Sympodium Interactive Pen Display

The SMART Sympodium interactive pen display is a pen-equipped computer monitor that allows you to write electronic notes on the computer screen and to control your computer while facing your class.

The Sympodium interactive screen replaces the computer monitor and displays the computer desktop image. Using the attached pen stylus, you simply touch the screen to control software applications, write notes, or annotate directly over the computer image. This computer image is simultaneously displayed on our classroom’s large screen computer projection system, allowing your students to easily follow along.

The required SMART Board software is installed on the computer and allows you to write over any computer application and to edit your notes.  It can also turn your computer screen into a fully functioning whiteboard.  The software comes with a wide range of presentation tools for controlling the way in which information is highlighted, revealed, and displayed on the screen. You can save all your work directly to a file, or export as a webpage.

More detailed product information can be viewed here:

http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/Interactive+Pen+Displays/ID350/default.htm

Haverford College’s Sympodium:

Haverford College currently owns four Sympodiums, three installed in classrooms and a portable unit in the KINSC.  

Classroom Sympodiums:

Our three classroom Sympodiums are permanently installed on teaching consoles (or lectern) and are located in Stokes 010, Stokes 016, and in Stokes Auditorium.  The Sympodiums in these three rooms are each connected to a Windows XP computer permanently installed within the teaching console.  The computer already includes the necessary SmartBoard software and is ready to use.  If you need to load or save presentations for display, you can do that over the network, or you may wish to bring a USB memory stick. 

Portable Sympodium: 

The KINSC portable Sympodium is attached to a cart and is stored in the AV storage closet located at the front of Sharpless Auditorium.  The cart includes a Windows XP computer loaded with the necessary SmartBoard software.  To view the Sympodium on the room’s computer projector you must connect the video cable on the cart to the projector input plate on the front wall.  If you want to use your own laptop with the Sympodium you will have to disconnect both the video and USB cables from the cart’s computer and connect them to your laptop.  Your laptop must also have the SmartBoard software loaded on it.

Sympodium SmartBoard software

The required SmartBoard software is already installed on each of the Windows XP computers attached to our four Sympodiums.  You only need to download the SmartBoard software to your own computer if:  You are using your own laptop with the portable Sympodium located in the KINSC or, if you wish to experiment and practice using the SmartBoard software on your own laptop or computer.  The software can be downloaded at this link:

http://www.smarttech.com/Support/software/

Equipment instructions and training

The Sympodium is fairly easy to use and the quick reference guides linked below should provide enough introductory information to get started and use the Sympodium’s basic features.   If you want to utilize some of the Sympodium’s more advance features it is recommend that you go through the short, on-line animated tutorials linked below, and perhaps participate in the live, on-line training sessions that are hosted by the manufacture several times a week.

Experiment with the software at your own leisure:

In advance of using the Sympodium in the classroom and to familiarize yourself with the SmartBoard software, it is recommended that you download the Sympodium SmartBoard software to your own computer and play around with it.  While you will not have access the actual Sympodium and it’s pen device with your own computer, you will be able to simulate the use of the Sympodium by using your own mouse to control and navigate around the software.  In this way you can become more familiar with the SmartBoard software’s controls and functions, in the comfort of your own home or office and before you use it in the classroom

On-Line training materials:

The Sympodium manufacture’s website offers extensive documentation and training materials that will help you to learn the Sympodium’s basic and advanced functions.  The main training page can be found here:

http://www.smarttech.com/trainingcenter/material.asp

The training page include links to:

• Printable Materials
  Quick Reference Guides are simple, visual tools that cover SMART product features in 1-2 pages. Use the straightforward Hands-on Practices to gain practical experience with your SMART Board interactive whiteboard.

• Two-Minute Tutorials
  These quick, animated tutorials provide an introduction to working with SMART Board software.

• Live Online Training
  SMART online training sessions are 30- to 45-minute computer and telephone conferences that offer a quick, no-cost overview of the basics of working with SMART products. There are several sessions held each week. Each session is led by a SMART trainer who uses SMART products every day. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions.  A schedule of upcoming live on-line training sessions can be found here:

http://www.smarttech.com/trainingcenter/online/index.asp

Before you can take part in a live training session, you must download the “Bridgit” software client to the computer that you’ll be using on the day of the session.  Complete instructions for downloading and installing this software and to connect to an on-line training session can be found here:

http://downloads.smarttech.com/media/trainingcenter/onlinetrainingconnection.pdf