SMART Technologies

Partners David Martin and Nancy Knowlton are on a long drive through Upstate New York when Dave first describes the product idea he’s been working on to Nancy. SMART Technologies is founded the following year.

SMART sows the first seed for interactive whiteboards and continues to lead the product category.

The alliance results in joint product development, joint marketing efforts and Intel's equity ownership in SMART.

The foundation offered several hundred million in grants to qualifying public or private, accredited, not-for-profit education institutions over a nine-year period.

SMART is one of few companies in the interactive whiteboard industry to achieve this recognized quality management standard.

The program supports research on technology that supports group collaboration and whole-class teaching and learning.

SMART continues to expand operations worldwide and localize support for distributors.

The SMARTer Kids Foundation is the only National Teacher of the Year sponsor to award technology products and training, worth US$17,000 for each nominee.

Interacting at a Distance: Measuring the Performance of Laser Pointers and Other Devices says the SMART Board interactive whiteboard beats conventional mouse, laser pointers and semantic snarfing, where the image is copied to a handheld device and the user interacts with the device's touch screen using a stylus.

More than US$300,000 in classroom technology is donated annually to enhance learning environments.

The award presentation marks the first time a hardware product wins the Comenius Medal.

SMART introduces DViT (Digital Vision Touch) technology, a breakthrough technology that enhances the functionality of SMART Board interactive whiteboards.

SMART is the only interactive whiteboard manufacturer certified under charter. Judging criteria include pedagogic value, innovation, ease of use, design, quality, safety, multifunctionality, adaptability, degree of interactivity, eco-friendliness, aesthetics and performance/cost ratio.

More than US$300,000 in SMART products awarded to 20 outstanding US schools.

The product has been incorporated with NASA's plasma displays to create a network of MERBoards, or a large, touch-enabled, plasma display system with custom MERBoard software.

SMART products are installed in schools in every U.S. state, in each of the 25 largest school districts and in the majority of the top 500 school districts.

The world's largest SMART Board interactive whiteboard is facilitating research into virtual rear projection (VRP), a breakthrough in front-projection technology, at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

This prestigious national award acknowledges SMART for its significant contribution to Canada's economy and highlights excellence in global competitiveness.

SMART is first interactive whiteboard company to enable educators to browse content by curriculum standards.

Notebook software wins this prestigious award for exemplary education media – the first time that a software product for interactive whiteboards has been recognized by the society.

First named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies in 1996, SMART achieved Platinum Club status in 2004. This latest award marks the eighth consecutive year the company has been awarded the 50 Best distinction.

SMART introduces the Sympodium™ ID350 and ID370 interactive pen displays.

Version 9.5 becomes the first cross-platform version of award-winning Notebook collaborative learning software, supporting Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

The system includes a handheld device for each student in a classroom and a central receiver that allows teachers to send information out to each device and receive information back from each student. The system increases one-to-one interaction by allowing teachers to survey and engage students and collect responses to personalize the learning environment.

The new viewer enables sharing of Notebook files with anyone (even those without Notebook collaborative learning software), and can be used to present material on any brand of interactive whiteboard.

The Worlddidac Foundation is an independent, international trade association for the education market. This award certifies companies that demonstrate a strong understanding of educators’ needs.

Executive chairman and co-founder, David Martin, receives Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Education Suppliers Education Resource Awards for inventing the interactive whiteboard and “changing the nature of what happens in classrooms all over the world.”