Hong Kong’s West Island School installs SMART Board interactive whiteboards in 30 more classrooms
Prestigious school chooses SMART product to improve student learning and involvement
CALGARY, Alberta --- June 2, 2005 --- SMART Technologies Inc. and i-Control, SMART’s distributor in Hong Kong, announce the recent installation of 30 SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards in West Island School, part of Hong Kong’s English School Foundation. With this recent installation, the school now has 39 SMART Board interactive whiteboards. West Island School selected SMART’s interactive whiteboards because they can be operated simply by touch and SMART Board software is truly intuitive and easy to use.
The interactive whiteboards at West Island School are installed in classrooms, science laboratories and language labs. Equipped with a wireless network, an intranet for posting lesson information and class notes, and more than 450 PCs, the school encourages its teachers to take full advantage of the technology infrastructure, including SMART Board interactive whiteboards, to improve student learning and involvement. Teachers use lessons prepared with SMART Board software in all subjects. Simply by touching the interactive whiteboard, teachers can access websites, highlight lesson content or write notes using the pens from the SMART Pen Tray.
“Research proves that learning is more exciting and fun with interactive whiteboards,” says Alan Sankey, deputy principal of West Island School. “Using SMART Board interactive whiteboards, our teachers save time in lesson preparation and are able to use more content to teach more effectively, while students participate more enthusiastically rather than being passive recipients of information.”
“Time and again our customers have told us and research has shown that SMART Board interactive whiteboards increase student engagement and motivation and support a variety of learning styles,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s president and co-CEO. “West Island School’s use of our products demonstrates its commitment to offering its students a high-quality and dynamic learning environment.”
About SMART Board interactive whiteboards
The SMART Board interactive whiteboard is a large, touch-sensitive display. Connected to a computer and projector, the interactive whiteboard is like a giant computer screen that students and teachers simply touch to operate. Using their finger or a pen as a mouse, teachers and students can access and control any computer application, file or multimedia platform, including the Internet, CD-ROMs and DVDs. They can also write over applications in digital ink, then save their work for future study and review. The SMART Board interactive whiteboard engages students with diverse learning styles by providing both immediate access to a wide range of digital materials and a common focus for the entire class – not something easily achieved with other technologies. It is the number one choice among primary and secondary school educators in more than 75 countries worldwide because the pioneering software interface captures the imagination of students of all backgrounds and abilities in order to help them learn together, understand better and achieve more. For more information, visit www.smarttech.com/smartboard.
About West Island School
West Island School is part of Hong Kong’s English Schools Foundation (ESF). The ESF provides excellence in the education of students 11–18 years of age who want an English-medium education. The school has an outstanding record of academic attainment (based on the English National Curriculum framework). The Hong Kong Education Department has categorised the school in "The Outstanding School" section, making West Island the first and only International School in Hong Kong to receive this prestigious designation. The school has sophisticated information and communications technology systems and a very strong programme of key skills that encourages students to be independent, systematic and rigorous.
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For more information, contact:
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SMART Technologies Inc.
1207 – 11 Avenue SW, Suite 300
Calgary, AB T3C 0M5
CANADA
Phone +1.403.802.2552
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pr@smarttech.com
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