Digital content subscription service makes lesson creation easier
CALGARY, Alberta --- November 19, 2007 --- SMART Technologies announces that schools, teachers and students now have access to the SMART Learning Marketplace, a Web-based subscription service which provides the largest repository of on-line education content available. With the SMART Learning Marketplace, teachers can bring a world of learning resources into the classroom. They can take students on virtual field trips to many of the world’s best museums and galleries. They can move beyond the confines of a textbook to create compelling learning experiences with the Marketplace’s resource library by using video files, images, audio files, or manipulatives to enhance lessons, while supporting a variety of learning styles. Featuring more than one million professionally developed pieces of content, the library is regularly updated, so there is always a myriad of multimedia resources available to help create engaging lesson activities. All of the content in the Marketplace is copyright-cleared, making it legal to use. The SMART Learning Marketplace, powered by the Global Grid for Learning, is the result of an alliance between SMART and Cambridge University Press, the oldest printer and publisher in the world.
The Marketplace is fully integrated with Notebook™ collaborative learning software. Subscribers simply conduct a search right in the software, or from the Marketplace website, and download content directly onto the Notebook page. The SMART Learning Marketplace’s content comes from the world’s top education publishers, technology and software educators, and museums, including the Bridgeman Art Library, Scran, Encyclopedia Britannica, Reuters and Cambridge University Press.
“The SMART Learning Marketplace has proven to be an incredibly valuable resource for creating engaging lessons,” says Joey Savoy, a teacher in New Brunswick, Canada, who has been using a trial version of the product. “Once they see their teachers use it, many of our students choose the Marketplace resources for their presentations.”
“Increasingly, educators are turning to digital content as an effective way to offer an engaging and dynamic learning experience,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “The SMART Learning Marketplace makes it easy to access trusted, high-quality resources from a variety of publishers and sources.”
Features of the SMART Learning Marketplace
Large content repository – Over one million pieces of content available, and new content is added regularly.
Copyright-cleared – Learning resources are royalty free and free of legal restrictions, so content can be used at no additional charge for the duration of the subscription.
Professionally developed resources – All learning resources are developed by trusted education content providers, ensuring crisp, clear images, video and audio.
Integrated with Notebook collaborative learning software – Content can be accessed from and loads into the Gallery within Notebook software. An Add to Notebook icon downloads the selected content directly onto an open Notebook page, so lessons can be quickly created.
Pricing and availability
The SMART Learning Marketplace is now available in North America in one- and two-year subscriptions with three different download limits. A one-year individual subscription starts at US$239 and a one-year school subscription starts at US$1,599. To take a tour of the SMART Learning Marketplace, or to subscribe, visit www.learningmarketplace.smarttech.com.
