‘Students today may often be more tech savvy than their teacher’ – Acer

Yasmin Sidhu, sales manager for public sector, education and SMB at Acer UK, explains how classrooms are gradually evolving with technology and why two-in-one devices are increasing in popularity among teachers…

While IT clearly makes an invaluable contribution to education, for it to lead to a sustained change and innovation in teaching and learning, it has to be embedded in educational approaches.

Our approach to the teaching sector is to be as flexible as possible. Both in terms of the actual solutions we develop, but also in our response to the way the classroom-based learning continues to evolve.

Students today may often be more tech savvy than their teacher, so we’re conscious to keep both the students’ and the teaching staff’s requirements in mind as they interact in these new environments.

The shift from rote learning to collaborative learning means that any device needs to be able to access content and apps reliably. And in settings where each learner has their own device, it is also important for the teacher to be able to supervise the classroom, interact with their students individually or in groups.

Having a management tool, like our Acer Classroom Manager, allows the teacher to set the pace and keep control. Such tools save time by launching applications or websites simultaneously on all classroom PCs beforehand, keeping a record of attendance, monitoring student progress, and testing students for their understanding.

Many schools and colleges have decided to adopt a multi-platform environment with a combination of Windows, Chrome and iOS – and we don’t see that approach changing in the near future. Our role as a hardware vendor responding to these often complex infrastructures inside schools is to provide a range of Windows and Chrome-based solutions that are innovative and available at an affordable price.

Chromebooks continue to be a popular choice for all learning environments, primary and secondary schools as well as in further and higher education, as the ease of use and faster connectivity mean lessons can get underway quickly.

Tablets continue to be popular too. However, recently we are starting to see schools opt for newer, more flexible form factors such as the Acer Aspire Switch 10 Windows-based two-in-one, as they can be used more easily in the classroom environment for both content creation and consumption.

However, in terms of the device of choice, flexibility is key. Each learning environment is different and our approach is to help each school find a bespoke solution that works for them.

PCR’s Sector Spotlight on Education is running throughout August – click here for more articles