Going 1-to-1 with Acer Chromebook Spin 511 in San Cayetano School

The San Cayetano School is an educational center located in Palma de Mallorca, one of Spanish Balearic Islands. Currently, it has more than 1,760 students distributed from Pre-School Education to High School. Its aim is to train the students so that they can better respond to the new demands of society.
It is a multilingual school, with international projection and committed to the ethical development of their students. They are firmly committed to the innovation, guaranteeing the intellectual and professional training of their students, and attending in a special way to the new social requirements in the field of new technologies, learning and knowledge. Therefore, they were looking for a technological transformation that would improve their management and communication, at the service of the new educational methodologies implemented in recent years.

Going One-to-One with Acer Chromebook Spin 511

Since the beginning of this year, 2019-20, San Cayetano School has lauched the “One to One” Project (one student, one computer): students from 5th grade of Primary to 4th grade of ESO have started using their own Acer Chromebook as a learning tool both at school and at home.
When they started with the preparation and design of the One to One Project, they considered the present and future needs, coming to the conclusion that the equipments to be implemented in the school should meet these four requirements:
1. Battery life: their students will spend between 7 and 8 hours per day using the devices in class. They need enough autonomy to cover that need. Acer Chromebook Spin 511 devices provide up to 10 hours of battery life, meeting their needs for a long school day.
2. Device durability: The computers will be used by students from different years and ages. They needed devices that could take the daily knocks of students. The Acer Chromebook Spin 511 devices, designed with military grade durability and impact resistant body, fulfills this necessity.
3. Multi-function: Depending on the dynamism of the classes, they were looking for a device that could be adapted to every need. Acer Chromebook Spin 511 with its 360 articulated touch screen and integrated stylus offers this adaptability.
4. Reliability and solvency: Appealing to the duration and extension of the project, they required a leading, reliable and cutting-edge brand. During the previous years, the school introduced a project with the 340 Acer R3-131T that was shared by students according to the needs of each moment. This gave them the chance to meet Acer, their performance and the relationship with their customers.

The experience of San Cayetano School with Acer Chromebook Spin 511

Since the One to One project has been implemented, every student from 5th grade of primary school to 4th grade of secondary school uses an Acer Chromebook. The following two years this project will also be extended to the 1^st and 2^nd year of High School, respectively. Teachers from San Cayetano School suddenly highlight the ease and fast adaptation of all the students to these devices, and the support and total acceptance by all families.
Due to the arrival of these Chromebook devices, designed for their educational environment, the learning possibilities inside the classroom are almost infinite. For example, teachers can provide to their students videos or podcast tutorials about the different subjects.
One of the advantages of replacing textbooks with these personal computers and digital editions, is allowing teachers and students to save paper and take care of the environment and facilitates transportation, since all content is always available on the device.
Communication between students and teachers is particularly easy. Students can access to the virtual classrooms of each subject, send emails to the teacher, ask questions in the class group or even specify personalized tutoring hours through the calendar, just using the Chromebook.
Overall, three different Chromebook models were used: Acer Chromebook Spin 13, for the management team and those responsible of implementing ICT at the school; Acer Chromebook Spin 512, for the teaching staff and Acer Chromebook Spin 511, for the exclusive use of students.

Voice to the classrooms

After a progressive approach, the improvement of the Internet connection and the use of these very reliable devices, San Cayetano School staff can conclude that the result of the One to One project has been positive when observing the day to day of the students, their opinions and experiences.
These are some of the great changes that they have been able to experience:

• Improvement in the management and organization of the center through shared calendars and One Drive.
• Faster and more fluid communication at all levels (between teachers and areas, from teachers to students, between teachers and families…).
• Gamification is applied in all subjects and years.
• The students are highly motivated by the development of their tasks on the Chromebook so they can focus better in the execution of their tasks.
• It allows students to cooperate in the virtual environment, which is also highly valued by the school’s families —it avoids the need for students to meet in person during weekends.
• The Chromebook makes it easy to transport the books, because they are all accessible from the device.
• It promotes children’s creativity through very useful, simple and dynamic tools.

“We have the chance to create interesting contents available to the students. Acer devices are durable, easy to use, with unlimited storage and quick start, with extended battery life, that improves the cooperative work between students and teachers and allows a very secure manage over the Chromebook”.
Definitely, “Acer’s solutions for education have been a success and allowed us to carry out the digital transformation necessary to complete our educational project”. A project in which the student is the center of the entire learning process, says Francisca Guerrero, Assistant Director of ESO and BAC at the center.