SMART have just released the latest version of SMART Notebook. This is quite a major upgrade from previous versions and is well worth downloading, which you can do from this link.
There are a host of new features and great tools in the new version – too many to list here. Click the link to see an overview of them all and also to watch video demonstrations.
Some of my favourites so far are:
The table tool – it’s surprising that it’s taken IWB software so long to have this tool which has been a mainstay of other presentation software for so long. The tables you can create in Notebook can be interactive – cells can be hidden and revealed with a modified screenshade.
The Magic Pen – this is three tools in one. The Spotlight, the Magnifier and a new fading marker have been integrated into one tool. It takes a bit of getting used to (you draw a circle to get the spotlight, rectangle to get the magnifier) but once you’ve mastered it, it’s great!
Animation – you can now add basic animation effects to shapes and objects on the page. It is not quite up to the sophisticated animation effects you can achieve in PowerPoint, but it’s a start and a great way to keep your pages interesting and more interactive.
Other great new features are the alignment tools to get objects to line up, themes to make your pages have a consistent look, shape recognition to turn your freehand shapes into neat polygons and the ability to group pages to create lesson ‘chapters’.
SMART Learning Marketplace (the online content subscription service) has been totally integrated into Notebook. Also the fantastic Toolkit to make your own Flash based interactive content is now available in the Gallery. A series of tricks and tips for the Toolkit can be found here.
One major change is that you will need to register your software using a serial number taken from your SMART hardware (i.e. the serial number on your board). There are instructions on where to find this number and the same number can be used to register multiple installations of the software. Upgrade today!
May 1, 2008 at 10:35 am |
[...] This Smart Technologies website contains an overview of the new features and some video demonstrations of the software in action. For a detailed review of the new tools see the Spencer’s post on the BaNES Blog. [...]
October 25, 2008 at 3:24 am |
SMART’s online training group has now posted a streaming video version of our What’s New in Notebook 10 online session on http://www.smarttech.com, including a look at activating Notebook 10, interface changes and new features and tools. The video runs about 30 minutes. You can view it at http://downloads.smarttech.com/media/trainingcenter/videos/wnnb10/WNNB10.html