New 3M Simply Interactive Gives Technology Facelift to Schools Nationwide

ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to delivering lessons, teachers know the best way to get students engaged. In a recent study by The 3M Company,* 72-percent of teachers reported their students were more focused on lessons when delivered with the latest technology, and more than half rated digital projectors among the top three most important pieces of technology used in the classroom. Now, a new solution from 3M, a leading manufacturer of short throw digital projectors for instructional use, is helping to bring affordable technology into the classroom, making learning more engaging and effective than ever. 3M's Simply Interactive System consists of a mounted IR camera and a stylus pen that acts as an interactive mouse, operated by pre-loaded drivers on a hidden USB hub. The user simply connects a PC to the projector, turning the dry erase board into an interactive display surface, and can then edit, highlight or add to the displayed material.

The camera tracks pen movement and relays presenter actions to a projector, which displays the actions – such as notes, drawings, or image compression and expansion – against virtually any display surface. The Simply Interactive System is specifically designed to complement the 3M SCP 700 Series projectors as an easy and affordable way to upgrade and update the digital classroom. With Simply Interactive, more classrooms can engage students with interactive materials without the need to invest in expensive and complex interactive whiteboards that limit the display area. What's more, the universal compatibility of Simply Interactive gives instructors the freedom to choose any annotation software, including software tools that come with popular Microsoft programs, any freeware web applications, and essentially any annotation or interactive software that is typically mouse driven.

"Interactivity is no longer a luxury, but instead, a necessity for the classroom of today," said Shandell Burgess, product manager, 3M Mobile Interactive Solutions Division. "3M's Simply Interactive System provides a necessary and critical technology in an easy-to-deploy component package that can put any school at the forefront of the digital learning revolution."

Simply Interactive is the latest in a family of instructional solutions from 3M built around the company's popular line of short-throw projectors designed for classroom applications. 3M's SCP716 XGA projector and SCP716W WXGA projector can project the same image from 40 inches that a conventional projector needs ten feet of space to display, and both have the 5,000 hour lamp life in eco mode – an attractive feature for the education market.

Simply Interactive, which has an estimated price of $379, is available now. For more information visit www.3m.com/meetings or www.3M.com/scprojector.

About 3M

A recognized leader in research and development, 3M produces thousands of innovative products for dozens of diverse markets. 3M's core strength is applying its more than 40 distinct technology platforms – often in combination – to a wide array of customer needs. With $23 billion in sales, 3M employs 75,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3m.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

* Kelton Research conducted a survey of 314 primary and secondary school teachers nationwide in June 2009. The margin of error at the 95-percent confidence level is +/- 4 percent.

SOURCE 3M