SMART Table
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Forget the times when learning was all about the teacher explaining and the kids writing – SMART Table is here to change that. Combining technology with interactivity, SMART Table is the perfect way to have kids learning while also having fun. Based on multi-touch technology, the SMART Table transforms the boring classic-style lessons into interactive lessons, easily capturing the attention and interest of your young students.
History
The SMART Table is produced by SMART Technologies, the leading company in the field of interactive learning products and whiteboards. It is the result of more than 20 years of evolution from the first interactive whiteboard, released in 1991. The SMART Table combines the multi-touch technology with a dedicated interactive software suite to deliver a solution that’s educational, interactive and user-friendly.
Under The Hood
Children and electronics don’t mix well, especially if we’re talking about sensitive touchscreen devices. The SMART Table uses an innovative approach to solve this problem, though. Its unconventional touchscreen has a simple working principle that consists of 3 components:
· Solid glass display
· Projector
· Digital camera
The projector is used to project the image on the glass display while the high-performance digital camera is used to track up to 120 simultaneous touch points. This combination is just as effective as a regular touchscreen display, while the solid glass makes it less sensitive to hits and scratches, perfectly suitable to be used by kids.
Usage
As a teacher - The SMART Table comes with a set pre-defined lessons and activities and the SMART Table Toolkit, its dedicated software that allows you to customize activities and even create your own. This allows you to adapt the activities to your requirements and include all the information you find relevant for your students. If you don’t feel like creating the lessons yourself, there are plenty of lessons and activities available to download from the Internet, giving you endless possibilities to work with.
As a student – The SMART Table allows you to use your skills and knowledge to read, write, draw or solve exercises. Whether you work alone or team up with your colleagues, the SMART Table is the perfect way to learn and have fun at the same time.
Benefits
There are numerous advantages to using the SMART Table. As a teacher, you get to make use of technology to present the information to kids in an attractive way. This makes learning more interesting than the classical teaching methods. As for the students, here are some of the most important benefits of using the SMART Table:
· Social skills – having to interact with other colleagues, kids will quickly develop stronger social skills. They will learn to express their ideas more clearly and listen to what other have to say as well.
· Team work – kids will understand the importance of team efforts when working in groups and will learn to manage their work more efficiently.
· Creativity – the higher level of interactivity will also boost the children’s imagination, making them more creative and enthusiastic about learning.
· Fun – the SMART Table allows kids to combine learning with playing, an educational way of having fun. This thing is not usually present in classical teaching methods.
Integration
The SMART Table can be used in various scenarios. You can use it either as a standalone teaching method, as a complementary method to classical methods or integrate it with other SMART technologies, such as the SMART Board Interactive whiteboard. The SMART Table can be synchronized with other SMART products to work seamlessly together, creating a completely interactive learning environment. It’s up to you to find the right solution for your class and, no matter what scenario you go with, you’ll be happy with the results.
Reference
http://smarttech.com/table
Further Reading and Resources
http://smarttech.com/us/Resources/Training/Training+Search?Products=SMART%20Table%20interactive%20learning%20center&Audience=All%20audiences&Budget=All%20budgets&Training%20Type=All%20Training%20Types
http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html?m=06&q=SMART+Table+Lesson+Activities
http://techcrunch.com/2008/10/21/smart-table-you-know-for-kids/
http://edte.ch/blog/tag/smart-table/
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