Which is best - Smart or Promethean, based on hardware & software, not cost.

[TwistedHelixis]

All the school's I work in use Smart, most now have Smart interactive TV's. At one of my schools we have just had a new teacher that has requested her board is changed to Promethean as she is used to using that. Obviously the school don't want to have just one class using something different to all the rest, but I am interested in working out the pros & cons of each system, not taking into account the cost or licensing fees.

 

Are there any Edugeekers that have used both types of hardware (interactive TVs) and both types of Software, which do you prefer?

 

EDIT - No sales posts please

[dhicks]

Are there any Edugeekers that have used both types of hardware (interactive TVs) and both types of Software, which do you prefer?

 

Our original batch of interactive screens from four or five years ago were Promethean. They work well, just for some reason not with OPS slot PCs - they worked fine initially, but at various points simply stopped being touch-sensitive. We never did really get to the bottom of what, exactly, was happening, despite sending the OPS PCs back to the supplier (VeryPC, who were very helpful) for testing. If you're buying any interactive board with an OPS PC, it's probably worth making sure you buy them together as a unit and that they are warrentied together as a unit, that way if hardware does stop working it's the supplier's problem to sort out. We've bought Smart hardware in subsequent years, all of which works fine, although for some reason we've found we have to set some HDMI-connected PCs to "fast boot" mode in the BIOS settings otherwise they don't boot.

 

I don't really use either of the software packages on any sort of regular basis, so I can't really comment on which is "best", although I'd imagine it's mainly down to user preference.

[Pottsey]

All the school's I work in use Smart, most now have Smart interactive TV's. At one of my schools we have just had a new teacher that has requested her board is changed to Promethean as she is used to using that. Obviously the school don't want to have just one class using something different to all the rest, but I am interested in working out the pros & cons of each system, not taking into account the cost or licensing fees.

 

Are there any Edugeekers that have used both types of hardware (interactive TVs) and both types of Software, which do you prefer?

 

EDIT - No sales posts please

 

Is it the software or the hardware the teacher is used to? Last time I looked into licencing the software was independent of the hardware and although we at the time had smart boards one teacher who was used to Promethean had Promethean activeinspire software installed. Personally I prefer the Promethean software most of our teachers prefer Smart. As for hardware we use neither anymore having swapped to various mainstream brand touch screens. A lot of teachers don't need Promethean or Smart software, they just need a touch screen.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Pottsey

[thimon]

From talking with Smart they said the license only allows you to use their software with SMARTboards. If staff use Smart Notebook with other manufacture boards it may work, however they'll get no support from us if they have issues. From having used SMARTboards and CleverTouches I would say I definitely prefer both the hardware and software of CleverTouch.

[Pottsey]

From talking with Smart they said the license only allows you to use their software with SMARTboards. If staff use Smart Notebook with other manufacture boards it may work, however they'll get no support from us if they have issues. From having used SMARTboards and CleverTouches I would say I definitely prefer both the hardware and software of CleverTouch.

Its a while since I looked into it but from what I remember the free licence you get when buying a board cannot be used on device without a smartboard. But you can licence the software for use on none smartboards. Unless its changed Promethean is the same.

[TwistedHelixis]

Is it the software or the hardware the teacher is used to?

I have just had a chat with the teacher and it is the software, but they have not really used the Smart software, they gave it a quick go and didn't like it.

 

I know most of the planning in the school is currently done in Smart Notebook, so I don't think the school would really want one class using something different unless it was a lot better and the entire school moved over.

 

so my next question, is the Promethean software / ActiveInspire much better than Smart Notebook, as this teacher has said?

[Pottsey]

I have just had a chat with the teacher and it is the software, but they have not really used the Smart software, they gave it a quick go and didn't like it.

 

I know most of the planning in the school is currently done in Smart Notebook, so I don't think the school would really want one class using something different unless it was a lot better and the entire school moved over.

 

so my next question, is the Promethean software / ActiveInspire much better than Smart Notebook, as this teacher has said?

They are so similar in function you can import/export worksheet files between the two. For the most part both are the same just with a different interface and Promethean has a different UI interface for different age groups. Its kind of like the difference between IE, Edge, Chrome. They all do the same thing from a teacher point of view just look different in how to they do it.

[Rob_D]

From my own experience (admittedly 4+ years ago) Active-inspire on Promethean boards has for the most part just worked.

Where as every time Smart release an update (or the wind direction changes) it breaks something.

[mavhc]

The correct answer is to not pick either, otherwise you're locked in, which is the whole reason they made the software in the first place, so you'd continue to buy the hardware in 5/10 years time.

 

Adding a touch interface to a 65" tv should only cost £100, yet they manage to charge £500-1000

[NetworkServices]

The correct answer is to not pick either

 

 

My thoughts entirely. It's a bit like choosing which terminal illness you'd prefer to have.

[Brimstone]

+ agree not to pick either.

 

Buy a cheaper flat screen TV, more sockets, less fuss and far easier to manage.

[stevenlong1985]

Just stick to Smart or what they are used too!

 

you don't want the hassle of trying to convert or convince everyone to use different software. We tried switching the teachers over to use Oktopus but they all wanted Smart back

(big wasted of money switching over and no one is using the Oktopus software now) its like staying we can save money on using open office or google docs, great but everyone is used to using word, excel etc

[TwistedHelixis]

Buy a cheaper flat screen TV

Problem is if they are built for home use the warranty is voided if used in a school.

[mavhc]

Problem is if they are built for home use the warranty is voided if used in a school.

 

Then again, for some reason they're half the price, apparently it costs £500 to add 4 cameras to a tv, so buy another one later.

[Brimstone]

Problem is if they are built for home use the warranty is voided if used in a school.

Thats utter rubbish, there are hundreds of schools with TV's only in classrooms. I have organised replacement TV's where a fault has developed without any issue whatsoever.

 

The IWB manufacturers would like to tell you otherwise, how do think hotels replace the TV's in rooms when they fail?