The zoom feature in SMART Notebook is currently quite unintuitive and difficult to use in the classroom.

Default Zoom Level: The default zoom setting is at 230%, which is intended to fill a SMART Board screen. However, this level limits the zoom range, as the maximum zoom is only 300%, meaning you can only magnify content an additional 30%. This limited zoom range doesn’t offer the flexibility needed in a classroom setting, where a larger range would be more helpful. For comparison, a useful magnification tool would allow zooming in and out with larger, practical increments—similar to how a microscope goes from 4x to 10x to 40x to 100x.

Zooming Out Issues: Zooming out to lower percentages, such as 50%, surrounds the content with a large gray canvas. However, this extra space is unusable, as notes or annotations cannot be made on the gray area. This could be a useful workspace if writing or taking notes on the surrounding canvas were possible, so perhaps consider enabling note-taking in this area.

Touch Sensitivity Problems: In the latest version, SMART Notebook 24, the zoom feature is highly touch-sensitive, which often results in accidental zooming during class. This is a frequent disruption, as students unintentionally adjust the zoom level while interacting with the board.

Suggestions for Improvement:

Expand the zoom range to offer a more useful range of zoom levels (e.g., 50%, 100%, 200%, 300%, and up).
Allow writing or annotations on the gray background when zoomed out to provide additional workspace.
Reduce the sensitivity of touch controls for zooming, or allow an option to lock the zoom level to prevent unintentional changes.
Thank you for considering these enhancements to improve functionality and ease of use in educational settings.