If you use SmartDashboard.putNumber in your robot code, a number widget will pop up on SmartDashboard. You can change the widget type to view the data differently (
http://wpilib.screenstepslive.com/s/...e-for-a-value). You can then change that value on the SmartDashboard and read the changed value on the robot with getNumber. You can do something similar with put/getBoolean.