Summer 2011

Feature

SMART Products in 1:1 Learning Environments

By fully integrating technology into everything teachers do, we will make progress toward providing the digital learning experiences our children need to prepare them for future success.
– Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education
"The Digital Transformation in Education," November 9, 2010

The progress that Duncan speaks of is being demonstrated by the many schools and districts that are developing education technology initiatives to improve student achievement.

Some schools and districts develop initiatives for a specific group or subject – for example, initiatives targeting science – while other initiatives are introduced at the district, state or federal level with the broader scope of improving the overall education experience.

And when it comes to choosing appropriate technologies to support initiatives, many decision-makers seek products that stretch their dollars further – products that both fulfill specific requirements and offer additional education benefits.

After all, universal outcomes are desirable with any program. Increasing student engagement and collaboration and improving learning experiences are vitally important, no matter the project.

This is why SMART products, like the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, can be found in close to two million classrooms around the world. These products offer the flexibility and the capabilities that school and district administrators often look for to support their initiatives, goals or programs.

Enabling flexibility

Education technology initiatives such as those around 1:1 learning can benefit teachers and students by giving them technology products that offer flexibility. Because even though 1:1 initiatives aim to provide every student with a computing device, many teachers working in such environments still want to enable students to work together, access information as a class and lead learning in front of their peers.

As a large, touch-enabled product, the SMART Board interactive whiteboard offers teachers and students a shared digital space with which to collaborate on lessons, interact with content and exchange ideas in a 1:1 learning environment.

In addition to interactive whiteboards, 1:1 initiatives can benefit from other components in SMART's offering, including training and professional development and solutions such as those included in SMART Classroom Suite interactive learning software, an integrated suite for computer-enabled classrooms.

SMART Classroom Suite software enables teachers to easily transition between creating and delivering lessons, managing the classroom and assessing student learning in a 1:1 environment.

Westwood Elementary in West Jefferson, North Carolina, provides an example of how SMART education solutions enhance a 1:1 environment.

SMART Classroom Suite software is installed on all computers in the classroom, and teacher Ashley Brown uses the classroom's SMART Board interactive whiteboard to facilitate and guide their learning experiences and enable them to collaborate and demonstrate their knowledge.

"[The students] are expected to work together, they are expected to share what they know, and they rise to that occasion," says Brown in a video success story that demonstrates how the SMART Board interactive whiteboard works in a 1:1 environment.

Creating integrated classrooms

A successful 1:1 learning initiative involves more than just providing every student with a computing device. Demand is growing for comprehensive 1:1 solutions for schools, and recognizing this, SMART and Intel have combined their technology solutions to help schools effectively deliver 1:1 eLearning.

The Intel Learning Series and SMART education solutions support a total 1:1 eLearning environment, providing hardware, software, training, implementation planning and access to educational resources.

Available globally, this 1:1 solution is designed with the local needs of schools in mind. At the core of the solution are the Intel-powered classmate PC, the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, SMART Notebook collaborative learning software and the SMART Exchange website. SMART Classroom Suite software also works with the Intel-powered classmate PC.

For many schools around the world, including Broadgreen Primary School in Liverpool, England, the Intel Learning Series and SMART education solutions have become integral to an effective 1:1 environment.

Teachers at Broadgreen use Intel-powered classmate PCs and SMART Classroom Suite software in combination with the SMART Board interactive whiteboard throughout the school day.

Often, they introduce a topic or lesson on the interactive whiteboard and then have students complete an assignment on their computers. SMART Classroom Suite software helps the teachers encourage collaboration and creativity while assessing their students' learning and keeping them focused on lessons.

"I can show something on the SMART Board and the children will immediately be attracted to it and interested in it, and I know right then – this lesson is going to be good. I've got their attention," says Anna McDiarmid, the literacy teacher at Broadgreen.

And by using the interactive whiteboard and the broadcast capabilities of SMART Classroom Suite software, students can share their knowledge of a subject, and teachers can encourage whole-class learning.

"We also have the opportunity to broadcast individual student desktops to the SMART Board in the classroom, and this is a really great opportunity to celebrate and to demonstrate what other pupils are doing," says David Vernon, a teacher at the school.

To learn more about Broadgreen's experience with the SMART and Intel solution, watch this video.

Sustaining the success

Beyond investment in technology products, ongoing support and professional development are significant factors in sustaining a 1:1 initiative.

The One-to-One Institute is a national nonprofit organization that helps schools and districts implement robust, learning-centered 1:1 programs. This organization provides a library of research and offers customized services to administrators to help with strategic planning, cost calculation and the development of 1:1 best practices.

"One of the big things that we do is help [schools] build a project plan, help them put the right people in the right places to lead that plan and to make sure the professional learning components are there," says Leslie Wilson, CEO of the One-to-One Institute.

"The other major success that we help build in is working first with the key decision-makers and key leaders who are moving this forward, because their leadership needs to change in this kind of environment," she adds.

As a sponsor of the One-to-One Institute, SMART participates in conferences and learning sessions designed to support 1:1 initiatives, including those that incorporate SMART Board interactive whiteboards.

In conjunction with the institute, SMART recently created the webinar Proven strategies for successful 1:1 classrooms: Making it easy to succeed. It showcases the successes of North American educators who've successfully implemented their own 1:1 programs, and it offers real-world advice on how to overcome challenges, create strategies and see results in a 1:1 implementation.

This webinar, in addition to SMART's other webinars and training and professional development offerings, can provide the information and support to help with any SMART product implementations, including 1:1 initiatives.

Offering a flexible solution

Whatever direction is right for your teachers and students – be it 1:1 learning, distance education or simply creating more interactive and engaging classroom environments – SMART education solutions can help you achieve success with your education technology initiatives and programs.