by Sandy Wyman
On a recent visit to home, Kay Van Norton Poche of Sydney, Australia was on hand at the Gouverneur Community Center to observe the new Smart Board in the Howard Van Norton Media Room.
The addition to the media room was made possible through the generous donation to the center in memory of the Van Norton family.
Accompanied by community center board member Donna Lawrence, technology is at its best and a short demonstration made for some most interesting facts and figures.
First and foremost…what is a Smart Board?
The Smart Boardinteractive whiteboard operates as part of a system that includes the interactive whiteboard, a computer, a projector and white boarding software – either Smart Notebook collaborative learning software for education, or Smart Meeting Pro software for business.
The components are connected wirelessly or via USB or serial cables. A projector connected to the computer displays the desktop image on the interactive whiteboard.
The whiteboard accepts touch input from a finger, pen or other solid object. Smart Board interactive whiteboards are also available as a front-projection flat-panel display – interactive surfaces that fit over plasma or LCD display panels.
A demonstration of the features of a Smart Board, showing the default colors of the pens with a built-in gradient
Most models of Smart Board include a pen tray on the front of the interactive whiteboard that holds two to four plastic pen tools and an eraser.
The pen tools have neither electronic components nor ink – the technology is in the pen tray.
When a pen tool is removed from its slot in the tray, an optical sensor recognizes its absence.
The Smart Board software processes the next contact with the interactive whiteboard surface as a pen action from the pen tool that resides in the corresponding slot.
Pressure applied to the surface of the front sheet closes the gap and is registered as a contact point. This contact point is then converted from an analog signal to a serial data stream that is sent to a computer for further processing.
This technology can process contact from a finger, pen tool or any device – such as a pointer.
From the get-go, the whole apparatus looks just like a regular big screen TV and that it is and a whole lot more.
Mrs. Poche stated that this is all about community and Gouverneur is my home no matter where I reside now, this is home to me.
Mrs. Lawrence went on to add that the high-tech assembly, sporting an 84 inch screen for the media room would have never been possible without the funds generated by the donation from the Van Norton family.
Very shortly the Smart Board will be on line with more access points throughout the entire building.
The entire process will be able to offer on line courses through Clarkson University and of course is state of the art with complete satellite capability and will be a real tool in attracting more community involvement with the services that will be available.
The partnership, according to Mrs. Poche, has been outstanding from Big Apple Music in Watertown in making this a priority for completion.
The keyboard and remote will greatly heighten the accessibility of the new addition to the world of high-tech.
Mrs. Lawrence went on to add that it is needed to offer more in the line of services available for use within the community.
One of the highlights of the day is the fact that one can erase what is written on the board with a hand if necessary!
After a discussion about the new addition to the center, the community of Gouverneur was left with this quote from Mrs. Poche… “We are a prime example of small town America and should never take it for granted.”
So if high-tech is your game, you know where to find it…at the Gouverneur Community Center!