Press Release - 061102

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Press Release

Educators Offered New Options with Wireless Classroom Teaching Tools Utilizing Bluetooth™ Technology

InterWrite School Suite sets new standard for interactive participation in education.

June 11, 2002 – GTCO CalComp, Inc. announced today a major expansion of their InterWrite product line into the educational market with the release of their new InterWrite School Suite. InterWrite School Suite products are powerful education tools designed to engage students, encourage active participation and enhance learning. The family of products includes the first interactive whiteboard with a wireless Bluetooth option, a wireless Bluetooth SchoolPad, as well as an extremely intuitive and easy-to-use annotation software program.

“The InterWrite School Suite was designed to help teachers turn their lessons into interactive experiences for the students,” says Eric Timmons, President of GTCO CalComp. “Whether using the SchoolBoard to teach in front of the classroom or using the wireless SchoolPad to teach anywhere in the classroom, InterWrite School Suite allows teachers to engage and inspire their students.”

Available in 60” and 77” sizes and supporting both wired (USB and Serial) and wireless (Bluetooth) connectivity options, the InterWrite SchoolBoard is a durable and easy to use interactive whiteboard. When connected to a computer and a projector, teachers can use the SchoolBoard pens to control the computer just as if they were using a mouse. This gives teachers the ability to control the lessons from the front of the room without having to go back and forth to the computer. In addition, using InterWrite software, teachers can make notes, highlights, and annotate anything projected on the SchoolBoard surface and e-mail or print all the notes, along with the computer image, to give to absent students.

“Using Bluetooth to connect the SchoolBoard is a great option for schools that need to share an electronic whiteboard between multiple classrooms,” said Eric Timmons. “Instead of taking the time to disconnect cables from one computer and reconnect them to the computer in the next classroom, the board can be rolled into the classroom and seamlessly connect to the computer wirelessly. In addition, the wireless option is perfect for existing schools where running cables from the board to the computer is often an issue.”

The wireless InterWrite SchoolPad allows teachers to engage their students from anywhere in the classroom. Utilizing Bluetooth technology, the SchoolPad allows teachers to control a computer with a connected projector from up to 25 feet away. With this wireless capability, any surface in a classroom can be used like an interactive whiteboard. In addition, with the ability to connect multiple SchoolPads to the same computer, groups of students can collaborate on the same assignment.

The InterWrite SchoolPad and the InterWrite SchoolBoard use InterWrite Software to allow teachers to highlight, annotate and clarify lessons. InterWrite Software features a menu bar so simple and intuitive that any teacher, student or administrator can begin using it with little or no training.

The InterWrite SchoolBoard will be available for shipment in July 2002, with the Bluetooth connectivity option available in August. Bluetooth InterWrite SchoolPads will be available in July 2002.

For more information on the InterWrite School Suite, contact rmeissner@gtcocalcomp.com or visit GTCO CalComp at InfoComm 2002, booth number 2115.

Founded in 1975, GTCO was awarded a patent for the invention of the world's first absolute-position electromagnetic digitizing technology. Since then, GTCO CalComp has produced and now supports over one million input systems in fifty countries around the world, sold under some of the most recognized brand names in the peripherals industry. With offices in Columbia MD, Scottsdale AZ and Vienna Austria, GTCO CalComp continues to focus on developing input peripherals that dramatically improve individual and group productivity worldwide.