Learning your tables

Released 28/10/2008

Suzannah Wright sees a new interactive table in action

This morning I attended the UK-launch of a new interactive table from Smart Technologies. Designed specifically for primary schools, the impressively interactive – if not creatively named – SmartTable is about the size of a sand-pit table and encourages collaborative learning as several children can work around it at one time. The functionality encourages co-operation and team learning, and the size and shape support learner-led activities, so the table fits nicely into a lot of classroom trends. The table is being piloted at St Matthew Academy in South London, and it was this partnership which especially interested me. After a demonstration of the table I sat down with St Matthew’s finance director Richard Lambert. He welcomed the partnership, saying that working with companies like Smart can only benefit the school whether through future deals, possible workplace links for pupils or simply by raising the school’s profile as an innovative organisation. With a vast experience in retail and manufacturing industries, Richard had some interesting observations on the management of schools and a sometimes frustrating level of bureaucracy he has experienced. My full interview with him will appear in our January issue so subscribe now to make sure you receive your copy. January will also be the time to head to London and visit BETT if you’d like to see the SmartTable in action. If you can fight off the kids and get a go on the table you’ll be doing better than me, but then perhaps the point of an interactive table isn’t to entertain journalists...

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