SMART Technologies Partners with Conrad Foundation, Turns to Students to Help Shape the Future of Education through Technology

The partnership will empower students while bringing STEM, project-based learning and technology into K-12 curriculum

CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SMART Technologies and the Conrad Foundation today announced the first-annual SMART sponsored Conrad Challenge category to Transform Education through Technology. Students who are 13-18 years old from around the world are invited to design new technologies or services that will help transform education experiences leading to better outcomes for individual students, schools or communities. 

Research shows that while the role technology plays in classrooms has evolved significantly throughout the last 50 years, and despite the seven billion dollars being spent on education technology annually, there has been no remarkable impact or effect on student progress or achievement. With this in mind, SMART and the Conrad Foundation launched this multi-phase innovation and entrepreneurial category within the annual Conrad Challenge, designed to encourage students, ages 13-18 to change the education industry by teaming up in groups of two to five to create solutions for some of the most pressing global challenges.

"What better audience to help solve our education issues than the consumers themselves - our students," said Nancy Conrad, Founder of the Conrad Foundation. "Our partnership with SMART is at the forefront of our mission to promote collaborative, student-centered, real world-relevant learning that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship."

As the global leader in education with more than 25 years of industry experience, SMART designed this special challenge category with the Conrad Foundation to help students develop new concepts and solutions that rethink education through the lens of technology for better outcomes. This challenge will allow schools, teachers and students the opportunity to employ new pedagogical methods to help K-12 students innovate their own learning experience using technology and will ultimately transform education experiences. Students are challenged to reimagine their educational experiences and create solutions that can improve the physical learning environment, create new educational tools or develop new learning content or methods.

"Students are the education consumers of today and our leaders of tomorrow and we are excited to see the innovations these bright stars can dream up for the future," said Jeff Lowe, Chief Marketing Officer of SMART Technologies. "We feel the collaboration with the Conrad Foundation helps drive entrepreneurship and forwards our mission to inspire greatness for better student outcomes around the world."

Registration for the SMART category within the 2018-2019 Conrad Challenge is now open to all high school teams. Register your team today: https://www.conradchallenge.org/2018-2019-registration-form or learn more through this video: https://youtu.be/wsN8qx2BG_0.

About SMART Technologies
SMART is a world leader in classroom technology, providing interactive solutions to help every student and teacher discover and develop the greatness within them. A consistent innovator for more than 25 years, SMART is the inventor of the SMART Board^® and the developer of SMART Notebook^®, the world's most popular collaborative learning software, and part of the SMART Learning Suite. With their full range of interconnected displays, software, and accessories, used in more than 3 million classrooms, SMART helps students and teachers around the world achieve better learning outcomes. To learn more, visit smarttech.com.

About Conrad Foundation
The Conrad Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to 21st century, immersive learning, where students use their imagination and innovation to enrich their classroom studies and do something real. The Foundation is the only organization of its kind whose programs combine science and technology-based education, innovation and entrepreneurship to inspire solutions for achieving global sustainability. For more information, visit www.conradfoundation.org.

SOURCE SMART Technologies