What Is eBeam - Part 1

eBeam simply put is a combination of hardware and software that allows you to turn your physical communication(writing and drawing) and convert it into a digital communication. It allows you to make your physical environment interactive (see our blog posts on what is interactive).

 

As teachers teach and business people work the speed of information transference has never been greater. Teachers are up against the wall because students are using electronic devices more now than ever have in history. They wake up their smart phones in hand and they go home to their smart phones and through the use of apps/programs the students of today are more adept at using electronics than most of their teachers.

 

In the business world technology has eliminated the need for duplicate people such as secretaries and administrative assistants and allowed for businesses to run leaner and faster. Programs/apps are more prevalent in the business world and will continue to increase in popularity and adoption.

 

Yet for all our technology and the speed of change there has never been a greater use of whiteboards in both the education and business worlds.

 

The whiteboard is special and unique. It allows for a physical interactive environment. Two or more people can utilize the whiteboard to teach, train, educate, brainstorm, plan, develop concepts, etc. The challenge is the whiteboard is a physical space and to make the information contained on it as usable as possible it needs to be converted into a digital element.

 

Currently people manage this by

• Taking a picture
• Redrawing everything on paper and then scanning the document

 

This is where eBeam comes into play. eBeam comes in 2 different formats the first is the Smartmarker and the second is eBeam Plus (see out post).

   

In this explanation think of your whiteboard as any surface you use dry erase markers with. Like:

• Whiteboard
• Whiteboard painted walls
• Portable boards on casters
• Glass boards
• Portable boards small enough you can carry
• Flip charts
• Laminated table top

 

When using your whiteboard Smartmarker allows you to turn everything that you write on your whiteboard into a digital document. This document can be edited, stored and transmitted in a variety of different formats. With Smartmarker you can also transmit your whiteboard sessions to multiple people in the same building or across the world. Smartmarker turns your physical environment into a digital environment.

 

Imagine the time savings:

• Generated by being able to edit a whiteboard screen after the meeting.
• If you are able to translate your hand-written text into digital text, of course this means you have to write more legibly than a doctor.
• If everyone left the meeting where multiple pages of whiteboard notes were generated and everyone had an instant version of those available on their personal device
• If attendees could write notes on their personal device while the meeting was in progress
• If notes from a meeting or class were instantly uploaded to a webpage or server for distribution right after the meeting

 

How much more productive your whiteboard meetings could be if:

• Instead of frantically taking notes and redrawing the board attendees were engaged
• Attendees could experience the meeting in real-time from any internet connected device
• Whiteboard notes can be captured and saved on the device when an internet broadcast is not available

 

And these just begin to scratch the surface of benefits.

 

In the education and training environment Smartmarker allows for the leader to:

• To display notes, diagrams, ideas and very important stuff without the fear that the attendees will miss something
• Provide the emphasis to attendees on what is most important so they can highlight their own copy
• Provide extreme detail in diagrams drawn knowing attendees will have the exact copy to work with
• Engage attendees in the conversation be it asking or answering questions or providing input and ideas and not solely copying on everything that is on the board.

 

We will get more in depth into what Smartmarker can do in the apps to give you an idea how this device can be a very powerful for virtually every level of business and education.

 

We are excited to have you learn more and see for yourself what Smartmarker can do. Check it out in our store at:

 

Next time – eBeam Edge Plus, a powerhouse devices that leaves all others in its wake.

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