Smart Classroom

Colorado District Adopts Software Suite to Support Digital Learning Initiative

• By Michael Hart
• 06/01/16

The Poudre School District in Fort Collins, CO has deployed a suite of software in an effort to support its Digital Innovation Pathways initiative.

The Digital Innovation Pathways program includes a series of professional development opportunities for teachers, classroom support, enhanced educational technology tools and other ways of enhancing and supporting classroom instruction with technology.

The district decided to adopt the Smart Learning Suite, which includes:

• The Smart Notebook, designed to provide interactive learning experiences while responding to learner needs in real time;
• The Smart lab, which aims to enable teachers to quickly create lesson plans and game-based learning activities;
• The Smart amp, a web-based learning platform designed to help with student collaboration on devices; and
• The Smart response 2, formative assessment software that can be used on student devices.

District representatives said the Smart Learning Suite allows teachers to individualize and differentiate instruction, quickly evaluate student performance and adapt content depending on the subject or grade level.

"We are increasing the number of educators moving to online collaborative learning," said Poudre School District Educational Technology Director Kim McMonagle. "These programs have exceeded our expectations. Using Smart's software, students experience a more robust learning experience as they are able to seamlessly share knowledge."

The Poudre School District has more than 29,000 students and 3,600 teachers.

"Research has shown that when combined with solid pedagogical practices, education software can significantly improve student outcomes in lesson comprehension," said Smart Technologies CEO Neil Gaydon. "We are thrilled to support Poudre's innovative program with software designed to support transitions in their pedagogy."