America’s 25 Largest School Districts Use SMART Board Interactive Whiteboards to Improve Student Outcomes
Classrooms in every state equipped with the world’s most popular interactive whiteboard
Calgary, AB – June 16, 2004 – SMART Technologies Inc. announces that SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards are installed in classrooms in each of the 25 largest school districts in the U.S., each serving hundreds of thousands of K–12 students. SMART Board interactive whiteboards increase student engagement and improve student outcomes in numerous districts, including New York City Public Schools (New York), San Diego City Schools (California), Houston Independent School District (Texas), Miami-Dade County School District (Florida) and Fairfax County Public Schools (Virginia). SMART products are also increasing classroom engagement and achievement* in every U.S. state and in most of the nation’s top 500 school districts.
SMART launched the world’s first interactive whiteboard in 1991, and its first customers were educators. Since then, SMART has continued to include educators in the product development process to incorporate their feedback into new features and product design. SMART’s staff includes many former teachers, including co-CEO Nancy Knowlton, who understand classroom learning and have firsthand experience with the challenges that face educators. To further support technology integration with curriculum, SMART provides a wealth of free, classroom-ready, digital content to its customers through EDCompass™, SMART’s online community for educators (www.edcompass.smarttech.com). SMART is also a founding and funding partner of the SMARTer Kids™ Foundation (www.smarterkids.org), a not-for-profit organization that provides technology grants, offers collaborative learning programs and supports educational technology research initiatives around the world. SMART has installed more than 200,000 SMART Board interactive whiteboards in 65 countries, more than any other interactive whiteboard manufacturer in the world. In addition to the award-winning SMART Board product line, which includes affordable rear-projection models for educators, SMART offers interactive lecterns, multimedia cabinets and software products that meet educators’ needs for an integrated high-tech learning environment.
"Extensive research and case study observations from the U.S., UK and Australia indicate the benefits of using interactive whiteboards to engage students, improve retention, support different learning styles and streamline lesson preparation,” says Nancy Knowlton, president and co-CEO of SMART. “Because of these benefits and the high degree of confidence the market has in the quality of SMART products, grassroots demand for SMART Board interactive whiteboards in individual schools has led to district-wide standardization in many states.”
“The SMART Board interactive whiteboard is revolutionary because of its interactivity, flexibility and ease of use. I’ve seen a significant increase in teacher productivity and student performance across all grade levels with the implementation of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard within the K–12 learning environment,” says David Koritko, chairman of technology and science teacher at Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virginia. “This technology tool is one of the most reliable ways for schools to change the way students interact and learn with the least amount of capital investment. Teachers will appreciate the selection of user templates and other great features that can only enhance their existing instructional methodologies. This is the technology tool for teachers and classes of the 21st century.”
About SMART Board Interactive Whiteboards
The SMART Board interactive whiteboard is the world’s leading interactive whiteboard. Simply by touching the large interactive display, users can access and control any computer application or multimedia platform, including the Internet and CD-ROMs. Users can also write over applications in digital ink and then edit, save, print or post their notes to a website for future reference. SMART Board interactive whiteboards are used in classrooms, briefing rooms and boardrooms around the world, helping people to collaborate effectively whether they are in the same room or in another location. Feature-rich software and intuitive functionality make the SMART Board interactive whiteboard the number one choice of educators, presenters and trainers in more than 65 countries worldwide.
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For more information, please contact:
Public Relations
SMART Technologies Inc.
300, 1207 - 11th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB CANADA T3C 0M5
Phone +1.403.802.3337 Fax +1.403.228.2500
pr@smarttech.com
Please note that SMART is written in all capital letters.