SMART Technologies Inc.

Installation Profile
TM

Making History: Expression IM Module Transforms Post-Secondary Classrooms

The Partnership
In February 2001, Apex Audio Visual Services, a SMART
reseller in Calgary, Alberta, secured the bid for a large
post-secondary installation. The work was part of the
Expansion Project 2001 at the Southern Alberta Institute of
Technology (SAIT), a $176 million investment in new
buildings, restorations, curriculum development, electronic
infrastructure and equipment.
Apex had worked successfully with SAIT before this project,
installing audiovisual equipment that included SMART
products. When this new opportunity arose, Apexs proven
expertise and product offerings set the company apart.
The Challenge
The Expansion Project 2001 centered on two buildings.
One was a new, 350,000-square-foot structure named the
Heart Building, featuring laptop labs, classrooms and a
three-story atrium. The other building, Heritage Hall, is a
provincial historic resource and a national historic site.

Heritage Hall classroom (with SMART Board interactive whiteboard

and Expression workstation)

Built in 1921, Heritage Hall was being transformed into a

state-of-the-art technical professional center. Calgarys
only example of collegiate gothic architecture, this
building features oak-paneled doors, terrazzo floors and
vaulted ceilings. All wiring, upgrades and restorations
had to be approved by the historic architect.

Class in Heritage Hall

Apex needed to propose products that would fit with the

designs of these very different buildings and meet instructors
needs. SAIT had successfully introduced the SMART Board
interactive whiteboard and SMART Expression mobile
multimedia cabinet in a previous project. Leslie Hannah,
architectural coordinator with SAITs facilities management
department, says of the technology, It created a progressive
and integrated method of teaching and learning for our
instructors and students.
TM

SAITs Heritage Hall

Although the project coordinators now wanted a more

permanent and customized solution than the mobile
Expression cabinet, they wanted the same functionality. Apex
account manager Connie McEgan explains, They wanted to
expand on the concept of the Expression 503 cabinet, but they
also required a solution that was that simple to operate and
within their budget parameters. They needed this same
product in an easy-to-integrate module.

On August 27, 2001, the classrooms were ready and inspected

for the fall semester. Since then, the technologys ease of use
and accessibility, together with available training, have made
the implementation a success. Denis Beaulieu, projects
coordinator at SAITs teaching and learning centre, comments,
The availability of wall-mounted SMART Board interactive
whiteboards in virtually all of our new e-learning classrooms
has resulted in rapid instructor adoption of the technology.
He continues, Because the board is wall-mounted, an
instructor can begin using it simply as a projection surface and
work up from there. Once youre using it as a projection surface,
why not use it for simple computer functions? Once youve done
that, creating annotations isnt a big step, and so on.

Expression workstation and SMART Board interactive

whiteboard in the Heart Building

The Solution
Working with SMART and SMED International, a leader in
modular interior construction, Apex incorporated an Expression
IM module into a SMED-designed cabinet at which the
instructor could stand or sit. The cabinets have custom finishes
that match the very different decors of the Heart Building and
Heritage Hall.

The Future
With the SAIT project, Apex has become Calgarys only
integrator with experience in such a large installation. The
technology-equipped rooms have become SAITs new
classroom standard and the institution plans to use more
SMART Board and Expression IM technology in upcoming
renovations. Hannah summarizes, Both SMART and Apex
proved very knowledgeable and were able to provide creative
solutions to unique situations.
In October 1916, SAIT opened with a total of 11 students and
seven instructors. Now, its programs attract more than 68,000
people a year. Its mission is a promise to be innovative, to be
customer centered and to provide world-class, skill-oriented
technical education. Apex and SMART products are helping
SAIT fulfill this promise and ensure that its students are
competitive in a changing world.

With the customized workstations, SAIT instructors use

technology thats not only secure but also simple to access and
operate. Hannah explains, Each multimedia workstation
provides a central point for wiring and cables as well as a safe
and compact station for the equipment. The workstations lock
for security and each one contains a computer, portable ELMO
visual presenter, VCR and remote controls for all devices in the
room. Each station also has a control panel to which instructors
can quickly connect a laptop and toggle the display between
the internal computer and the laptop.
Apex equipped 70 classrooms with these workstations, ceilingmounted projectors and wall-mounted screens. Twenty-two
SMART Board interactive whiteboards were installed, and 12
portable boards made available on Floor Stands.
The Result
Once used as a training center during World War II, Heritage
Hall had stood for 80 years. By contrast, Apex had only six
months to plan and complete the installation, and they could
access some rooms only in June and July. The construction
and resulting dust meant the technology couldn t be installed
right away. Hannah reveals, The most challenging part was
completing the equipment installations on time as there was
ongoing construction right up until opening day.

Classroom in the Heart Building

SMART Technologies Inc., Suite 600, 117711th Avenue SW, Calgary, A B CANADA T2R 1K9
Tel. 1.888.42.SMART Fax 403.228.2500 e-mail: info@smarttech.com www.smarttech.com
2002 SMART Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. SMART Board and Expression are trademarks of SMART Technologies Inc. All third-party product and company names are mentioned for
identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. Printed in Canada 05/2002.