“It’s really cool,” says one shy youngster, a pre-schooler at the exclusive Baldwin Academy in Pacific Beach. “It’s a lot of fun,” adds another, breaking into a smile. When Baldwin became selected as the only pilot school for the SMART Table in Southern California, these precocious learners immediately demonstrated the rewards. AVI-SPL’s Education Market Manager, Maggie McGill, was instrumental in helping to make a difference.

“The best benefit of the SMART Table is its ability to promote collaborative learning, with room for up to eight students to interact,” says McGill. With a format similar to that of an iPhone, the SMART Table is the first multitouch, multiuser interactive learning center that allows groups of primary school students to work simultaneously on its surface. From math to social studies to art, the SMART Table allows the youngest of learners to take a fun, hands-on approach to their activities. Best of all, it helps teachers create new and unique collaborative learning activities with minimal preparation time.

“For me to be able to work with their pre-K teacher and get her true feedback has been phenomenal,” adds McGill. “Both she and the kids absolutely love it.”

The SMART Table has currently been on loan to Baldwin since August; they hope to purchase the technology in the near future.

Click here to view the news story on Baldwin Academy »

To view the SMART Table specs, click here »

In only their second year in operation, Nantucket Elementary School has quickly grown a reputation for being one of the most technologically-savvy in the area. AVI-SPL’s Education Market Manager, Erin Minich, has nurtured the relationship, working with them to integrate SMART interactive whiteboards in every classroom and launch their status as a SMART showcase school.

So when she informed Nantucket of the exciting technology behind SMART bracelets, school administrators were eager to introduce this new resource to their students. Equipped with a 2GB hard drive within their bands, the bracelets have easily become one of the most popular items within the SMART Notebook Student Edition (SE) package. At 50 bracelets for only $50 each, Nantucket Principal Diana Strohecker sees it as an invaluable investment for her fifth graders.

As a true plug-n-play innovation, students using the bracelets have the ability to create assignments in school and take it home to work on, or even at the library. Once plugged into any USB port – regardless of platform – students can use the bracelets’ pre-packaged software to create presentations that featured embedded videos, links, images and more.

“As I tell our educators, the SMART bracelet is almost like a ‘digital binder’ that they can take with them anywhere they go, easily putting control in the hands of the students,” says Minich. “There’s so much technology available in the schools, but students can be at a disadvantage if they don’t have that same level of technology at home,” she adds. “These bracelets are a wonderful tool, greatly helping to bridge the home-school divide when it comes to educational technology.”

Click here to read more about this story»

Click here for an overview of AVI-SPL’s line of SMART products»

AVI-SPL has joined a select list in being credited as a TANDBERG Telepresence T3 Install and Maintenance Certified Partner in the Americas. With this designation, AVI-SPL can now offer installation and maintenance support for the award-winning TANDBERG Telepresence T3 system. This exclusive solution delivers an easy-to-use and natural forum for conference participants to meet, no matter their location.

“Our goal is to be the definitive leader in the video services industry,” said Mike Brandofino, EVP of Video and Unified Communications, AVI-SPL. “With each new certification, we continue to differentiate ourselves from the smaller players in the space who do not have the depth and the financial resources to invest in staying on top of the latest technologies.”

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As the AV industry’s most anticipated event, InfoComm ‘09 delivered a prime opportunity for AVI-SPL to connect with innovative manufacturers and a diverse range of clients. With the recent launch of ConferencePoint managed conferencing services, Cisco inter-operability services and a Polycom/Glowpoint “TEN Alliance,” AVI-SPL leads in the seamless integration of audiovisual systems and services, designed for the ultimate level of customer success.

AVI-SPL InfoComm ‘09 Highlights:

• AVI-SPL Joins Polycom and Glowpoint in Creating the “TEN Alliance” »
• AVI-SPL Announces Availability of Cisco Inter-operability Services »
• Industry Leaders AVI-SPL, Barco Head Innovative Display at InfoComm ‘09 »

Recognition highlights outstanding customer service, ability to provide complete end-to-end video communications solutions

TAMPA, FL, June 23, 2009 – Leading audio and video communications provider AVI-SPL was recently named “Integrator of the Year” by Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM), the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions. Announced last week during the Infocomm 2009 conference and expo in Orlando, Fla., Polycom’s award recognizes AVI-SPL for outstanding customer service, highlighting the company’s ability to create innovative solutions that support the unique needs of a diverse range of markets, including the corporate, education and government sectors.

Click here to read the complete press release »

Click here to view featured Polycom products »

Polycom recognizes AVI-SPL for industry-leading performance during Infocomm 2009 industry event

TAMPA, Fla. and ORLANDO, Fla. – June 18, 2009 – AVI-SPL, the worlds largest AV integrator, today announced it was named Integrator of the Year by Polycom, Inc., the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions. The award was given in conjunction with the Infocomm 2009 conference and expo taking place June 17-19 in Orlando, Fla., and recognizes AVI-SPL for its outstanding sales performance and excellence in meeting customer solution, service and support needs.

“This is an exciting time for resellers in the communications and collaboration market as today’s solutions can dramatically impact the performance and competitiveness of their customers’ business across industries,” said Mark Roberts, vice president, partner marketing, Polycom. “Polycom is proud to be represented by AVI-SPL which has demonstrated continued excellence in meeting customer needs.”

AVI-SPL and Polycom work closely together to bring their customers the latest video and teleconferencing technology. AVI-SPL integrates Polycom products into its major AV installation projects for its cutting edge technology, reliability and support.

Polycom, Inc. is the global leader in telepresence, video, and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people to connect and collaborate everywhere. Please visit www.polycom.com for more informaton.

 Click here for more information on the AVI-SPL, Polycom partnership

Texas Woman’s University (TWU) faced several AV challenges when the university decided to build a new Houston campus. TWU, the nation’s largest university primarily for women, has campuses in Denton, Dallas and Houston. After 45 years at its previous Houston location, TWU planned for a new Institute of Health Sciences-Houston Center in the heart of Houston’s world-renowned Texas Medical Center. The new building was a 10-story, 202,000 square-foot complete “campus in one building.”

Our goal was to add the ability to present, communicate and teach within the campus and to other campuses,” said Jeremy Blanton, AVI-SPL project manager. “Technology has become a critical piece of teaching the school’s curriculum, so they wanted to ensure that the instructors had the latest technology to support the applications in the medical field.”

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