The SMART Learning Suite: Any device. Any Approach.

Smart Technologies has just released the powerful new SMART Learning Suite…and it’s a set of resources any teacher can use, regardless of whether you have a SMART board or any interactive whiteboard at all! The SMART Learning Suite works with any internet connected devices, so it’s compatible with whatever technology you already have in your classroom. Chromebooks, tablets, phones…they’re all the same to the SMART Learning Suite. The SMART Learning Suite combines lesson delivery, assessment, collaboration, and game-based learning software all into one easy-to-use system. Developed with the latest and most impactful education trends in mind, this education suite enriches student-led learning, project-based learning, and flipped classroom experiences. See it in action below: The SMART Learning Suite features 4 products: The SMART Notebook, SMART lab, SMART response 2, and SMART amp.  Here’s a look at what each has to offer.

SMART Notebook

Users of the SMART Board will already be familiar with this product. The latest version will run on mobile devices so that teachers can interact with the lessons from anywhere in the classroom. From the Notebook, teachers can create activities and monitor/assess progress. The suite’s two other features, SMART amp and SMART lab can also be accessed from the Notebook. It is also compatible with other interactive platforms, making it easy for standardize lessons and activities your district may be using.

SMART response 2

The SMART Learning Suite’s second feature, SMART response 2, enables a quick assessment of the student’s work. With this app, teachers can create a question set that fits the lesson in under five minutes! These questionnaires can be multiple choice, multiple answer, True or False, polls, or can require a short answer. You can even add pictures to these tests that you create! Students can answer the test from any device. And here’s the really awesome part–teachers get an instant report of the test results as the students answer! The results can be shown in either a pie graph or a word cloud and they can be easily exported, too.

SMART lab

Game-based activities and lessons are fantastic for increasing engagement, and SMART lab makes it almost super quick for teachers to create them. Begin by choosing a game format–SMART lab has several to choose from with more coming in the future. Then customize it by adding your own content. The third step is the fun part: you get to choose to a theme for your game, and there are tons of high-interest graphics and familiar animated characters. In just minutes, you can make a customized game-based activity for your class to play on the interactive whiteboard or on their devices.

SMART amp

SMART amp is a virtual workspace where teachers and students (from the same or even different classes) can come together to work on a project. From one space, teachers can monitor students’ progress as they work and even send instant messages if necessary. SMART amp is web-based, meaning students can continue or finish the work outside the classroom. Here’s a demo if you’d like to see: To create a collaborative workspace on SMART amp, the teacher must first create a class. You can create your class from scratch or import your link from Google. Next, you customize the space your lesson content from SMART Notebook or other sources like Discovery Education. Images, videos, and even PDFs can be uploaded into the workspace, giving teachers room for creativity and variety. Once you’ve finished your lesson, you can finally invite the students to the workspace you’ve created and get started. Take a look at what other teachers have created here.  Overall, the SMART Learning Suite is a really comprehensive collection of tools for not only game-based learning and instructional delivery, but also for assessment and collaboration. If your school is looking to purchase set of tools that’s easy to use and versatile, SMART Learning Suite is definitely worth checking out. Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by SMART Technologies through Syndicate Ads to help spread the word about their resources and mission. I only blog about educational resources that I have used or would recommend that other educators use.