Chennai, 25th July, 2014: Four leading Chennai schools today announced the adoption of Windows hybrid tablets for classroom learning. S J T Surana Jain Vidyalaya & Junior College, GT Aloha Vidhya Mandir, Takshila Group of Schools and Vidhyasagar Global School, are leveraging these Windows 8.1 based 2-in-1 tablets to impart 21st century education to students. At an event held in the city today, the schools also announced the setting up of SOLE Labs (Self Organized Learning Environment Labs), which were inaugurated by Dr. Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology, New Castle University, UK and recipient of TED prize 2014. These SOLE Labs will enable students in elementary and middle classes to learn in self chosen collaborative work groups that leverage the power of these Windows devices.
|
Windows Tablet Features:
● Windows 8.1 Operating System with Intel Atom Z3740 Quad Core processor |
The Windows tablets that have been adopted by the four Chennai schools come with Microsoft Office 365 Personal which will include Microsoft One Note and OneDrive. Students can also download the NCERT app from the Windows Store to get access to school curriculum as e-Books. Several other free to download third party education apps will also be available for a variety of learning content, question banks and tutorials. Further, the devices will enable a collaborative learning environment with the Harness Handitouch “Touch on Cloud’ Windows 8 App, which provides a new in-class pedagogy where teachers and students are networked in classrooms. Real-time collaboration with teacher white boarding is broadcasted automatically to all students instantly, providing students the ability to annotate notes on top of the teacher layer. The app also provides easy embedding of teacher proprietary content / video; and this embedded content created in class is available on the Microsoft Azure cloud that can be accessed by the students anytime anywhere either at home or on the move to not just revise, but replay with audio.
The tablets can be used with or without a keyboard, with the battery life of the device of over 9 hours. Overall, the feature-rich tablets provide a secure, convenient and hassle-free experience for schools that want to integrate technology into the learning environment.
Sharing his excitement, Anand P Surana, CEO, ICEGEN Computing Pvt Ltd & Correspondent and Secretary of Surana Group of Institutions, said, “Our aim is to create an immersive learning environment in our schools. We firmly believe that Microsoft’s technology promises to offer the best-in-class education to our students that will empower them for the future. We are thrilled to offer Windows Tablet Labs and the unique 2-in-1 hybrid Windows tablets and plan to scale up this learning environment to more students in the coming months.”
“We believe that students and teachers should be able to use a single device to consume, create and share information. We are excited that these four schools have adopted Windows devices to provide a holistic in-classroom digital learning experience to students. The inclusion of these schools in the Microsoft Innovative Schools Program will further enable them to discover and leverage global best practices for teaching and learning,” said Pratik Mehta, Director – Education, Microsoft India.
Earlier this year, Microsoft India launched special bundled tablets for private schools (K6-12) in partnership with Acer, MBD Group and Tata Teleservices. For higher education, Microsoft India launched a Windows 8.1 HP tablet with embedded Pearson educational content. Further information on these offerings can be found here – Microsoft-Led Consortium to Enable Futuristic Classrooms and MSFT, HP and Pearson launch Windows tablets for higher education in India.
About Microsoft India
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 6,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research and development and customer services and support, across nine Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft is committed to touching and transforming lives and businesses in India through technology.
