KUALA LUMPUR: PENCILS and books in some classrooms have been replaced with lightweight individual computers and thanks to a Canadian company, students and teachers can say goodbye to the dusty blackboards and chalks too.
Smartboard, developed by Smart Technologies is set to replace the old blackboard and chalk teaching method.
The Smartboard looks like an ordinary whiteboard but is equipped with a projector hook and allows direct interaction with a computer.
According to Christopher Chong, regional director and general manager of Smart Technologies Asia Pacific, the Smartboard is used in many education institutions around the world and is a hit with pre-schoolers and secondary students alike.
“Based on our latest statistics, the Smartboard is now used in 700,000 classrooms and about 18 million students enjoy its benefits,” he told In.Tech recently.
Teaching tool
The Smartboard can be a great teaching tools for teachers to present any subject from science to history, Chong said.
“With the right software and presentation skills teachers can make these subjects more fun and engaging,” he said.
Chong added that as digital technology becomes part of our modern lives, students nowadays also expect to see more digital interactivity during lessons.
“They are used to getting information instantly off the Internet, which also allows them to be interactive in learning and sharing of opinions, so they expect the same kind of interactivity in classrooms as well,” Chong explained.
He added that teachers can do more things on the Smartboard than they could with a conventional blackboard and chalk method.
Ep-Tec Solutions Sdn Bhd general manager Loh Kwai Nam said teachers teaching geography can easily use Internet tools to pull up a map. Ep-Tec is the local distributor for the Smartboard.
“Teachers will not be able to get the exact map using the chalk and board method,” he said.
Loh added that biology need not be a messy subject with the board, especially when it comes to dissecting frogs.
Using the board’s built-in software, teachers can demonstrate how to dissect a frog without having the whole class cramped up in front of the teacher’s desk.
Education market Chong claimed that Smart Technologies owns 53% of the global interactive whiteboard market share and expects an increased sale in the tool with the growing number of schools opting for e-learning.
“More and more schools are equipped with projectors and computers these days and we see that as a driver for the sale of the Smartboard,” he said.
Loh added that the step to transform local national schools to smart schools will also augur well for the Smartboard take-up.
“It is seen as the next step in teaching tools,” he said.
However, the Smartboard is only at the proof-of-concept level in the country with about 300 schools in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia using the tool.
“We see an adoption of the tool but not at a massive scale yet,” he said adding that it would take about five years before the Smartboard can make its way into every Malaysian school.
Other targets
Although it had gained a strong foothold in the education sector, Smart Technologies plans to expand into other sectors as well. Its Smartboard has already made its way into news studio set-ups in the United States and even at meeting rooms in businesses locally. It also plans to make a versatile table top version of the Smartboard, which is due to be available in January.
“This table top version can be used for group activities for pre-schoolers and lower primary school students and even at military academies where it can be used to teach combat strategies and languages,” Chong said.
There have also been requests for the Smartboard from home users but Loh said Smart Technologies has not made any plans to enter the home user market yet.
“We see a market opportunity in parents who prefer their children to be home-schooled but we would like to focus on the larger education market first,” he said.
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