How to Use BlackboardView

Step 1

Preparing Your Lesson File

BlackboardView reads plain text files (.txt). Write your lesson in any text editor — Notes, TextEdit, VS Code, Word (save as .txt) — using five markers, each on its own line.

Remind students about the quiz Friday.

Ask if anyone read [i]chapter 4[/i].
>>>
[b]Newton's Second Law[/b]

F = ma
??
>>
Example problem:
A 2kg block accelerates at 3 m/s^2.
>F = 2kg x 3 m/s^2 = [color=green]6N[/color]<
??
---
Second card's teacher notes go here.
>>>
Second card's blackboard content, single column, no hotspots.

Tip: A card with no >>> at all is treated as notes-only, with a blank blackboard for that card — handy for a slide that's pure talking points.

Styling text: A small set of bracket tags work anywhere in your notes or blackboard text: [b]bold[/b], [i]italic[/i], [u]underline[/u], [sup]superscript[/sup], [sub]subscript[/sub], and [color=red]color[/color] (red, yellow, green, or white). The tags themselves never show up on screen — only the styled result.

1

Separate cards with ---

Place a line containing only --- between each card. Three dashes, nothing else on the line.

2

Split notes from the blackboard with >>>

Everything before >>> is your private teacher notes. Everything after is what goes on the blackboard.

3

Add columns with >>, hotspots with ??

Within the blackboard section, >> starts a new column, and a line containing only ?? marks a spot you can add to live while teaching.

4

Add reveal-on-tap answers by wrapping a line in > and <

A blackboard line like >Paris< becomes a "Show Answer" button — hidden from the class until you tap it on your iPad, then revealed on both screens. Tap it again to hide it back up.

5

Save as a .txt file, somewhere accessible from your iPad

Make sure it's plain text, not .docx or .rtf. iCloud Drive is the easiest option — save it there and it appears in the Files app on your iPad automatically.

Step 2

Importing & Connecting a Display

1

Tap "Import Lesson"

On the home screen, tap Import Lesson… and navigate to your .txt file in the Files picker — or tap Load Sample Lesson to try BlackboardView out first.

2

Connect an external display

Plug in over HDMI or start Screen Mirroring/AirPlay to an Apple TV, before or during your session. BlackboardView detects it automatically and starts projecting the current card's blackboard.

3

Tap "Start Teaching"

When you're ready, tap Start Teaching. Until then, the external display shows a quiet idle screen — the projector never shows blackboard content before your session actually begins.

Step 3

Notes, Blackboard & Hotspots

Notes / Blackboard / Both

The segmented control at the top switches between your private notes, the projected blackboard, or both side by side — notes on the left, blackboard on the right.

Adding a line live

Tap the subtle "+" wherever your lesson has a hotspot. Type your line and it appears immediately on your iPad and the external display.

"+ New Blackboard"

Available at any point during a session. Choose Before Current, After Current, or At End, and a column count — a fresh blank board is inserted and you're taken right to it.

Links in your notes

Any web address typed into your notes becomes tappable automatically. Tapping it shows the page on the external display for the class and on your iPad — so you can interact with it yourself, like dismissing a video's "tap for sound" prompt. A banner with a Close button brings back the blackboard on both.

Reveal answers on tap

Pre-write a list of answers as "Show Answer" buttons — nothing shows on the projector until you tap one on your iPad, then it appears on both. Tap again to hide it, so you're never stuck with an answer up too soon.

Style your text

Bold, italic, underline, superscript, subscript, and a small color palette — simple bracket tags anywhere in your notes or on the board, so key terms and exponents actually stand out.

Saving your additions: When you leave a teaching session, if you added any hotspot text or new boards, BlackboardView asks whether to save them back to the original file. The ?? marker itself always stays in the file, so that spot is reusable next time you teach from it.

Remotes

Bluetooth Remote Support

BlackboardView works with two common types of Bluetooth remotes out of the box — no pairing configuration needed beyond connecting the remote to your iPad via iOS Bluetooth settings.

Remote type	Mode setting	Advance	Go back
Presentation remote e.g. Satechi	Presentation mode	Right arrow / Page Down	Left arrow / Page Up
Camera shutter remote Bluetooth camera remote	Music / Camera mode	Volume Up button	Volume Down button

Camera remote note: BlackboardView locks your volume to a low level when a teaching session starts so the volume buttons remain usable as navigation throughout your lesson. The system volume HUD is suppressed so it doesn't appear on screen.

Projecting

External Display

Connect over HDMI or AirPlay/Screen Mirroring and BlackboardView automatically shows the current card's blackboard, full-screen, on the connected display.

Blackboard only

Notes never appear on the external display, even in Both view on your iPad. Only what's actually written on the board is ever visible to the class.

No hotspot markers

The "+" tap targets you see on your iPad are stripped out entirely on the projected view — an untouched hotspot just shows nothing, no visible gap.

Idle screen outside a session

Before you tap Start Teaching, and after you exit, the display shows a quiet idle screen rather than blackboard content — nothing shows prematurely or lingers afterward.

Live, with no extra steps

Hotspot additions, new cards, and card navigation all update the external display the instant they happen on your iPad — there's nothing to sync or refresh.

Reference

Settings Reference

⚙

Color Scheme

Choose System (follows iPadOS dark/light mode), Light, or Dark. The blackboard itself always stays dark, regardless of this setting.

⚙

Notes Font Size

Sizes your private notes and the local blackboard view on your iPad — your own screen is small and close-up, so everything on it reads at one comfortable size.

⚙

Blackboard Font Size

Sizes the blackboard on the external display only — calibrated for legibility from across a room, independent of what's comfortable on your iPad.

⚙

Keep Screen Awake

Prevents iPadOS from dimming or locking the screen during a teaching session. On by default.

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