Texas School District Reaches Technology and Professional Goals Aided By Hitachi Technology Solutions

The Lovejoy Independent School District adopted 235 Hitachi StarBoard FXDUO interactive whiteboards for its schools and Hitachi provided complimentary training to promote effective use of the technology

Hitachi, a leader in educational technology, is the chosen supplier of interactive whiteboards for the Lovejoy, Texas Independent School District (ISD). The sale, through Phoenix-based Troxell Communications, will bring a total of 235 Hitachi StarBoard FXDUO 77 interactive whiteboards into the five schools (three elementary, one middle school and one high school) that comprise the north Dallas school district. Furthermore, Hitachi education consultants provided 5 days of instruction at the district’s annual professional development conference, “Learning at Lovejoy.” The goal of the 3-week conference was to prepare teachers for new school year challenges and to effectively integrate educational technology, such as the FXDUO 77 interactive whiteboard into daily instruction.

The Hitachi interactive whiteboards add a new dimension in classroom instruction to Lovejoy ISD, through the collaborative use of the whiteboard technology by both students and teachers. “We wanted to convert our learning environment into a more interactive environment, achieve better student engagement and an improved learning environment,” explains Dennis Womack, Assistant Superintendent for Operations at the Lovejoy ISD. “The Hitachi FXDUO 77 whiteboard is a significant part of the technology we’re using to achieve that. We’ve planned for putting one of the interactive whiteboards into each of the district’s classrooms in order to make them into ‘discovery rooms.’”

After carefully considering the options available on the market, Lovejoy ISD chose the Hitachi FXDUO 77 because of the product’s superior design and construction, noted Womack. “The board is built in such a way to allow for multiple users at one time, which encourages student and teacher collaboration.”

According to Womack, the technology is built around the whiteboard instead of into it, making it far less fragile than other designs, which is important in any school environment

“We also liked the fact that you’re not restricted to a proprietary writing instrument – you can use your finger, the back of your hard, or whatever you want to write on the board. Furthermore, the training received from Hitachi has been excellent.”

The Hitachi FXDUO 77 StarBoard is a 77-inch multi-touch interactive whiteboard that can be operated with finger touch or a pen/stylus, and includes educational software to build and deliver interactive lessons with online and offline library of resources that have been aligned to US educational standards.

ABOUT HITACHI
Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc., Business Group, subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., markets LCD projectors, interactive panels and whiteboards and security and observation system products through value added resellers, system integrators, distributors and OEM.

Hitachi has a unique position in the marketplace by manufacturing and developing its own core technologies to provide consumers and businesses with optimal product performance in each of Hitachi's product categories. For Business products go to www.hitachi.us/digitalmedia. For consumer products, please visit www.hitachi.us/tv.

Hitachi Software Engineering America, Ltd. develops advanced interactive communications tools for education, training and boardroom applications including interactive whiteboards, plasma displays and tablets all powered by the company’s category-leading StarBoard software. For more information about Hitachi Software, visit www.hitachi-soft.com.

Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout North America. For more information, visit www.hitachi.us.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501) headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 390,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2007 (ended March 31, 2008) consolidated revenues totaled 11,226 billion yen ($112.2 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at www.hitachi.com.