First-time initiative will see students using SMART products in small learning community
CALGARY, Alberta ---November 20, 2007 --- SMART Technologies announces that Asheboro High School (AHS) has opened a campus at the North Carolina Zoological Park and has equipped its four classrooms with SMART Board™ 680i interactive whiteboard systems. The small learning community campus is designed to foster stronger relationships among students and staff and to offer flexibility for students seeking a less conventional high school setting. The 100 selected students, from grades ten through twelve, will spend the first period of each day at Asheboro High School, and then board a bus for the zoo campus for the remainder of their classes. Small learning communities are increasing in popularity because they allow for a collaborative environment that integrates real-life examples into everyday lessons. AHS administrators believe this is the first time a learning community has been established in a zoo setting in North Carolina.
The AHS Zoo School is designed to help students who learn better in smaller, more intimate settings to succeed. To give the students all of the necessary tools for success, administrators wanted to infuse the environment with technology. As part of this objective, SMART Board 680i interactive whiteboard systems were installed in each classroom. Administrators at AHS chose SMART products for their interactivity and because of SMART’s wide range of digital resources. The future may see more of these alternative education offerings in other Asheboro locations. Administrators will evaluate this pilot and then build on the idea of tailoring education to individual student needs.
“We wanted to offer students an opportunity to participate in a different learning environment that may cater more to their learning styles and needs,” says Marty Williams, technology coordinator for Asheboro High School. “The technology that infuses the new zoo campus is an integral part of the way these students learn.”
"The AHS Zoo School is an excellent example of how a community can step forward to change teaching and learning by using a community jewel ─ the North Carolina Zoo ─ as a laboratory to engage students more fully,” says June St. Claire Atkinson, North Carolina State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “The goal for this project, and innovative efforts in other communities, is more learning for all students.”
“Our products are increasingly being used in unique settings to enable varied approaches to teaching and learning,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “It’s rewarding to see SMART products applied in traditional and nontraditional classroom settings to allow teachers to meet a greater number of students’ interests and learning styles.”
