If you were to examine a SMART Board, you would find it is a complex and interactive computer system. When you use the SMART Board, you are actually using software known as Notebook. Notebook is powered by the Windows operating system. With the SMART Board, any mark you make on the SMART Board you can immediately erase with either the touch of a button, or a traditional eraser. You can also save the whiteboard's state for retrieval at another time. Furthermore, you can move any image you display on the SMART Board with a simple touch.
The typical overhead projector consists of a horizontal surface beneath which a bright light shines. You make marks on a transparent film of plastic, and these marks are transmitted through a lens to a screen. When you want to put new material on the screen, you must either erase your marks with a liquid solution, or use a new transparency. Most overhead projectors contain no digital components, meaning they are not computers, nor can you do anything with them besides project your work onto the wall.
There are a few basic similarities between the SMART Board and the overhead projector you may notice. For instance, when you use either system, you will be using some type of projector. You will be inputting information, and that information will be transmitted through the air and displayed on a screen. Also, you would use dedicated markers and erasers with both systems to input and remove data. However, for all of their similarities, the two systems are vastly different.
With the SMART Board system, you can enjoy a fully interactive experience. Because the projection system is powered by a computer, you can interact with anything being projected onto the board in real time. This includes interactive games, video, images and content created by other users. The SMART Board also contains memory, whereas the overhead projector does not. You can load programs onto a SMART Board and perform complex tasks. In sharp contrast, the overhead projector is designed to perform one task only: to project the information you write onto a screen.