1. What is a SMART Board?

A SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that has a touch sensitive screen and connects to a computer. It is an interactive tool that is easy to use and invites student participation in the learning process. A SMART Board facilitates the use of graphics, video, sound and images which can be manipulated on screen and engage the students in the educational process. The user’s finger is the mouse, and by touching the screen the teacher or student controls the information on the screen. SMART Boards make class time more efficient and focused, allowing the teacher to instantly display information or diagrams and not waste class time writing or sketching.

2. Who is eligible?

All schools in the United States that provide Jewish education at the elementary and/or high school levels.

3. What is provided by Legacy Heritage Fund as part of this project and what are participating schools required to do?

Legacy Heritage Fund will purchase the SMART Board equipment and training package, will arrange for the installation of the SMART Board and is developing a database resource for SMART Board lessons with Jewish studies and secular studies content. SMART Boards need to be attached to a computer. Participating schools will need to have a computer to which the SMART Board can be attached. Participating schools will need to commit to allow staff to attend two, three-hour, training sessions and will commit to encourage their staff to use the SMART Board. If at least two faculty members from a participating school load more than ten qualified SMART Board lessons onto the Legacy Heritage Fund database, at least half of which contain Jewish studies content, Legacy Heritage Fund will reimburse the participating school for the cost of the desktop computer that is attached to the SMART Board. Installation of a SMART Board requires an electrical outlet (with 2 plugs for the SMART Board and its audio system, and an additional 1 -2 plugs for the computer) near the location of the SMART Board and computer. Identifying a location for installing the SMART Board and installing such electrical outlets if they do not already exist are the responsibility of the participating school. In addition, the installation does not include attaching the SMART Board or computer to the participating school’s network or internet.

4. What is SJED (SMART Board Jewish Educator’s Database)?

Legacy Heritage Fund is currently developing SJED, a database which will be accessible through this website, which will provide access to SMART Board lessons. The database will have categories by grade level and educational topic and will include both secular and Judaic studies SMART Board lessons. Teachers from participating schools will be encouraged to load SMART Board lessons that they develop onto SJED in order to facilitate the sharing of materials by educators. Teachers will be able to search SJED for SMART Board lessons they would like to use or adopt for use in their classroom.

5. What is a qualified SMART Board lesson?

A qualified SMART Board lesson is a lesson of at least forty minutes in length, which teaches a specific concept, thought or idea, and makes use of the dynamic capabilities of the technology that the SMART Board offers. A qualified SMART Board lesson should include interactive components which invite participation by students in the learning experience. A qualified SMART Board lesson is more than merely scanned pages of text (e.g. a page from the Talmud or science textbook) or notes which could have been done without an interactive tool.

6. What are the requirements and limits of the computer reimbursement?

If the participating school (i) purchases a new computer and attaches it to the SMART Board, (ii) at least two faculty members from a participating school load more than ten qualified SMART Board lessons, at least half of which contain Jewish studies content, onto the Legacy Heritage Fund database, and (iii) the participating school submits a detailed invoice to Legacy Heritage Fund within one year of the installation of the SMART Board, then Legacy Heritage Fund will reimburse the participating school in an amount up to $1,000. The $1,000 can be used to reimburse the participating school for the purchase of a CPU, monitor, cables and scanner.

7. What is included in the SMART Board equipment and training package?

A wall mounted 77" front projection SMART Board (600iG2 or reasonably equivalent equipment) with wall mounted projector (UF45), audio system speakers for the SMART Board,  25' video cable, splitter (to enable viewing images on the SMART Board and computer simultaneously), two three-hour training sessions, technical support and installation of the above mentioned equipment.

8. How many staff members can attend the training session?

In order to provide individualized attention, the maximum number of participants for a training session is 15. In the first instance, staff from participating schools who are assigned to the room where the SMART Board will be located will be required as part of the SMART Board Project to participate in training. Depending upon availability at the training session, additional staff from participating schools will also be welcome to training sessions.

9. What are the minimum specifications of the computer that must be attached to the SMART Board?

The minimum specifications for the computer are as follows:
Pentium II 450 MHz processor (700 MHz or faster recommended)
256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
150 MB of free hard disk space for minimum installation (840 MB for full installation with Gallery collections)
Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system
Internet Explorer internet browser 6.0 or later
Adobe Flash player version 8
Microsoft DirectX technology 8.1 or later

10. What is included in the installation?

Installation includes all of the hardware and labor for a complete classroom installation, provided that the computer, which the participating school is responsible for obtaining, will be located along the same wall as the SMART Board and within 15’ of the unit. The complete installation includes wall mounting the SMART Board and projector, installing the SMART Board audio system, connecting the video SMART Board USB cable to the school provided computer (assuming the computer is in place at the time of the installation) and testing the system with our computers. The computer must be set up with respect to registration and basic Windows requirements prior to installation. The participating school staff is also responsible for installing SMART Board software, which is available as a free download from the web. Installation will include testing of the system if the SMART Board software is installed by school staff prior to completion of the installation. Installation does not include installing any software on the computer attached to the SMART Board, as most systems need to be managed by an administrator of the participating school.