTboard Tips & Tricks - Page Recording

In the first installment of this year's tips and tricks, I'm sharing a very simple use of the SMARTboard that I believe is one of the coolest little known tricks...page recording.  Page recording allows you to create a short video of your actions on the SMARTboard which can then be reviewed as a video on a Notebook page.  Take a look at this feature in action below:

SMARTboard Tips & Tricks - Answer Checker Activity

At this point there really isn't any need to ever have to create your own activity in Notebook.  Using the SMART Exchange and the Lesson Activity Toolkit in Notebook you should be able to modify the content to fit with each lesson you teach.  However, if you needed just one more activity...check out the video below to see how to use a one cell table to create your very own Notebook activity.

SMARTboard Tips & Tricks - Magic Pen

If you didn't already know it...Smart Notebook can be quite a "magical" experience for students (and teachers too).   They even have a pen called the "magic" pen!  To use the magic pen all you have to do is select it from your toolbar and then you can write with vanishing ink, spotlight or magnify all with just one pen!  Check it out below...

SMARTboard Tips & Tricks - Hovering Mouse

Many websites today rely on the ability for you to hover your mouse over a page object and have something happen.  It could be something simple like give you more information about a link or it could be a pop-up with a larger view of a thumbnail on the page.  On a site that I recently reviewed called ten by ten, you need to be able to hover over each image in order to see more information.  Check out the tutorial below to find out how you can setup the ability to hover over an object while standing at your board using your finger.



H/T to James Hollis of Teachers Love Smartboards for the tip.

SMARTboard Tips & Tricks - My Content Folder

SMART Notebook has lots of great ready to use resources built right into the gallery but it can be difficult to find the same thing twice because the library is so expansive.  Watch the video below to learn about an easy way to organizer all of your stuff in SMART Notebook so you can find it easier in the future.

SMARTboard Tips & Tricks - Grouping Objects in SMART Notebook

For most Notebook users, it is easy to get started building lessons using the program because it is very similar to PowerPoint in that it is slide based.  The real challenge is building in the interactivity which is the cornerstone of the SMART software.  In this quick tutorial, learn how to group objects together to allow for interactivity and a more dynamic lesson in SMART Notebook.