New SMART Board™ 800 Series

SMART™ Introduces New Class of Interactive Whiteboard

October 20, 2010

SmartEd Services is pleased to announce SMART Technologies' new SMART Board™ 800 series interactive whiteboard. This next-generation series will provide the most natural and intuitive user experience yet on a SMART Board interactive whiteboard.

The new 800 series extends the company’s leading interactive whiteboard product line to offer true student collaboration. The SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard supports multiuser writing and common multitouch gestures currently recognized in Microsoft® Windows® 7 and Mac Snow Leopard®. SMART Notebook™ collaborative learning software will support certain features, such as freestyle interactions, touch gestures and full object awareness upon the release of SMART Notebook 10.7 software (expected March 2011) which will allow SMART Board 800 series users to take full advantage of gestures within SMART Notebook lesson activities.

Using SMART Notebook 10.7 software will enable freestyle interaction, where two students can work together on the same interactive lesson activity and perform different tasks simultaneously, such as writing with digital ink and manipulating digital objects, anywhere on the interactive whiteboard surface. Multitouch SMART Notebook lesson activities, specifically-designed for use on the SMART Board 800 series enable enhanced collaboration, giving more students hands-on time at the interactive whiteboard. The 800 series, which includes the models 880 and 880i, and the widescreen 885, 885i and 885ix models, is expected to begin shipping in North America by December, 2010.

SMART’s own DViT™ (Digital Vision Touch) technology enables many of the features offered by the SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard. DViT technology uses proprietary digital cameras and sophisticated software to recognize a finger touch, stylus, pointer or other object input on the interactive whiteboard surface. The digital cameras are positioned in each corner of the interactive whiteboard frame, and communicate input information back to a digital signal processor to determine the exact point of contact.

The SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard is the first touch-enabled front-projection interactive whiteboard to utilize DViT technology. The 800 series interactive whiteboard is part of SMART’s broad range of education solutions that includes the SMART Document Camera™, SMART Notebook Math Tools software, SMART Response™ interactive response system and more. The SMART Board 600 series interactive whiteboard, the most popular interactive whiteboard in the world, will also continue to be available globally. Click here for additional information on the SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard.

“Using the new SMART Board in our classrooms has made the teaching and learning experience much more engaging and interactive,” says Clark Peters, Principal of Penhold School in Penhold, Alberta, Canada. “The new interactive whiteboards are so intuitive, more teachers and students are using them more often – teachers love the intuitive nature, the writing surface, and the seamless experience, while students are truly collaborating in their learning, which is very exciting.”

“As educators around the world continue to make interactive technology solutions a part of their daily teaching and learning, they require easy-to-use tools that enhance the learning experience,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “The innovative and intuitive features of the SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard will help teachers make effective use of class time, engage in meaningful collaboration and motivate all types of learners.”

Features

Multitouch experience – Enables two users to interact with the interactive whiteboard simultaneously with no special tools or multitouch mode selection required

Freestyle interaction* – Enables two users to work together, performing different tasks, anywhere on the interactive whiteboard surface

SMART ink – Ink-smoothing algorithms make handwritten annotations look smoother and more refined

Touch gestures* – Accepts common multitouch gestures currently recognized in Microsoft Windows 7 and Mac Snow Leopard, including one- and two-finger gestures, such as pinching, zooming and tossing. Gestures will be available for use in SMART Notebook lesson activities after the release of SMART Notebook 10.7 software

Object awareness – Distinguishes between a finger, pen or other object to recognize what action the user is taking

Multiuser Pen Tray – Enables two users to pick up and use a pen tool and begin writing. Easy-to-use buttons on the Pen Tray make switching ink color, right-mouse clicks and accessing the on-screen keyboard effortless

Durable surface – Surface is optimized for projection, producing no hot spots, and is compatible with dry-erase markers

Modular design – Pen Tray enables the quick and easy integration of accessories, such as the extended control panel

Locking pen mode – Locks the SMART Board interactive whiteboard in pen mode so students can write, draw and make annotations with a finger, pen tool or other object

Warranty – Includes two-year standard warranty and five-year warranty with product registration

SMART product integration – Seamless integration with the full range of SMART hardware and software products, including SMART Notebook software version 10.6 or later. Full gesture recognition and multiuser functionality is available using SMART Notebook 10.7 software, expected by March 2011.

* Feature will be supported in SMART Notebook 10.7 collaborative learning software upon release, expected by March 2011.