Lisa Christman and Debbie Bratton, Technology Faculty Associates and Lecturers in UCA’s University College, were presenters at an invitation-only SMART Higher Education Sympodium User Conference in Athens, Ga. earlier this year. They joined a select group of 25 Sympodium interactive pen display enthusiasts who use interactive technology to improve learning outcomes and enhance teaching. Christman and Bratton have been using the SMART Sympodium interactive pen display after being trained by Jan Hill (formerly with the title III program) in the spring of 2005. The host of the conference was SMART Technologies, the maker of SmartBoards, Sympodiums, document cameras and other classroom technologies.
The goal of the conference was to provide a forum for users to interact with each other, and for SMART to share ideas, insights and best practices using and integrating the Sympodium (and other interactive technology solutions) in the classroom and on campuses. All participating attendees were required to host one session to facilitate the sharing aspect of the conference. Each participant was also given a SMART Airliner wireless tablet for their personal use in the classroom.
