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Leading the Way in the 21st Century Classroom Evolution
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MART introduced the world’s first interactive whiteboard more than 20 years ago and according to Futuresource Consulting Ltd. has been the interactive whiteboard category leader since that time. In May 2011, SMART announced the installation of its two millionth interactive whiteboard. The achievement of the two millionth install adds to a year of product and company milestones for SMART. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the sale of the world’s first interactive whiteboard, and SMART recently recorded the five millionth registered user of version 10 of its SMART Notebook™ collaborative learning software. It took 17 years for the company to reach the one-million unit milestone and then less than three more years to reach two million units. In SMART’s first quarter for this fiscal year, more than 1,000 SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards were sold in India, an increase from quarterly sales in the past few years. “We take great pride in the fact that more educators choose SMART Board interactive whiteboards than all other brands combined – it means we’ve earned their trust,” says Sanjiv Pande, SMART’s Country Director for South Asia. “But SMART is more than just an interactive whiteboard company – we offer full education solutions that engage students and make learning extraordinary.” In the 20 years since SMART introduced the world’s first interactive whiteboard, the product has become the focal point of many technology-enabled learning environments around the world, helping teachers bring greater inte activity to lessons to increase student engagement and support all types of learners, includ-
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ing those with special needs. SMART has developed a comprehensive range of easy-to-use, intuitive touch- and gestureenabled solutions that facilitate effective learning and collaboration. SMART’s product offering has expanded beyond interactive whiteboards to include student response systems, wireless slates, audio enhancement systems, collaboration software and an interactive table. At the core of the company’s education solutions is the SMART platform, which includes three fundamental products – the touch-sensitive SMART Board interactive whiteboard, SMART Notebook™ collaborative learning software and the SMART Exchange™ online community. “These easy-to-use products are recognized by educators around the world as having the power to transform teaching and learning, adds Pande. “To help educators achieve this transformation, we also ensure they have the content they need to create extraordinary lessons. Through the SMART Exchange online community, teachers are connected to each other and to high-quality SMART Notebook lesson activities.” Today, the company’s extensive line of interactive whiteboards is assembled in Canada, Hungary and Mexico and includes the SMART Board 400, 600 and 800 series interactive whiteboards and the SMART Board 6052i and 8070i interactive displays. According to Futuresource Consulting, SMART continued to lead the global interactive whiteboard product category in 2010 with a 46.9 percent share globally. Of the two million SMART Board interactive whiteboards currently installed globally, approxi-
mately 1.6 million are used by educators to support teaching and learning for an estimated 40 million students worldwide. “When you’re ready to further enrich your schools with products that complement the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, you can look to the SMART classroom,” says Pande. “It’s an extensive selection of easy-to-use, modular products that give teachers more ways to engage students. The SMART classroom helps teachers shift easily between whole-class, small-group and individual learning environments, addressing all learning styles.” SMART provides industry-leading services, including professional development, customer support, consulting services and access to the best of digital content. Pande adds that SMART has considered every aspect of technology rollout, so educators can implement SMART products quickly and on a large scale, with rapid adoption and student success as a result. “When you purchase SMART products, you become part of a community that spans all continents, bringing together people who use SMART products to transform teaching and learning,” says Pande. “Dozens of independent companies are creating hardware, software and content to round out the SMART solution, and when we make it easy to succeed at implementing our products, educators make our products part of their lives. Our commitment to SMART education solutions has resulted in profound and lasting changes in schools around the globe.”\\ For more information visit http://smarttech.com/in