SMART have announced that the new version of Smart Notebook – version 11, will be released in the Spring. No exact date is given yet.
Headline features appears to be the ability to embed online content into your notebook files, an activity builder, and new tools such as the customisable creative pen, the crayon, and an updated table tool. I also like the sound of the embedded audio tool – easily record and add your own audio into a page.
Being able to add webpages and content such as YouTube videos etc sounds very interesting.
The full list of new features includes:
Embedded web browser: Insert web browsers directly onto a SMART Notebook software page and use tools to draw and write over web pages and drag and drop images into your lesson. You can also open the live page directly from within the lesson.
Activity builder: Create activities where objects react to actions by accepting or rejecting other objects or by triggering animations or sound. The activity builder is great for arranging, sorting and labeling and for creating VENN diagrams.
Enhanced contextual toolbar: Choose an object and the toolbar changes, so all the tools you need are right in front of you.
Crayon: Create authentic crayon drawings on a SMART Board interactive whiteboard.
Customized creative pen: Build your own creative pen using any image you choose.
Audio recording: Record sounds directly into your SMART Notebook lesson.
Shape image fill: Adjust the size of an image to fit into a shape.
Reset page: Use this feature to return your page to its last saved state.
New gestures: Shake objects to group and ungroup them.
Updated tables: Scale, move and interact with tables more easily.
New text engine: Provides improved text formatting and consistency within SMART Notebook.
Fade ink: Fade any regular ink.
There’s also going to be a SDK (software development kit) made available for developers to create their own widgets and applications. More here.
Some of these new features sound great – and would be great additions to an already good product.
I’m off to the BETT show tomorrow, so I am assuming that this will be being demonstrated on the SMART stands. If I find out any more, and get a chance to play with it, I’ll be sure to share what I find out on the blog here. Watch this space.
You can find out more here : http://smarttech.com/notebook11
Hopefully Smart will make their software available for generic interactive whiteboards. And by available I mean a convenient purchase. The resellers I have talked to regarding the licensing which allows its use on generic iwbs actually discourage the purchase of the software because of the expense and annual fee. We have approximately twenty whiteboards using the Wii remote and some teachers would like to use their software because they are familiar with it while working at other schools.
If it was about learning more than money there would be an open format. ActivInspire, Smart, StarBoard, EasiTeach, Sankore, and ___________ would allow its users to share conveniently and legally.
Hi Neils. I’d love to see that too, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. The impression I got from talking to the head of SMART at BETT last year is that they see the Notebook software as their key feature, and they won’t dilute their brand by making it available to use on other boards – they won’t licence it to be bundled with other devices or buy it as a standalone. Even Promethean, who have locked down their software quite a bit, allow you to buy licences for ActivInspire if you want it.
The market is still open to a a good, generic piece of whiteboard software. I’m still surprised Microsoft haven’t got in with powerpoint yet.
Thr rumour at BETT was that there would be a way to purchase a licence for Smart Notebook 11, so maybe this will actually happen. Watch this space.
Would be nice to see compatibility with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion!
It would be nice to see Mac OS X 10.7 Lion compatibility! Been waiting for some time for Lion compatibility!