The purpose of this post is to try to convince you that you can create your own whiteboard for about $50 which is considerably cheaper than commercial whiteboard systems. This solution will work for both Macintosh and PC computers that have bluetooth networking capabilities. In this post, I’m going to focus on how to get everything working from a Macintosh computer perspective.
Here is a link to a video that gives you the big picture of what’s going on.
Here is a link to the software needed for a Macintosh computer.
Here is a ten minute video on how to use a Macintosh computer with a Wii remote and have an inexpensive whiteboard.
The toughest part of this whole project is making the infrared pen.
Here is a link to a free virtual chalkboard.
Here is another video explaining where to place the Wii controller as well as how the $50 Wii Whiteboard system works when you use a good infrared pen.
Here is a link to an open source whiteboard software to use with your wii whiteboard system.
An even better free solution for whiteboard software is Marratech.
We learned a few more things as we deployed our first test wii whiteboard today for an inservice at our high school. First, the projector was angled in such a way as to point almost to the top of the wall. In that situation, a teacher wouldn’t be able to reach that high. We ended up having to tilt the projector down which wasn’t too difficult. We’ll probably have to lower projectors this summer so the teacher can easily push the buttons on the wii to synch it to the whiteboard software on the computer.
Second, when we designed the two infrared pens, one had the LED recessed into the pen a few millimeters while the other had the LED stick out a similar distance. We found out that the LED that was recessed did not work as well as the pull down screen in the classroom was not as reflective as the surface we used in our testing. When we used the other pen with the LED sticking out slightly, it solved the problem.
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