Latest news with #N50Project

Calgary Herald

Education tech initiative brings SMART Boards to remote classrooms

Calgary-based tech company SMART Technologies, best known for bringing its interactive SMART Boards to classrooms everywhere, is scaling up its efforts to make education technology more accessible worldwide. Article content Recently, SMART has been hard at work in its partnership with the N50 Project — a nonprofit consortium of more than 250 companies operating with the shared goal of expanding access to technology. Article content Article content 'We work with SMART to help lead that effort as to how the technology works in the classroom, particularly in rural and remote environments where they've not had this before,' said Gutwein. Article content SMART has led projects in places like Guadalajara, Mexico City and Nairobi. But plenty of underserved and isolated communities in North America suffer from the same technological divide. Article content 'Often, we think of these challenges as being a world away, but the reality is that we have underserved populations all across Canada and the U.S.,' said Kimberly Ball, senior manager of global customer education and success at SMART Technologies. Article content Article content SMART makes it a point to align with the unique goals and needs of communities, rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all solution to educational technology. Article content In May, SMART was able to contribute to a new digital community lab at Monarca Academy in Indianapolis, outfitting the space with its latest interactive displays along with its web-based learning platform, Lumio. The lab was also equipped with cutting-edge tools like 3D printers and robotics kits. Article content In more remote communities, challenges like connectivity and infrastructure are at the forefront. SMART and its partners at N50 address these obstacles head-on, collaborating with companies like Starlink to help provide internet access.