computer science

Smart Technologies

Smart Technologies is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Smart Technologies rather than just read about it. In short: Smart Technologies (styled as SMART Technologies) is a Canadian company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and wholly owned by Foxconn. Founded in 1987, SMART is best known as the developer of interactive whiteboards branded as the "Smart Board" (styled as SMART Board) widely used in education and business.

Key takeaways

Smart Technologies belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Smart Technologies to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Smart Technologies from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Smart Technologies (styled as SMART Technologies) is a Canadian company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and wholly owned by Foxconn. Founded in 1987, SMART is best known as the developer of interactive whiteboards branded as the "Smart Board" (styled as SMART Board) widely used in education and business.

History Smart was founded in 1987 by husband and wife David Martin and Nancy Knowlton. In 1991, Smart introduced its interactive whiteboard, branded the "Smart Board". In 2003, Smart developed and later patented DViT (Digital Vision Touch) technology which was an important feature of the SMART Board. In 2009, Smart filed a patent infringement lawsuit against New Zealand-based NextWindow before acquiring the company outright in 2010. On July 15, 2010, Smart Technologies placed an initial public offering on the NASDAQ stock exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), raising upwards of $660 million. Later that year, several class action complaints were filed against Smart in the U.S. District Courts in New York and Illinois. Filed on behalf of the purchasers of the Class A Subordinate Voting Shares in Smart's IPO in July 2010, the complaints alleged that the company did not disclose important information prior to the IPO. A settlement was reached in March 2013. As of the 2011 fiscal year end, Smart Board interactive whiteboards led the interactive whiteboard category with a 63% share in the United States, 44% share in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and 47% share globally. In April 2012, amid a declining stock price and sales resulting from decreased school board spending, both Martin and Knowlton resigned from their executive roles at Smart before leaving the board in April 2014. On December 11, 2012, Smart Technologies announced it would begin corporate restructuring. The company proceeded to lay off 25% of its employees. Then-CEO Neil Gaydon stated that it would save the company approximately $40 million, and cited competition in the market as part of the reason for restructuring. In 2016, SMART Technologies Inc. was acquired by Foxconn for $200 million.

References

External links Official Site Corporate Logo Guide SMART Boards for Schools

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Smart Technologies

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Smart Technologies claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Smart Technologies before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Smart Technologies ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Smart Technologies

In research: Smart Technologies appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Smart Technologies in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Smart Technologies is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1987 establishments in Alberta, 2016 mergers and acquisitions, Apax Partners companies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Smart Technologies outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Smart Technologies in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Smart Technologies means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Smart Technologies out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Smart Technologies in simple terms?

Why does Smart Technologies matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Smart Technologies?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Smart Technologies.