SMART

SMART Technologies is an interactive products company, best known for its interactive, touchscreen whiteboard, which can be hooked up to a computer and projector. The computer screen is projected onto the board where you can use a finger to touch menu buttons and control applications or write on the board with a finger or pen tool. Everything done on the SMART Board is digital, so it can be saved to an electronic file, modified, reused or repurposed, as needed.

Follow this link to learn about the latest version of SMART products.
http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Classroom+solutions/

I found the following quite interesting.

Cookie Greer
Principal
George Washington Elementary School
Kingsport (TN)
What they use: Smart
The problem: We started out with three SMART Boards and used them as portable systems. But due to the logistics of moving them around and sharing them throughout the building, they didn’t get the use I thought they deserved.
The response: SMART technology fit beautifully into our learning centers, which are set up as open pods of four classrooms each. Our school is very hands-on. We don’t use textbooks, so the curriculum is our guide. Students are multi-aged, too. K–2 students are together in a learning center, and third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students are together, which makes it easy to centralize equipment. We have one SMART Board for every two teachers, and approximately 22 computers in every learning center.
The reaction: Some, like art teacher Howard Dale, use the SMART Board every day. He runs professional development for other teachers, showing them how to create their own interactive lessons. Students become a part of the lesson, and not merely observers. Teachers use SMART Notebook software to create the lessons, and that gives students numerous opportunities to use the SMART Board in class. Students want to approach the board and manipulate it. They are more attentive, and it’s amazing to see how much more they retain.
Next challenge? I don’t want to see SMART Boards used as just a lecture tool or glorified overhead projector. I’d also like to have them in every classroom, so teachers don’t have to wait their turn to use them.

Follow this link to read an interesting article on SMART technologies in India.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Future-belongs-to-truetouch-technology-SMART/535895/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_Technologies
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3751072