SMART Board 600i

We love SMART boards. Their software feels more professional and rounded than others, and their boards are durable, robust, and bright. However, was Johnathon Smith impressed by SMART’s latest offering, the 600i or was it all a little too fancy-schmancy?

SMART Board announcing the 600i Interactive Whiteboard in the June 0f 2006 brought about speculation of something truly wonderful! The Smartboard 600i is available in two different sizes, the 64 inch diagonal (SB660i) and the 77 inch diagonal (SB680i).

The new Unifi 35 Projector head with built-speakers is wall mounted just above the board, and is designed to reduce the horrid shadows one normally attributes from overhead projectors, and of course it works a treat! This means there’s no longer the need for specialist alignment for the projector and the board and solves previous cabling problems. The projector offers high resolution XGA (1024×768 pixels) resolution. The aspect ratio is 4:3 (standard computer aspect ratio) but it will also support 16:9 widescreen. One might wonder why projecting from such a short distance doesn’t cause severe keystone problems, and that comes down to the correction performed by Bikuiti super close projection technology from 3M. The lamp in the head is quoted to last for 3000 hours in Economy mode, and 2000 hours in Standard mode

At least, on paper the SMART board software hasn’t changed much, you’ve still got the normal option to capture the board as a screenshot, backwards compatability (being able to use previous board software with this one) and of course, you can save work from the board directly into PowerPoint or Word for example. You also have the thousands of templates and images to use, some nifty drawing tools, and other options. The upgrades can be downloaded for free from their website and apparently the software is also available in 32 different languages.

The board automatically detects which tool is being used, and they are kept in the pen tray. It’s worth pointing out that the fingers can be used to imitate mouse gestures, so there’s no longer the need for the ‘passing of the conch’ between people who are to use the board!

The pen tray features some buttons that gives the teacher/educator faster access to much needed controls: the option to start up the board and projector at the same time, and volume adjustment. A help button is also placed in the pen tray so it doesn’t distract from normal usage, and provides you with a screen orientation setup, and the online training and guidance resources. Importantly, the button to get access to the on-screen interface is also found in the pen tray, this allows annotation of images, and interactive tools for the projector control.

If you have classes full of tiny tearaways, then fear not! The SMART board screen is very durable, a hard-coated polyester which is resistant to scratches and other problems. SMART also claim that the board is able to function if the surface is actually scratched, but we didn’t want to test the claim! You can also write with dry board markers on the board, and whiteboard cleaner won’t harm the surface.

No longer is a computer needed to actually use the interactive board, what with the connections for DVD’s, VCR’s, cameras etc, it greatly enhances the usability of the board if laptop resources are tight for the school. It’s really easy to switch between inputs just by using a button in the pen tray and selecting the input on the board – if you get stuck, I’m sure a pupil will be able to help!

If you like walking around the room while teaching, there’s a remote control to help you operate the board, and if you or your teachers REALLY like walking around the room while teaching, then the board integrates with Bluetooth for wireless operation, and is compatible with AirLiner wireless slates.

As for the connection to the computer, it’s really disappointing to see a huge whiteboard being connected by a USB cable! Not disappointing in the fact that it’s poor – it isn’t, it’s very impressive because it means it’s plug and play, and shouldn’t cause any problems when installing – but such connections are normally associated with a small handheld mouse or keyboard, not a large chunky piece of school equipment!

Those clever people at SMART allow the Smartboard to be mounted on a height-adjustable wall mount, so, the teacher, standing pupils, and pupils in wheel chairs can gain easy access to the interactive board. However as it’s wall mounted, it of course means it’s not transportable between rooms, and could cause logistical problems if you intend for classrooms to share.

Input/Output Connections

DVI-I/A – analog or digital projector video input,
HD-DB15 – RGB video input from computer, linked to remote connection panel,
Two 3.5 mm mini jacks – audio input, one linked to remote connection panel,
Mini DIN 4-pin – S-video input, linked to remote connection panel,
RCA jack – composite video input, linked to remote connection panel,
Two RCA jacks – stereo audio input, linked to remote connection panel,
Three RCA jacks – component video input,
Two USB A receptacles – one for USB storage device, linked to remote connection panel – one for USB link to interactive whiteboard,
USB B receptacle – computer data connection, linked to remote connection panel,
RS-232 (DB9) – serial connection,
Power reset connector – linked to remote connection panel Reset button,
Power switch – master power control switch,
AC power inlet – accepts standard IEC power cable or adapter,

Remote Connection Panel Features

HD-DB15 – RGB computer video input,
3.5 mm mini jack – computer audio input,
USB A receptacle – connection for USB storage device,
RCA jack – composite video input,
Two RCA jacks – stereo audio inputs,
Mini DIN 4-pin – S-video input,
USB B – computer data input.

N.B. There’s also a hardware expansion slot to allow for future upgrades.

We like this board a lot, and think the new head has solved a lot of logistic problems about having an interactive whiteboard in the classroom that makes having a whiteboard in the classroom a pleasure.