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1EdTech GLC: SMART Technologies Joins 1EdTech Consortium to Provide Leadership in Interoperability Across Classroom and Online Learning

SMART Technologies Joins 1EdTech Learning Consortium to Provide Leadership in Interoperability Across Classroom and Online Learning

Leading provider of interactive whiteboards and response systems joins leading learning technology interoperability standards consortium to address emerging requirements for digital content and application interoperability  
 

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Lake Mary, Florida, USA – 2 November 2010 – The 1EdTech Learning Consortium (1EdTech GLC) today announced that SMART Technologies (NASDAQ: SMT, TSX: SMA) has joined 1EdTech GLC as a Contributing Member. SMART will be providing leadership in 1EdTech GLC with respect to the rapid convergence of digital classroom technology and online learning technology, including Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) common file formats and interactive response systems (IRS) data integration. As a leading global provider of interactive whiteboards and innovative classroom technology and as the host of the rapidly growing online learning community called the SMART Exchange (http://exchange.smarttech.com), SMART is uniquely positioned to provide insight into customer requirements for integration across classroom, district and online learning systems. Leading school districts and educational institutions around the world are looking to provide a seamless experience for teachers and students across classroom, campus and online content and learning applications. 

1EdTech GLC is the appropriate consortium to pursue this groundbreaking work. 1EdTech GLC members include the leading educational technology and publisher organizations across K-20. 1EdTech has already introduced the suite of 1EdTech Digital Learning Services standards consisting of Common Cartridge, Learning Tools Interoperability, and Learning Information Services. These standards hold the potential as a baseline for constructing interoperability of digital content and learning applications across classroom, campus and online technology platforms. SMART will collaborate with the other 1EdTech members to work toward a standard that will meet the needs of interactive whiteboard and response systems adopters around the world.

"It is very exciting for 1EdTech to be working with SMART and our other members to provide the interoperability standards that underlie classroom and online learning technology," commented Dr. Rob Abel, Chief Executive of 1EdTech GLC. "I have no doubt that focusing on this will provide great benefits to thousands of school districts and universities around the world that seek to deploy digital learning in a seamless way across classroom, campus and online learning platforms."

"The European schools technology community has been very interested in supporting the Becta initiative to establish a common file format for IWB content," added Will Ellis, Becta Head of Digital Learning Resources and European Schoolnet iTEC Project Manager. "This has been driven by the European Schoolnet Interactive Whiteboard Working Group involving 14 Ministries of Education. Interoperability has been a key concern for this community and so it is good news that 1EdTech GLC has the strong involvement of interactive whiteboard suppliers in helping move this forward."

 

About 1EdTech Consortium (1EdTech GLC)
1EdTech Learning is a nonprofit member organization that strives to enable the growth and impact of learning technology in higher education, K-12, and corporate education worldwide. 1EdTech GLC members are leading corporations, higher education institutions, school districts and government organizations worldwide that are enabling the future of education by collaborating on interoperability standards and major adoption projects for the digital support of education and learning. 1EdTech GLC also sponsors Learning Impact: a global awards program and conference that recognizes the impact of innovative technology on educational access, affordability, and quality. For more information, visit www.imsglobal.org.