June 2008 | PG 1

IN THIS ISSUE NaNcy’S NoTES

a NoTE from THE EdITor

The tipping point

Welcome to the June issue of EDCompass™ newsletter!The 29th annual National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) is just days away, and this issue of the newsletter is your one-stop shop for all the information you’ll need to navigate your way around our booth. On page 3, find a schedule of our stage presentations, workshops, learning opportunities and daily prize giveaways.

This issue also highlights our new student edition of SMART Notebook software, so be among the first to find out how it can help your students organize their notes and work on digital assignments. If you or any of your colleagues plan to attend NECC, stop by for a one-on-one demo.

As always, if you have any comments about the newsletter or any of the information featured in this issue, we’d love to hear from you. Please e-mail your feedback to education@smarttech.com.

Nancy’s Notes .......................................... 1

Classroom Content ...............................2–5

News ....................................................2–4

Feature Article .......................................... 4

SMART Showcase School Profile ............... 5

Product Spotlight ..................................6–7

Subscribe to the newsletter ..................... 8

A tipping point is the “level at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”* Over 15 percent of U.S. classrooms are now equipped with an interactive whiteboard, so it is fair to say that this product category has reached a tipping point and that momentum is driving interactive whiteboards toward becoming indispensable tools in 21st-century classrooms.

Not only have teachers’ skills with computers developed significantly over the past few years, but they also have a willingness and desire to use technology. In the same time frame, the infrastructure in schools with Internet and network connections has also rapidly evolved, and interactive whiteboards have been integrated into everyday teaching and learning. Teachers and administrators have seen the benefit of these products – students consistently have positive classroom experiences, and research points to increased engagement and motivation, and better retention. It has been increasingly acknowledged that the reusability of materials has made teachers more productive, and teachers routinely report being able to cover more concepts more quickly.

Look for us at NECC in booth 8145. We’ll demo our interactive whiteboards and showcase our latest integrated interactive whiteboard system, our new version of SMART Notebook software, our extensive bank of content and resources, the type of services and professional development that we offer and many other products that can be combined in a variety of different ways to create engaging, interactive learning experiences. While you’re there, you’ll be able to appreciate how well our products integrate for unparalleled ease of use.

Get a firsthand look at what is causing excitement in classrooms across North America and the world. We’re ready to show you our best.

* Walsh, Bryan. 2007. “A green tipping point.” Time Magazine, October.

Nancy Knowlton is the CEO of SMART Technologies.

NEWS AND RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS USING SMART PRODUCTS

June 2008

SMART at NECC

newsletter

June 2008 | PG 2

claSSroom coNTENT NEwS

Find hundreds of high-quality K–12 lesson activities on our website at www.smarttech.com/EdCLA. Each lesson is correlated to local curriculum standards and created by classroom teachers or SMART’s team of curriculum resource developers.

Here are a few of our new lesson activities to try with your students. You can find the Senteo™ counterparts of these lessons on page 3.

Vowels Students in K–3 language arts classes can identify and write all the vowels of the alphabet.

Powers I Math students in grades 7–9 use scientific notation to understand powers.

Optic Fibers Science students in grades 10–12 examine some of the uses of optic fibers and how they work.

What lesson activities correlate to my standards?Have you ever wondered which SMART-created lesson activities and Senteo ques-tion sets correlate to your local curriculum standards? You can find out in the Educator Resources section on our website under Lesson Activities. When you’re on the SMART Notebook lesson activities or Senteo question sets page, select the Browsing Curriculum Standards link and see what you find!

With more than 18,000 teachers, technology coordinators, library media specialists, administrators, policymakers, industry representatives and exhibitors from around the globe, NECC is billed as one of the world’s most comprehensive education technology events.

We are there for the tenth year to showcase SMART’s all-encompassing solution of hardware, software, classroom content, resources, services and support that will help you make a difference in your students’ education and have a positive impact on their learning outcomes.

If you’re attending NECC, stop by our booth to say hello and meet some of SMART’s product experts, education consultants, curriculum developers and classroom teachers who are proficient users of SMART products. Learn more about our professional development offerings, and find out how to connect with a community of educators who are achieving significant results in their classrooms each day.

SMART Document Camera is now available

Visit our booth at NECC, and see how you can further engage your students and encourage their participation in class with the SMART Document Camera. The document camera easily connects to a SMART Board™ interactive whiteboard to capture images and videos directly to SMART Notebook software.

You can learn more about the document camera in the August issue of the newsletter and at www.smarttech.com/doccam.

SMART Notebook lesson activities

June 29–July 2, 2008

Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

San Antonio, Texas

SMART booth 8145

Visit us at NECC

June 2008 | PG 3

NEwS

Events at the SMART booth

Carry this listing of SMART’s stage presentations and prize giveaways with you so you can attend any sessions at NECC that interest you and ensure you’re at our booth when we’re giving away free products.

SMART booth presentations

Monday, June 30 Tuesday, July 1 Wednesday, July 2

9:30–10:00 a.m. What’s new at SMART Get SMART about

bringing your

administration on board

SMART’s training

services

10:30–11:00 a.m. SMART’s training services SMART’s online

content and resources

SMART Exemplary

Educators

11:30 a.m.–

12:00 noon

SMART’s online content

and resources

SMART Exemplary

Educators

SMART’s ultimate

how-to guide

12:30–1:00 p.m. Get SMART about

bringing your

administration on board

SMART Notebook

software 10

SMART’s online

content and resources

1:30–2:00 p.m. SMART’s ultimate

how-to guide

What’s new at SMART SMART Notebook

software 10

2:00 p.m. Daily draw and

prize giveaways

2:30–3:00 p.m. SMART Exemplary

Educators

SMART’s training services

3:30–4:00 p.m. SMART Notebook

software 10

SMART’s ultimate

how-to guide

4:30–5:00 p.m. SMART’s Extraordinary

Moments TeacherTube

Video Contest

Daily draw and prize

giveaways

5:00 p.m. Daily draw and prize

giveaways

claSSroom coNTENT

Find a database of Senteo question sets and lesson activities at education.smarttech.com/SenteoLAUS. Each question set includes 10 questions that are correlated to local curriculum standards and are compatible with a matching SMART-created lesson activity on the same topic.

Here are some of our newest Senteo question sets that you can use in your language arts, math and science classes.

Vowels K–3 language arts students can learn how to identify vowels in the alphabet.

Powers Math students in grades 7–9 can learn about integers, with questions relating to squared and cubed numbers and other powers.

Optic Fibers Science students in grades 10–12 can learn about the properties and uses of optic fibers.

Senteo question sets

Wear a SMART T-shirt and win! Drop by the SMART booth at NECC and pick up your free SMART T-shirt. The more you wear it on the show floor, the more chances you’ll have to win a SMART Board interactive whiteboard for your classroom. We’re giving one away each day of the show.

Visit our SMART at NECC website to learn more about our products, services and programs at necc.smarttech.com.

June 2008 | PG 4

NEwS

Showcase your lessons on the SMART Exchange

Do you want to share your best SMART Notebook lesson activities with other educators? Are you looking for inspiration from peers who use SMART products? Now, you can upload your own activities and download lessons from peers through the SMART Exchange. Teacher-submitted lesson activities are organized by subject, grade level and keyword tags, so it’s easy to find the lessons you need. You can also provide feedback to fellow educators by adding your comments and ratings. Visit the Exchange at exchange.smarttech.com/files, and select Teacher-created lesson activities to start sharing your lesson activities today.

claSSroom coNTENT

SMART Learning Marketplace

fEaTUrE arTIclE

Kicking it up a notch

Click. Buzz. Hum. Wow. These are the sounds of Jason Dixon’s eighth-grade class coming to life every morning. You’ll hear pops announcing iBook® computers opening. You’ll pick up the electronic tones of software applications whirring. The reassuring purr of a SMART Board interactive whiteboard. The backbeat of fingertips pulsing over keyboards. All intermingled with students chatting about their day’s work. “Just use your digital camera and import it.” “Listen to what I found in GarageBand®.”

But what you don’t hear is of equal significance. No textbooks hit desks with hollow thuds. There’s no whine of pencils ground and sharpened to tiny nubs. No erasers rip through sheets of lined paper. What you hear are the sounds that accompany one-to-one learning, a school-wide initiative Oregon’s Springfield Middle School launched four years ago. Every student receives an iBook and uses it for every subject and every class. Read the full article.

SMART Board™ Interactive Whiteboards For Dummies®

We just released the first interactive whiteboard reference guide in the popular For Dummies series of books, designed to enhance your experience of using a SMART Board interactive whiteboard. This how-to guide will help you discover new ways to transform your lessons into memorable learning experiences.

Visit our website at smarttech.com/support to find out how to get your copy of the SMART Board™ Interactive Whiteboards For Dummies® guide.

Searching tips Searching for content in the SMART Learning Marketplace just got easier. You can now quickly find what you need by performing a keyword search and then filtering your search results by content type and subject.

When you find content you are interested in, preview your learning object before downloading it by selecting the Preview link below the thumbnail image. This way, you don’t use up your subscription allowance on content that does not meet your needs.

Texas correlationsAll manipulatives, audio, video and les-son resources (PDFs) in the Learning Marketplace are now correlated to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) cur-riculum standards.

Visit the SMART Learning Marketplace at learningmarketplace.smartech.com.

June 2008 | PG 5

claSSroom coNTENT

New interactive tools in the Gallery

Access new and updated multimedia tools in the Essentials for Educators section of SMART Notebook 10’s Gallery. You’ll also be able to run a search of more than 6,600 free learning objects.

Here’s a sampling of some of the new tools:

Calendar generatorCreate and insert a monthly calendar into your SMART Notebook page.

Ruler – interactiveDraw a straight line with the pen tool and use this ruler to measure it.

Spinner Change the speed of the spinner, and individually customize up to 12 sections with specific text and color.

Multiple dice Choose up to eight dice to roll in various colors, and insert the sum of the dice into your SMART Notebook page.

Gallery SamplerWe have revamped the Gallery Sampler. Here, you can find the most popular education content for your lessons, such as the most popular Flash objects, photographs, sounds and videos, along with 23 new Themes.

If you missed the SMART Notebook 10 edition of the newsletter, you can download it now at education.smarttech.com/EdComp2008. The April issue is jam-packed with information on the software’s new lesson-creation features and teaching resources.

SmarT SHowcaSE ScHool ProfIlE

Walnut Hill engages every student in learning

Whether students are reading a new novel, reviewing grammar lessons or learning about U.S. state capitals, learning in Sara Ritsema’s fifth-grade classroom is engaging and interactive for everyone. And it shows in their Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores – 59 percent of students scored at the Commended Performance standard in reading this year.

Ritsema is one of 17 teachers at Walnut Hill Elementary School in Dallas, Texas, who uses a SMART Board interactive whiteboard. But what makes her class even more dynamic is the integration of her AirLiner™ wireless slate and Senteo interactive response system. Today’s learners love to use technology, and she says it helps them become actively involved in class. “That instant response we get with the Senteo system really engages the kids in learning,” says Ritsema, whose class comprises special needs students and general education students. “My special needs students are also excelling using the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. It promotes, encourages and allows participation by every student.”

In the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities, students practice their morning calendar and daily weather exercises on the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, and Jeri Kitner, campus technologist at Walnut Hill, says it’s helping them to become more active learners. “The kids can touch the cloud and move it around the SMART Board when they’re talking about the weather and it involves all students in the classroom, not just one,” says Kitner. “Whether they want to touch and drag an object with their fingers, a pen tool, a tennis ball, anything, it all works, and it’s helping them to understand concepts more easily.”

As the subjects come alive, every student is engaged in their learning. “With our large special needs population, not every child has the same learning style, and the SMART Boards encourage kinesthetic learners to touch and manipulate graphics on the board,” says Mary Johnston, Walnut Hill’s principal. “The technology has helped to increase their understanding and learning … and it’s contributing to the rise in our test scores, which is just phenomenal.”

If you would like to visit Walnut Hill Elementary School to talk with educators about their successes and see firsthand how they’re putting SMART products to work, visit the SMART Showcase School section on our website at www.smarttech.com/EdCShowcase.

June 2008 | PG 6

ProdUcT SPoTlIgHT

As technology-enabled classrooms become more prevalent across North America and around the world, the K–12 education model is increasingly changing from a teacher-led to a student-led environment. Today’s students are digital natives growing up immersed in a world of technology, and teachers are no longer the sole hub of information. Following along with this trend, SMART is addressing an obvious need for a solution that offers structure and enables collaboration and assessment in your classroom, while encouraging students to guide their own learning.

SMART Notebook SE softwareSMART Notebook SE is the first education software made and designed for students to use in technology-rich classrooms. It keeps your students organized by giving them access to the tools they need to create work, store their files and share ideas in a multimedia environment.

“We’re now living in a society of digital natives, and research is showing that students prefer to do their homework in a digital format,” says Jenna Pipchuck, SMART Notebook SE product manager. “Many teachers, however, are reluctant to assign digital homework because students generally don’t have access to the same software at home. SMART Notebook SE’s take-home privileges help to alleviate this problem, so students can study and continue working on projects on their home computers.”

We’re looking for beta testersWe are launching the SMART Notebook SE beta in August, and we’re looking for students between the ages of 8 and 18 to test the software until December 31, 2008. If you would like more information about how to get involved, send an e-mail to beta@smarttech.com, and tell us what kind of computer environment you teach in. You and your students could be testing SMART Notebook SE in the next school year! The full release of SMART Notebook SE will be available in January 2009.

Quick facts about the software

• Ideal for any student computing device, including laptops, PDAs, SMART phones and desktops

• The SMART Notebook SE beta for Windows® operating systems begins in August 2008

• The beta for Mac OS operating systems will be available in spring 2009

• SMART Notebook files can be transferred from teacher to student and student to teacher

• Take-home privileges allow students to download the software to their home computers

• The Gallery includes activities and templates for book reports and other subject-specific activities

• Students can browse for assignment due dates or find only subject-specific files

• Multiple SMART Notebook files can be opened at a time, and students can flip between homework, websites and assignments

• Students are able to engage in higher order thinking because the software allows them to instantly annotate over files without having to make notes first

SMART Notebook SE

June 2008 | PG 7

See it in action

Learn more about the SMART Notebook SE beta at NECC. Visit booth 8145 for a demonstration, and see how you and your students can create a dynamic and collaborative teaching and learning environment.

An inside look

ProdUcT SPoTlIgHT

Using SMART Notebook SE, your students will have access to all the features you’re enjoying in SMART Notebook 10, plus the ability to

Complete assignments•

Interact with material you send them•

Take digital notes•

Transfer files to you and back again•

Access digital content •

Search for and organize their digital files •

Open and flip through multiple SMART • Notebook files

Customize their own home page •

They can do all of this on their personal or shared computing device at school, in the library and at home.

© 2008 SMART Technologies ULC. All rights reserved. EDCompass, Senteo, SMART Board, AirLiner, smarttech, the SMART logo, and all SMART product logos and taglines are trademarks or registered trademarks of SMART Technologies ULC in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other third-party product and company names are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. Printed in Canada 06/2008 10318-08

Up next

Watch for the Summer Update edition of EDCompass newsletter. This two-page primer will keep you informed of contests, training events and new products that are available this summer.

Student power

Check the following features in SMART Notebook SE that will help your students get organized and motivated for school.

My Home is a personal home page for your students’ computers. This is a creative and customizable space that they can adorn with their own pictures, thoughts, doodles, notes or drawings.

My Binder is the heart of your students’ file management and organization. It displays all their SMART Notebook files on their computers. This includes teacher-created files, student-created files and assessments in each of their subjects. Students can add keywords to search for files and organize assignments by subject and due dates. When accessing a file, a preview panel at the bottom of the screen shows pages of the selected file so that students can quickly browse the file to see if it’s the one they’re searching for.

June 2008 | PG 8

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© 2008 SMART Technologies ULC. All rights reserved. EDCompass, smarttech, the SMART logo and all SMART taglines are trademarks or registered trademarks of SMART Technologies ULC in the U.S. and/or other countries.. Printed in Canada 06/2008 10318-08

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