Two SMART products win Technology & Learning Awards of Excellence
SMART is the only interactive whiteboard manufacturer selected for second consecutive year
Calgary, AB --- December 2, 2004 --- SMART Technologies Inc. announces it has won the prestigious Technology & Learning Award of Excellence for the Rear Projection SMART Board™ 2000i interactive whiteboard and for SMART Ideas® concept-mapping software. They were selected as two of the best K–12 classroom technology tools of 2004 from almost 150 nominated products. The 2000i belongs to the market-leading range of SMART Board interactive whiteboards, installed in more than 150,000 classrooms worldwide as at June 2004. The award win for SMART Ideas software follows a major contract win with the Ontario Ministry of Education, reaching more than 2.1 million students provincewide. SMART is the only interactive whiteboard manufacturer to be selected for this award for two consecutive years. In 2003, SMART won an Award of Excellence for the SMART Board 580 interactive whiteboard.
The Awards of Excellence recognize groundbreaking education software and Web products as the best K–12 offerings. More than 30 judges, including members of the education community and editors of Technology & Learning magazine, conducted extensive product testing at school sites. Winning products were selected based on ease of use, quality, effectiveness, creative technology and suitability for the school environment.
“Teachers and school administrators are demanding classroom technology tools that improve student outcomes,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s president and co-CEO. “Receiving these accolades from educators reflects SMART’s strength in providing a full suite of products that have a proven impact on classroom learning.”
About Rear Projection SMART Board 2000i interactive whiteboards
The Rear Projection SMART Board 2000i interactive whiteboard is part of the family of award-winning SMART Board interactive whiteboards. The 2000i offers interactive functionality with the shadow-free benefits of a rear-projection display and integrated projector. It rests on four locking casters and can be moved to different rooms quickly and easily. Simply by touching the 66" (165-cm) display, users can access and control any computer application or multimedia platform, including the Internet, CD-ROMs and DVDs. With SMART Board software, users can 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, enabling 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 75 countries. For more information, visit www.smarttech.com/2000i.
About SMART Ideas concept-mapping software
SMART Ideas concept-mapping software enables teachers and students to create multilevel concept maps using colorful symbols, arrows and clip art to reinforce concepts from all subjects. An unlimited number of levels can be added to any symbol in the map, along with links to video files, audio clips, documents, photos, presentations and websites. SMART Ideas software includes an extensive clip-art gallery and a multilanguage template library that offers more than 2,000 curriculum-based images as well as a collection of built-in map templates to help teachers save time and add visual interest to their lessons. At the end of class, diagrams or outlines can be exported to Microsoft® Word or Appleworks®, or saved as HTML files for e-mail distribution or easy posting to a website. SMART Ideas software can be used on desktop computers, SMART Board interactive whiteboards and Sympodium™ interactive pen displays. For more information, visit www.smarttech.com/smartideas.
###
For more information, please contact:
Public Relations
SMART Technologies Inc.
300, 1207 - 11th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB CANADA T3C 0M5
+1.403.802.2595
pr@smarttech.com
Please note that SMART is written in all capital letters.