As the world navigates all elements of a global pandemic, teachers and educators are discovering how to deliver lessons, engage, and connect with students from a distance. In Australia, we have a long tradition of teaching remotely and the systems and tools to do so have been available for some time.

Technology can help transform learning, but as numerous studies have shown, more technology in the classroom doesn’t automatically equate with better results. Most notably the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and John Hattie, Director of the Melbourne Educational Research Institute have raised concerns that education spending does not equate to better outcomes. Getting the conditions right is vital for the success of today’s learners and teachers.

Universities across Australia continue to embrace SMART Technologies, investing heavily in interactive technologies and new software across many faculties to  creating truly innovative learning spaces. Many universities have used SMART for a very long time, and today are upgrading to the newest options in order to give their students and educators the best, most reliable and connected experiences possible. 

For instance, a South Australia university with responsibility for a large cohort of Pre-Service teachers recently rolled out 4500 SMART Learning Suite (SLS) licenses to their staff and students, as well as certified one of their IT Leads as a SMART Certified Trainer to ensure that the staff have an expert at hand and that students can benefit from his knowledge.

In Queensland an entire Languages Faculty has been provided with new facilities including SMART interactive flat panels and the SMART Learning Suite. At a training session these language experts who were familiar with SMART Notebook were impressed with the range of learning options they now had with the SLS. As all students come to lectures with devices, being able to interact with those devices by sharing content, gaining  feedback to key concepts and collaborating in virtual learning spaces enables new ways to engage students. These lecturers are keen to bring gamification to their learning designs to motivate their students in the language learning experience.

In New South Wales, one university has also rolled out SLS licenses for students and staff in the Faculty of Education. This enables these students to develop digital content for teaching and learning which they can use in any school setting regardless of the school’s technology infrastructure. SMART is device agnostic and therefore the digital content and lessons the pre-service teachers develop can be utilized in their practicums. It will also enable these pre-service teachers to have tools for learning when they are employed in schools. 

During the Inspire Greatness Conference 2018 in Sydney this past September, I had the privilege of chairing the Executive Round Table held in the Grace Cossington Smith Gallery at Abbotsleigh School for Girls. 

Recently, the SMART ANZ Team held a two-day training event at Sheldon College, Queensland. The College is an outstanding example of careful implementation of technology for learning and innovative practices. Set amongst beautiful grounds, the College has over 1400 students including, an Early Learning Centre and the LINQ Precinct where students learn in industry standard contexts of manufacturing, robotics, 3D Printing, the ability to create digital media products at broadcast quality, using business entrepreneur practices.

We were delighted to participate in the New South Wales Department of Education's recent Inspire Integrate Conference at Sydney Olympic Park. This event gives teachers with a passion for ICT the opportunity to learn more about integrating it into their teaching and learning practices.