SMART Board, Promethean Board, or Mimio?

As technology progresses in the world we live in and as new ideas continue to develop, it is inevitable that we also see technological advances in our schools. Besides obvious software advances, the schools have also began to see important advances in hardware and tools. One of the most innovative of these new tools is the touchscreen projector like the SMART Board, Promethean Board, and Mimio. Essentially these new touchscreen boards are created to manipulate what is being projected onto the screen with your own hands or physical tools rather than operating the screen from your computer or a presentation remote. This is a great advance in technology because it allows the teacher to stay in front of the students and move around the classroom freely while visiting the board when needed to advance the day's instruction or activities. These screens also allow the students to physically get involved with the material by visiting the board and manipulating the material themselves. In geography a student can come up to the board and fill out or piece together a map that is being projected onto the board. That is only the simplest of tasks that these boards are capable of. If you team these boards up with the right software, the possibilities are endless. The software that comes with the boards is great, but if you combine the boards up with other online software and tools like Glogster EDU, Prezi, Blabberize, Scribble Maps, Vuvox, Voki, Timetoast and the list goes on, then you will really see your classroom come to life. When these programs are used in conjunction with the boards, instruction and activities become very interactive and fun. You can physically click on links, videos, pictures, text, and media with the touch of your finger or pen. The possibilities that come with these boards are almost endless. Imagine the powers of a touchscreen tablet like an iPad or Kindle Fire with the size of a projector screen!

So what is the difference between the SMART Board, Promethean Board, and Mimio besides the name? Well there are a few obvious differences after using and observing all of them. The SMART Board and Promethean Board seem to be the most similar. Both of these boards operate from a large touchscreen machine at the front of the room. This machine is plugged into your computer through a USB. When the computer screen is projected onto the board the machines sense the areas you are touching and manipulating and send the signal back to your computer. The time it takes the computer to recognize your movements on the touchscreen boards is instant. Besides the very close similarities of the SMART Board and Promethean Board in relation to their look and general operation, there are also some differences. The Smart Board is the only machine out of the three that can be operated with just your finger. The board can sense your actual finger and respond to the movements it makes on the board. You can also use provided pens and tools on the screen as well. The Promethean Board can only be manipulated by using a special pen or wand, the board does not sense your actual finger like the SMART Board does. The two machines also come with different software for the devices. The software that comes with the boards are very similar and are designed to essentially replace the PowerPoint. The software also allows you to draw and manipulate the actual images projected on the screen. For example, you can click on a tab or button on either software version and this button allows you to draw on or chart images, pictures, and websites on the computer. The Mimio is slightly different than the two previously talked about boards. The Mimio really is not even a board at all. Rather, the Mimio is a tool that is attached to the already installed whiteboards in the classrooms. Once a projection is directed onto the whiteboard, the device can then be used to manipulate the projection much like the SMART Board and Promethean. The difference though is that you have to use a provided tool that sends a signal to the device attached to the whiteboard, which then sends the signal to the computer. This tool is in the form of a large pen. The pen is a little larger and slightly less comfortable than the other two boards' tools. This pen also makes a slightly distracting buzzing noise when it is being used. If you can put that flaw aside, the device is very effective, especially when taking into consideration that is is cheaper than the other two boards and it is just as useful. When taking all of the boards into consideration you really can not go wrong with any of them. Enjoy! The second picture is of the Mimio and the picture above that is of the SMART Board. The Promethean board looks a lot like the SMART Board but with orange accents.