Carlisle Area School District standardizes on SMART Board interactive whiteboards for its classrooms
All classrooms in the district to have SMART Board interactive whiteboards by summer 2005
CALGARY, Alberta --- January 26, 2005 --- SMART Technologies Inc. announces the installation of SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards in more than 300 classrooms in the Carlisle Area School District. A district standard now, 100 percent of classrooms will use SMART Board interactive whiteboards by summer of 2005. The district is working with SMART reseller Center Business Products in Mount Union, PA, to equip each classroom with SMART Board interactive whiteboards, leading-edge technology products that promote class participation and increase student retention. In addition to funds from a technology-dedicated savings account started in 1990, the district receives funding for these purchases through grants from the SMARTer Kids™ Foundation (www.smarterkids.org).
Six years ago, the district had only one SMART Board interactive whiteboard that was shared among teachers. News of the product and its benefits spread around the district and prompted a 38-teacher study on the use of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard and its effects in the classroom. That study resulted in a recommendation that all classrooms be equipped with SMART Board interactive whiteboards for daily teaching.
"We tried other brands of interactive whiteboards, but they didn't compare to the features and functions that a SMART Board interactive whiteboard provides. Without having to change the hardware, we can upgrade the software for free, adding the latest functionality," says Stephanie Douglas, technology coordinator for the Carlisle Area School District. "SMART also impressed us because the company really listens to educators' advice. As a result, SMART's products, software and resources are relevant to our teachers, which helps us to improve outcomes in our classrooms."
"Solid research over the last eight years shows that SMART Board interactive whiteboards help to motivate and engage students," says Nancy Knowlton, SMART's president and co-CEO. "The Carlisle Area School District recognized those benefits and has invested in making SMART Board interactive whiteboards an integral part of the daily teaching and learning process."
About the Carlisle Area School District
The Carlisle Area School District comprises ten schools (seven elementary, two middle and one high school). SMART Board interactive whiteboards are used in every subject including special education, math, science, language arts, music and art. The district is committed to staff development for the use of computer-based material in the classroom. Champion SMART Board interactive whiteboard users regularly hold workshops for fellow educators, and the technology resource team is made up of teachers who all have more than 25 years of classroom experience. Teachers are required to complete at least 18 hours of technology training per year.
About SMART Board interactive whiteboards
The SMART Board interactive whiteboard is a touch-sensitive display, about the size of a standard whiteboard. Hooked up 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 simplicity of its design and 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.
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For more information, contact:
Public Relations
SMART Technologies Inc.
300, 1207 - 11th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB CANADA T3C 0M5
Phone +1.403.802.2595 Fax +1.403.228.2500
pr@smarttech.com
Please note that SMART is written in all capital letters.