SMART Awarded Worlddidac Quality Charter Accreditation
International jury of education experts recognizes SMART products for their educational value
CALGARY, Alberta – October 26, 2004 – SMART Technologies Inc. received its certification under the Worlddidac Quality Charter (WQC) at a ceremony on October 26, 2004, in Basel, Switzerland, in conjunction with WORLDDIDAC 2004 BASEL, a global education trade show. This prestigious designation was presented to SMART by the Worlddidac Foundation, an independent, international trade association for the education market with members in nearly 50 countries. The WQC was established to assess and certify companies that demonstrate a strong understanding of educators' needs. An international jury of education experts selected SMART after an extensive evaluation process. SMART was also presented with a Worlddidac Award for the SMART Board™ interactive whiteboard at a ceremony on the same day.
SMART products are used in more than 150,000 classrooms in 65 countries, more than any other interactive whiteboard manufacturer in the world. Extensive third-party research and case studies from the U.S., UK and Australia reaffirm that interactive whiteboards engage students, improve retention, support different learning styles and streamline lesson preparation. SMART's staff consults regularly with educators during the product development process and includes many former teachers, including president and co-CEO Nancy Knowlton, who understand classroom learning and have first-hand experience with the challenges educators face. 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 education technology research initiatives around the world. In addition to award-winning SMART Board interactive whiteboards, SMART offers interactive pen displays, multimedia cabinets and software products that meet educators' need for an integrated high-tech learning environment.
“SMART has a long history of working with educators to develop its products. Our very first SMART Board interactive whiteboards were sold to educators back in 1991,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART's president and co-CEO. “SMART's accreditation is a testament to our ongoing efforts to fully engage with our education customers and understand their need for products that make a difference in their classrooms.”
About Worlddidac
The Worlddidac Foundation has monitored the education industry's development with the objective of encouraging the ongoing innovation of education products and to certify companies and their products based on their performance in the international education market. The WQC was established to assess and certify companies that demonstrate a strong understanding of educators' needs, whose products have great potential to improve learning or teaching, and whose philosophy, capacity and business policies are in line with the objectives of selected international development organizations. For more information about the WQC designation, visit www.worlddidac.org/wqc.
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For more information, contact:
Public Relations
SMART Technologies Inc.
Suite 300, 1207 11 Ave SW
Calgary, AB CANADA T3C 0M5
Phone 403.802.2595 Fax 403.228.2500
pr@smarttech.com
www.smarttech.com
Please note that SMART is written in all capital letters.