Orange County Public Schools Adopts Interactive Flat Panels To Support BYOD Program

• By Michael Hart
• 05/10/16

The Orange County Public School District has adopted interactive flat panels (IFPs) and classroom software to complement its bring-your-own-device (BYOD) program.

Since December, 1,873 Smart Board IFPs, along with the Smart Learning Suite, have been installed in more than 240 schools throughout what is the 10^th largest school district in the nation with nearly 200,000 students and 22,000 employees.

Since coming to an agreement with Smart Technologies last year, the district has implemented the Learning Suite, in large part because it conforms to its BYOD program and can accommodate just about any student tablet, mobile phone, classroom interactive display or Chromebook.

The Smart Learning Suite is an educational software platform that combines lesson delivery, assessment, student collaboration and game-based learning software into one platform. It includes:

• Smart Notebook, with thousands of free lesson resources, subject-specific tools and compatibility with any interactive display or operating system;
• Smart lab, which is designed to allow teachers to create lesson plans and game-based learning activities under five minutes;
• Smart amp, a web-based learning platform that leverages Google Apps for Education to allow students to co-create assignments and collaborate on mobile devices; and
• Smart response 2, assessment software that teachers can use to create question sets to complement lessons in less than five minutes.

"We envision a learning environment where we can support a child's natural curiosity and affinity for technology through innovative pedagogy and classroom tools," said Smart Technologies President and CEO Neil Gaydon, "which aligns well with Orange County Public Schools' goals of increasing collaboration and learning outcomes in the classroom."