SMARTer KidsFoundation establishes Project Get SMARTer to provide SMART Boards for educational technology research projects

Foundation seeks pre-service and in-service teachers, graduate students and professors to conduct research on integrating computer-based learning materials into education

Calgary, Alberta --- October 29, 1998 --- Project Get SMARTer, a research program supported by the SMARTer Kids Foundation, encourages educators to foster improved and active learning through results-oriented research and fact-finding activities. The program aims to provide SMART Boards to pre-service and in-service teachers, professors and graduate students for research activities focused on integrating technology into the classroom. The focus is on determining how technology can be used in educationally appropriate and useful ways as opposed to just being used to teach computer skills.

"The long-term success of the education system depends on the ability to build a technologically-literate teaching force. Educators need to use technology not for the sake of automating educational processes, but instead for the purpose of improving the quality of education provided to students," said Tierney McGoldrick, research and program manager for the SMARTer Kids Foundation. "One of the greatest challenges faced by teachers wanting to integrate technology into the curriculum is the lack of guidance and experience from others who have successfully done it. We are pleased to support some of the best schools in North America with state-of-the-art tools that will facilitate the compilation of research concerning educational technology and learning."

Program Summary
Educators are required to submit a 1,000-word research proposal and a 200- to 300-word abstract to the SMARTer Kids Foundation addressing one of several technology-focused topics. The Research and Program Manager will select will select a total of 20 participants to receive SMART Boards for a six- to eight-month research period. Proposals for research projects, commencing at the start of January, will be accepted until December 15, 1998.

The Foundation will select recipient educators based on a number of factors, including the proposal’s focus on learning, teaching or training outcomes, producing measurable results and using computer technology as a tool as opposed to as a subject.

Pre-service teachers in the process of completing their practicum, graduate students conducting research on an area of educational technology, in-service teachers responsible for teacher training and professional development, professors pursuing research in the area of interactive technology and in-service teachers implementing interactive tecnology into classrooms are eligible to apply. The competition is open to North American applicants only, and all applicants must have an LCD panel or projection system and a suitable PC or Macintosh system. At the end of the respective school’s semester, all equipment will be offered to project participants at a nominal price, and research papers will be published on the SMARTer Kids Foundation Web site at www.smarterkids.org.

Educators interested in more information on how to submit a proposal to Project Get SMARTer can visit the SMARTer Kids Foundation Web site at www.smarterkids.org or call the Foundation at 403.228.8565 to have information sent to them.

SMART Board Research
Past research conducted on the use of SMART Boards in education yielded some interesting applications and learning results. Tom Grice, a teacher at St. Patrick School in Brantford, Ontario, delivered a variety of lessons using the SMART Board, including lectures on expository paragraphs, antibodies, temperature and weather. Grice reported that results from a grade three division unit test were significantly higher (10%) than usual. According to Grice, "This is an incredible result and one that I can attribute to the increased attention levels and visual methodologies incorporated when using the SMART Board."

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Please note that SMART is in all capital letters.