Earlier this year, that province announced plans to put interactive whiteboards in each of its 43,000 classrooms, as well as equip teachers with laptops, by 2016. Under the program, the province's 72 school boards will be permitted to purchase technology from two suppliers within the province. SMART is the sole provider of digital whiteboards to one of the selected suppliers.
Quebec's technology investment in the classroom will also permit other purchases, such as interactive response systems and document cameras.
SMART, which has offices in Ottawa, estimates that 5,000 of its digital whiteboards are already installed in Quebec classrooms. The company uses technology to provide collaborative solutions for the workforce and classrooms, and had a Canadian market share of 83 per cent in 2010.
The investment by the province points to the importance of using technology to help students learn, one SMART executive said.
"The government of Quebec clearly recognizes the immense value of using interactive whiteboards and other technology products in classrooms to improve learning outcomes," said Patric Nagel, SMART's vice-president for the Americas, in a statement.
Profits at the tech company fell in the second quarter this year to $600,000, which was attributed to a currency charge on the company's debt. In August, SMART announced it would outsource the assembly of its digital whiteboards to contract manufacturers. The first round of local layoffs was expected to affect more than 60 of the company's Kanata-based employees.
