How Acer Chromebooks revolutionised the teaching and learning potential at Handcross Park School

Handcross Park School is an independent school located in West Sussex that caters for boys and girls from the ages of 2 to 13. The School has been recognised as a leading technology innovation school, being shortlisted for the TES Tech School of the Year 2017, and the TESi Best Use of Technology 2018 Awards.
Handcross Park is a Google Reference School and regularly hosts educators from around the country and Europe to demonstrate how they use technology effectively throughout the curriculum.

Project goal

The goal of this project was to create an environment to enhance modern learning for students in a safe digital environment. Furthermore, allowing pupils to use devices to create personalized learning thanks to Intel® processors inside, which includes learning preferences, distinctive interests and personal needs.
The project also includes the use of Chromebooks for Education, which provide access to web’s education and collaboration resources: it is useful for teachers, students and administrators, a simple and low cost solution in modern education.
Handcross Park School moved to using Chromebooks in 2014 when they began provisioning 1:1 Chromebooks for year 5 to year 8 students. In 2018, Handcross Park School deployed 1:1 Acer Chromebook Spin 11 for teachers, allowing them to be more connected and increase mobility.
Pupils at Handcross Park begin to use Chromebooks with a 1:1 ratio of Chromebooks in Year 3-8, having their own personal devices that they are able to use both in the classroom and to aid in schoolwork at home. Handcross Park School has 400 Acer Chromebooks overall (the models are: Acer Chromebook R 11, Acer Chromebook C731 and  Acer Chromebook C740).

Why Handcross Park School chose Acer Chromebooks

Schools needs to provide solutions dedicated for present-day ways of learning and teaching. Kids and teenagers use mobile phones, tablets and notebooks intuitively at home and the education industry has to adapt to encourage young people to learn in a modern way through technology.
Different use cases in school require multiple solutions, which are efficient and adapted to needs, that’s why Handcross Park School chose Acer Chromebook and Google Classroom:

• Providing teachers the tools to offer more interactive lessons;
• Increasing creativity during classes;
• Pass on feedback from teachers to students.

Using Google Classroom, children are also able to access online resources and teachers can keep track of students work, post assignments, announcements and quizzes that allow children to work independently and collaboratively with classmates while being easily managed. Staff also have access to Chromebooks as well as stationary desktops in classrooms.
The move to Chrome not only allowed the school to transform the way in which lessons are delivered – making the sessions more collaborative and interactive – but they also had the opportunity to re-utilize the traditional IT rooms to allow for more space for traditional classrooms.

Feedback from the teachers

Students and teachers appreciate the new possibilities offered by using modern devices: classes are more interactive, while tasks and projects are engaging for students. Handcross Park School is creating an environment which is preparing students for life after education through technology.
“Chromebooks have allowed our pupils to continue enhance their learning in a safe digital environment. The use of Google Education Suite gives teachers the confidence to develop their teaching to not only meet the specific curriculum needs but also meet the future needs of the pupils in our fast developing digital world.” said Ant Falkus, Deputy Head.
Freddie Piper, Head of History, stated that: “The Acer Spin has revolutionized my teaching. Being able to use the touchscreen with a stylus means I can make corrections on work quickly and efficiently without the need to take work in (meaning the pupils are unable to work on it or revise from it until it is returned). The ability to access everything from drive and put it straight into Google Classroom has not only saved me a considerable amount of money on printing but also saved me so much time.”
In the end, also Des O’Connor, the IT Co-Ordinator of Handcross Park School, endorsed the choice of Acer Chromebooks, saying that they “have revolutionised the teaching and learning potential at Handcross Park. As the IT Co-Ordinator I am able to manage four hundred Chromebooks whilst maintaining a teaching timetable because they are so easy to deploy and manage.”
To know more about this great success story, watch the full video!