The blackboard
When an idea needs room, a black board opens beside your work and it draws the idea out while it talks: real figures part by part, and ideas, algorithms and systems as diagrams, with their labels written in chalk.
- Works on Mac
- Windows and Linux
Steps#
Press fn (Ctrl Shift Space on Windows and Linux) and ask it to draw something, like "Can you draw the heart with its four chambers and the valves?"
Listening: the orb grows with your voice A black board grows out of the orb into an open spot beside what it explains, clear of what you are reading.
Follow along: it draws each part as it says it, and its pointer rides the chalk. The figure is the real thing, part by part: here the chambers, then the valves.
Each label is written in chalk beside the drawing the moment it names that part, with a thin chalk line to it. Tap anything on the board to ask about it.
Drag the board by its top strip to move it. It stays where you put it.
Close it with its X. It keeps the drawing, so say "show me that again on the board" to bring it back. It also closes by itself once the talk moves on.
Say this#
- “Draw the heart with its four chambers and the valves.”
- “Draw a plant cell and label all the parts.”
- “Solve this step by step.”
- “Draw the graph of y = x² − 4.”
- “Show me a timeline of the French Revolution.”
What it can draw#
Diagrams with labels, graphs and charts, tables, flow charts and trees, timelines, maps, molecules, number lines, music on a staff, and live simulations.
Step by step#
Say "solve this step by step". It works the problem out on the board one move at a time, the way you would on paper.
At the end it checks the answer.
From 3D to the board#
Looking at a 3D model? Say "show me in 2D" and it moves to the board.
Where an answer came from#
When it looks something up, where the answer came from shows as small chips in the pill. The board keeps to the drawing.
Draw on it yourself#
On a Mac, click the duck in your menu bar and choose Open Blackboard. Not on Windows and Linux yet.
Your own blackboard opens over your work. Draw on it with your mouse or trackpad.
Point at it for its tools: select, pen, highlighter, eraser, shapes, text and maths, colour, undo, redo and clear.
On Windows and Linux#
For now, the Windows and Linux app draws on the board the way the Mac app did before its chalk board: the same ideas, with simpler drawings and labels in tags.
If it doesn't work#
| What happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| The board covers what you need | Drag it by its top strip. It stays where you put it. |
| It drew on your screen instead | Say "on the board". |
| The board closed before you were done | Say "show me that again on the board". It keeps the drawing. |
| You wanted to turn it in 3D | Say "show me it in 3D". A drawing you asked for goes on the board; a model you can turn is 3D. |
Related#
Something here out of date? Write to support@duckyhelper.com.