SMART recognized for contribution to growth of the education market
CALGARY, Alberta --- September 24, 2009 --- SMART Technologies announces it has been awarded the 2009 EdNET Pioneer Award. The Pioneer Award is given annually to an organization that significantly contributes to the growth of the education market over the year. The award is presented by Market Data Retrieval (MDR), the leading provider of marketing information and services for the education market in the United States. SMART received the award at the 21st Annual EdNET Conference on September 14 in Chicago, IL. This is the first time SMART has won an EdNET Pioneer Award. In 2008, the company was named a finalist in the same category.
A panel of leading education industry experts chooses an award winner based on several criteria, including significantly contributing to innovative product design and implementation for the education market; creating a new niche or category within the industry by developing a new product or service; changing the market size of a segment of the education industry; and funding projects or philanthropic initiatives that have increased the activity or attention to the educational enterprise. The panel recognized SMART for creating a new product category with its invention of the SMART Board™ interactive whiteboard in 1991 and being the leading provider of interactive whiteboards in the United States. In the second quarter of 2009, SMART had a 63.4 percent product category share in the United States, more than two-and-a-half times that of its nearest competitor. SMART was also noted for its efforts with the SMARTer Kids Foundation, a private organization that provides opportunities for students and teachers to learn new skills and grow in self-confidence by placing technology, grants and programs at their service.
“The EdNET Industry Award winners are organizations that are moving the business of education forward,” said Dr. Nelson B. Heller, EdNET founder and president. “They’re developing products and services that address the challenges faced by schools today as well as prepare students for a 21st-century global workplace. MDR is proud to recognize these innovators.”
“SMART has always taken pride in being both the inventor and leading provider of interactive whiteboards,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “Receiving this honor from EdNET is wonderful recognition of our team’s dedication and commitment to focusing on innovation and providing solutions that meet the needs of educators.”
About EdNET and the EdNET Industry Awards
The EdNET Conference, which is produced by MDR and is now in its 21st year, is the education market’s premier annual networking conference. It brings together education executives, school administrators, and policy makers to network and build strategic business partnerships. The EdNET Industry Awards program was created in 1992 to champion the efforts of progressive organizations helping to revitalize the nation’s educational system. For more information about the EdNET Conference and Industry Awards program, visit www.ednetconference.com.
