Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, today announced an education partnership with Memphis City Schools to carry out a classroom pilot of Samsung's Smart School Solution, an integrated 1:1 learning platform. The pilot is the first deployment of the Samsung Smart School Solution at a school in the U.S.
For the pilot, Samsung is providing the 6th grade math class at Memphis’ Geeter Middle School with a Samsung Smart School Solution package consisting of 35 GALAXY Note 10.1 units, a 65-inch interactive whiteboard and a wireless printer. The Smart School Solution provides teachers with the ability to lead interactive lessons and real-time group activities through its screen and content sharing features. It also delivers learning management tools enabling students to access course materials and information, as well as school notices and forums, through their tablets.
The pilot program was officially launched at an event held at the Geeter Middle School on Friday, September 21.
“At Memphis City Schools, our students come first and we strive to provide them with a well-rounded education and all the necessary elements to thrive, both in school and in their future adult lives,” said Cleon Franklin, Director of Instructional Technology, Memphis City School District. “Samsung’s Smart School Solution is the perfect opportunity to nurture our students’ growth through interactive technology, which helps the teachers to track individual progress, as well as enabling dynamic lesson plans.”
The Samsung Smart School Solution delivers three integrated systems:
- Interactive Management Solution – For use during class, the solution allows teachers to deliver contents to students, share their own or an individual student’s screen with the class, and monitor student progress in real-time. Instructors can conduct group activities, Q&As, tests or instant polls, and then call the class to attention by locking student screens via voice command.
- Learning Management System – Allows teachers to provide course materials including e-textbooks, learning apps and timetables, as well as delivering school notices and forums for extracurricular activities, which can be accessed by students at any time.
- Student Information System – Management tool enables teachers to track student attendance, general information, grade history and prizes or demerit points.
Samsung’s Smart School Solution operates in conjunction with the GALAXY Note 10.1, Samsung’s latest Android-powered tablet device featuring the S Pen technology, which provides the functionality of a pen and paper on the tablet’s 10.1-inch display. Students access the solution via WiFi with a single log-in, while teachers can instruct the class using an interactive whiteboard display, or TV or projector wirelessly controlled by a tablet or notebook PC.
The solution has been deployed at schools in South Korea and elsewhere, with research showing improvements in class convenience, student engagement and lesson comprehension.
“Finding new and relevant ways to engage students is so important to achieving a learning environment where students thrive,” said Sgt. Kenneth Pinkney, Principal of Geeter Middle School. “I’m very excited about tapping into the potential of the Samsung Smart School Solution to create a truly interactive learning environment.”
