Smart Board Teaching: Keep the Class on the Same Page
If you have ever lost half a lesson to "Miss, what page are we on?", you know the main problem with teaching from a screen. Smart board teaching in ClassKite is built around one idea: students stay on the page you are on. You teach from your own PDF, and students who switch to your board view see your pen strokes as you write. Follow-me page sync turns the page for students who have the same PDF open.
How follow-me page sync keeps the room together
Upload a PDF, open it on the front-of-room board, and teach. While you draw, students who have the PDF open see the same page on their own phones, tablets or Chromebooks. Your annotations appear in their board view as you write. When you move on, follow-me page sync moves them with you.
- Live annotation. Your pressure-sensitive, calligraphy-style ink appears in students' board view as you write it. The PDF annotation tools use continuous vertical scroll, so a long worksheet reads as one document.
- Students follow your page. Turn the page at the board and students on the same PDF turn with you, so nobody is hunting for the right question while you explain it.
- Full-screen present mode. Fill the front-of-room display with the page and keep the sync on student devices.
- Joining with a code. Students enter a join code in the browser and create a free account as they join. There is nothing to install or pay for.
For a different angle on the same workflow, our guide to the interactive whiteboard built on your own PDFs walks through getting a lesson onto the board; this post is about keeping the class on the same page.
From teaching to a quick check, without switching apps
Once the room has worked through a page, push a short practice drawn from the same lesson. Questions are marked the moment a student submits, so you see straight away who has understood.
- Same lesson, same flow. Move from explaining to checking: see how a live practice runs straight after the teaching.
- See who is keeping up. On Teacher Plus and the School plan, the Live Student Grid shows each student's progress, so you know where to slow down.
- Write or draft the questions. Write questions by hand on any plan, or draft them with AI on a paid plan; they wait in a closed practice so you can review every one before it goes out. Our note on turning a worksheet into questions covers creating digital practice from a PDF.
Start teaching with a synced smart board: upload a PDF and bring the class onto the same page.
Frequently asked questions
Does ClassKite show me what is on each student's screen?
No. ClassKite sends your annotated page to students and moves them to the page you are on; it does not mirror or control their devices. Page sync runs one way, from your board to their screens, although you can open a student's own layer to see what they have written on the page.
Which plan do I need for follow-me page sync and live annotation?
Teaching with PDF annotation, the smart board, follow-me page sync and a hand-written practice are all on Teacher Basic, which is free. The Live Student Grid and class analytics, plus AI drafting and unlimited bulk import, are on the paid Teacher Plus and School plans. If you are weighing up a whole-department rollout, ClassKite for schools covers every teacher by seat; otherwise compare the plans.
How do students get onto the same page?
They open the browser on a phone, tablet or Chromebook, enter your join code and join free. From there, when they have the same PDF open, your page turns at the board follow through to their screen.
Related reading: teaching from your PDFs on an interactive whiteboard, how to create digital practice from a PDF, and a closer look at the Live Student Grid.