Can Your iPad Replace Your SmartBoard?

[Sam Gliksman]

Whatever your philosophy regarding frontal teaching methods and the uses of Smartboards, there’s no denying two facts:

1. Smartboards have become extremely popular tools in educational institutions
2. Smartboards are relatively expensive and eat major portions out of our shrinking school budgets

What if you could create a parallel experience using nothing more than an iPad and a $50 piece of software? One software product with a matching iPad app claims that it can.

 

Doceri is an iPad app that provides an alternative to interactive whiteboards at a fraction of the cost.  Doceri lets an educator control and annotate on a computer connected to a projector from anywhere in the room. 

Installation

Step 1: Install the Doceri software on your laptop or desktop computer. The software is available from the Doceri website and there are versions for both Mac and Windows computers. Install it on whichever computer you want to use for your presentations.

 

Step 2: Get your iPad and download the Doceri iPad app.

 

Step 3: Connect the two. When you set up the app it looks for the software on your desktop or laptop and connects to it. Now I have to admit that I had problems with the connection. If your iPad and laptop are on the same wireless network then you can allow the app to “discover” the laptop. This tends to work fairly efficiently. If however they are not on the same network – say, for example the computer is using a wired connection and not on wireless – then you’ll need to know and enter an IP address for the app to find your computer. For novices this can become a little tricky.

Features

One connected, your iPad can now display and control your computer directly. You can open documents, browse the web, play video and more. If that was all you could do then there would be numerous other inexpensive apps you could use. Doceri does much more.

 

Highlight and Annotate: Similar to the ways in which you can interact with your computer using Smartboard or Promethean software, Doceri allows you to write or draw on the screen using your iPad. Open a blank page and write on it. Open a document or web page and highlight sections or add annotations. You can change backgrounds, pen types, colors and more.

 

Untethered Teaching: Doceri frees the teacher from being anchored to the whiteboard. Input occurs on the iPad instead. Doceri gives teachers the freedom to move around the classroom and interact with students as part of the presentation process.

 

Use Any Content: Since Doceri works in conjunction with a PC or MAC, the educator can use any existing content - whether Flash, Powerpoint, Java, a website, or a standalone application. Users aren’t restricted to using content that is available on the iPad.  

 

Record Lessons for Playback: Doceri has a built-in record function that gives you the option of recording your annotations and playing them back at any time. This enables educators to prepare handwritten lesson snippets in advance, create them in real time, or both. Recordings also allow you to set anchor points that make it simple to jump to any part of the lesson recording quickly.

 

Just to be absolutely clear, I’m not an advocate of frontal teaching methods. Having said that, there will always be times teachers need to present and demonstrate. As with any other new technology, it takes a little time to get used to Doceri’s iPad-based writing interface. Doceri is however a sensible and cost effective alternative to Smartboards and it's certainly worth your time to download their trial version and see if it meets your needs. 

[John Scates]

Sam,

I loaded Doceri and have been using it for the past two days. It works well, connects easily, and seems to be a good fit with the iPad. Thanks for pointing it out! Not sure if I can find the funds to put it on all of the staff iPads, but we will see. The challenge is that new apps seem to show up every few weeks or so, with improvements coming rapidly. A few bucks here, a few bucks there, it adds up pretty fast.

John

[Glenn Cermak]

I’m a teacher, and a technology integration facilitator for one of the largest school districts in Pennsylvania.  My district uses SMART Boards, so that is where my experience primary lies.  I also have several iPads in my classroom, which are used frequently by students.  However, the iPads are rarely used in anywhere close to the same way the IWB is.  They are used more as replacements for computers/laptops/netbooks than an IWB.  I really do not see how an iPad could possible replace, or come close to replacing, an IWB. 

 

Interacting with content is the primary use of an IWB.  While an iPad does allow this, it doesn’t come close to allowing the precision or variety of interactivity that IWBs do.   Look at all of the premade lesson content you can get for the SMART Board.  There is virtually none for the iPad, nor do I expect to see much.  The size of the iPad screen does not allow for the degree of interactivity that the SMART Board does.  It cannot fit as much (legible) information.  Even if teachers did feel they would have a use for an iPad for instruction, they would have to rely on what is already available, as few educators would be well versed in computers enough to create their own apps.  SMART Notebook, and even Flash, are far more user friendly (I have written several iPhone and iPad apps myself).

I realize this article primary deals with using the iPad as a mirrored screen and wireless input device for a PC.  I had this thought as well, and have been trying to perfect it for nearly a year.  An iPad cannot be used in this way as successfully as an IWB.  The best app I have tried to allow me to use the iPad to interact with a desktop has been Splashtop, which is basically the same as the app discussed here.  There is frequently a horrible lag when trying to write with digital ink – and my wireless network is just the iPad and desktop, unlike how most classrooms would be setup.  Aside from interacting with content (including Flash content), the other big advantage to IWB is the use of digital ink, and that is virtually impossible on the iPad.  I have tried numerous times, and it is not possible to write clearly on the iPad unless you write extremely large – probably because of the small screen size.  This is a huge drawback that I think educators may not consider when they compare an iPad to an IWB.  They will only consider the touch-control, not the writing element. 

[Estela Landeros-Dugourd]

Drop and drag content to create In the moment teaching  is a feature that software from most all interactive boards offer. Yes, the most common brands of interactive boards are quite expensive, but there are a few that can be affordable such as UPIC, which is a simple magnetic surface that can be used either as a white board or an interactive board and it works perfect with Office programs where you can make annotations in the "moment's teaching". My point is that both, Ipad and interactive boards have a set of different applications that teachers can use in the classroom, one allows more interaction than the other, but again, teaching is not about tools, it is about instructional strategies.

[John J Caprice]

Dear Sam,

Just received a response form the Doceri crew.

The Doceri program only allows for a single iPad to control/interact with the host computer.

New software products are in development....let's see what's coming in the near future.

JJC

[Sam Gliksman]

Christopher, Remoter is one of many VNC apps. VNC apps don't offer annotations, recording, playback, curtaining or any of the other features that make a program such as Doceri attractive in a classroom environment.

[John J Caprice]

Dear Sam,

I agree 100%. I did not mean to equate the two processes. Certainly, if a teacher has an iPad, the Doceri program will dramatically increase its functionality in a classroom setting.

SP Controls manufactures high end Audio Visual control systems. The new Doceri program is a dramatic step for this company. They are embracing the new technology rather than resisting it. I have expected the development of an interactive slate with an onboard display. There have been interactive wireless LCD panels available for over 10 years. These panels were heavy, had a short battery life and were expnsive. They had a limited market.  In fact, wireless Android and Windows CE LCDs  have been available in Asia for the past 5 years. Yet, no US company introduced them into the US education market, until Apple upset the market with the iPad. The iPad is still a consumer product, designed to entertain and communicate socially. However, the lightweight, long battery life, and adaptability of the iPad has opened new market segments for the unit. The Health Care industry has adopted the iPad for Office and Patient Management. This adoption is driven by the switch to Patient Electronic Record keeping, endorsed and mandated by Uncle Sam's "Affordable Healtcare Act".

In my opinion, the wired sync to iTunes is a limiting factor in the iPad education market. It requires the purchase of a multiple iPad sync product, either desktop or cart.

JJC

[Sam Gliksman]

Nathan, the Smartboard software and community are important. And rightly or wrongly, Smart makes it difficult to access them unless you have their IWB. Promethean however does not - you can purchase and use their software with any device.

[Sam Gliksman]

Estela, As you state, IWBs can do anything you can do with Doceri. The big difference however is that doing it utilizing an IWB will cost you somewhere in the thousands. Doceri costs $50. At a time when state and school budgets are shrinking and educational funding is scarce, shouldn't we look at alternatives that may allow us to to use that funding to purchase more devices we can put into the hands of students?

[Christopher Casal]

I use Remoter on my iPad. It's a $0.99 VNC app.

 

It's great, less than a dollar, and doesn't require any additional software on my desktop (plus it allows me to access my full system anytime I want.

[nathan stevens]

The reason I suggested IWBs instead SMARTboard is that SMARTNotebook is more than a writing surface. The gallery in SMART Notebook is one of the most important features of the software.  Having access to interactive, drop and drag content to create In the moment teaching is something this software does not offer.  If you are really looking at replacing a IWBs, you should check out groupboard.  That is what we are using to creating virtual meeting space in a truly disconnected device.  It is a true Web 2.0 tool, and work with multiple platforms (iPAD, Droid, Laptop).