Texas A&M University Goes High Tech with Sympodium Interactive Pen Displays
Two hundred Sympodium products create interactive learning campus
DENVER – October 19, 2004 – SMART Technologies Inc. announces the integration of 200 Sympodium™ interactive pen displays across Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. This widespread installation, serving approximately 44,000 students, is part of the university's plan to equip its classrooms and lecture halls with leading-edge technology and to effectively incorporate interactive digital content into course delivery. The Sympodium interactive pen displays have replaced chalkboards and overhead projectors and are being used in a wide range of subjects, including engineering, mathematics, history, music appreciation, veterinary medicine, oceanography, meteorology, horticulture and forest science. To assist with the purchase of the Sympodium interactive pen displays, the university received a grant from the SMARTer Kids™ Foundation
Texas A&M has integrated the Sympodium interactive pen displays with various AV peripherals, including digital projectors, desktop computers, VCRs, DVD players, document cameras, 35-mm slide projectors and room control systems. With all the multimedia tools they need at their fingertips, instructors simply touch the interactive LCD with the battery-free, tethered pen to control computer applications, access files from various AV inputs and write notes in digital ink over spreadsheets, maps, diagrams and websites. With the room's projector displaying the presentation onto a larger screen, the students can follow along and lecture notes can be saved to a single file and posted on the Internet for future reference.
“We installed our first Sympodium products three years ago, and we're continually adding more units in response to the growing demand from our instructors," says Larry Linton, instructional media services supervisor at Texas A&M. "The Sympodium interactive pen display works well with many different multimedia peripherals, and the seamless integration helps us achieve our goal of having a leading-edge technology campus.”
“With the increasing use of technology in the workplace and with intense competition for jobs, post-secondary students are demanding an education that will prepare them for the challenges of the future," says Nancy Knowlton, SMART's president and co-CEO. "Texas A&M is a prime example of universities and colleges worldwide that recognize the need to adopt high-tech teaching tools, such as the Sympodium interactive pen display, to give students a competitive edge.”
About Sympodium ID250 interactive pen displays
The Sympodium ID250 interactive pen display can be placed on top of a podium, desk or table, so presenters can face their audience while using the battery-free tethered pen to control computer applications, write over any application in digital ink and save work to a single file. The ID250 sends a duplicate video signal to a projector, which simultaneously displays the image onto a larger screen, so the audience can easily follow along. Pen-tool buttons make it easy to change pen colors or erase, and function buttons provide convenient access to Notebook software and features such as the on-screen keyboard, floating tools menu and screen capture tool. The ID250 features all the interactive capabilities of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, SMART's flagship product. For more information, visit http://www.smarttech.com/id250.
About Texas A&M
Texas A&M, the state's first public institution of higher education, was founded on October 4, 1876, as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. In 1963, the name of the institution was changed to Texas A&M University to more accurately reflect its expanding role as a leader in teaching, research and public service for the state, nation and world. The university is centrally located in College Station, Texas, approximately equidistant from three of the ten largest cities in the United States (Houston, Dallas and San Antonio) and the state capital (Austin). Texas A&M University is dedicated to the discovery, development, communication and application of knowledge in a wide range of academic and professional fields, including agriculture, engineering, architecture, business, education, geosciences, liberal arts, medicine, science and veterinary medicine. Its 5,200-acre (2,104-ha) campus is among the largest in the U.S., with more than 100 buildings and a 324-acre (131-ha) research park. For more information, visit http://www.tamu.edu/.
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For more information, contact:
Public Relations
SMART Technologies Inc.
403.802.2595
pr@smarttech.com
www.smarttech.com
Please note that SMART is written in all capital letters.