Samsung's smart education approach engages students, teachers through tech

© Karel Noppe – 123RF.com

Samsung Electronics South Africa designs educational solutions that inspire student-centric learning. This is supported by a robust education partner ecosystem, which is customisable for any educator's needs. As tablets grow in demand in 21st century classrooms across the country, teachers and students are actively adopting the promise of mobile learning in a way that will positively impact the teaching and learning experience.

Samsung has formed an educational alliance with Hoërskool Waterkloof, a public school in Pretoria. Together, they have undertaken to improve the school's academic performance through the provision of affordable Samsung Galaxy tablets to the pupils. This initiative, known as the Samsung Smart education approach, has been created to engage and inspire both students and teachers through technology.

"Children often don't feel confident enough to openly express their personal views in front of the entire class and we believe that by introducing the tablet the children are given another way of articulating their thoughts and ideas," says Paulo Ferreira, Head of Enterprise Mobility at Samsung Electronics SA. "These tablets are also perfect for providing teachers with a way of incorporating video and multimedia content into their lessons and this is a guaranteed method of engaging young minds and teaching complex ideas."

About creating the classroom of today

The Samsung Smart education approach as adopted by Hoërskool Waterkloof is about creating the classroom of today - modern, connected and driven by digital solutions. Learners and teachers can take advantage of the extensive Wi-Fi upgrades and content management software and are also able to connect to the schools intranet in a dynamic learning environment.

"Interactive learning has a purpose. When pupils are actively encouraged to participate in lessons, it dramatically improves their performance and retention rates. Our ultimate goal is to connect better with our students and provide them with a platform to share content and experience new ways of learning. With the interactive tools, teachers are now able to customise instructions to match the student's individual needs and provide instant feedback," says Kobus Schoeman, Marketing Coordinator at Hoërskool Waterkloof.

"Hoërskool Waterkloof is the very first government school in South Africa to successfully transform to e-learning and enhancing the teacher-student experience," says Ferreira. "They have seen a tangible increase in the way in which children approach their studies and in their outcomes too".

By the end of 2014, the school will have almost 2,000 tablet users on campus with further growth of around 2,600 expected into 2015. The school has developed an involved and interactive classroom model that taps into the features and functionality of these tablets to ensure that they are used to their maximum potential.

"Not only are these pupils able to communicate with their teachers more comfortably, they are also given access to a vast world of resources and learning materials that is always at their fingertips whenever they need it," concludes Ferreira. "Furthermore, they are also given the technology skills they will need once they leave school and enter university and start their careers."