[Acer notes] The stimulating role of teaching resources in the digital learning era

The author of this magazine article is Roberto Rosaschino, Acer EMEA Manager for Education.
Do not ask what your laptop could do for you, but what you could do with your laptop.
It is undeniable that technology can help students showcase and nurture their talents, enhancing their learning experience and producing demonstrably better results than textbooks alone.
This is not to say that traditional education is not valid, but exploring digital learning as an addition to it creates countless opportunities to help students grow into competent, informed, passionate citizens of the twenty-first century.
The constant improvements in the laptop category and the growing spread of the two major platforms adopted by schools, Office 365 Education and G Suite for Education, have led many Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and companies offering STEAM tools to present a wide range of innovative products and solutions.

Finding the right allies to support teachers

With the wealth of solutions available, choosing the right fit for your school and your individual teaching methods can be overwhelming, but looking into ISVs that can make your life (and more importantly, your students’ lives) better is a worthwhile investment of your time and energy that will gain you a trusted ally.
That is why we scout for the best learning and classroom management tools in order to maximise the efficiency of the classroom experience for everyone involved and offer both teachers and students a suitable range of helpful resources.
Classroom management tools facilitate the running of daily activity: for instance, streamlining the process of giving and turning in assignments with such tools as Acer Classroom Manager or our partners Skooler, COOL or Mobile Guardian are examples of classroom management. This kind of software can also be crucial in strengthening communication between schools and families and even in supporting device management and configuration, a vital aspect in realities where teachers are also acting as IT administrators.
The main objective of classroom management tools, however, is to leave teachers free to focus on what really matters: learning.
That is why we are also partnering with ISVs offering tools aimed at transforming the learning experience itself, from educational games and other interactive solutions improving students’ engagement such as Quizlet, to learning platforms that can be a one-stop shop for all their educational needs, to software offering additional support while they practice new skills and ideas. With Texthelp’s assistive technology, for instance, literacy (digital or otherwise) has never been so easy.

Full STEAM ahead!

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics, and it represents a powerful combination of topics and techniques to enhance the students’ critical thinking skills by showing that the same reasoning and problem-solving tools in one’s mental toolbox can be applied to the sciences and the humanities both.
We believe in forging alliances with companies offering STEAM solutions that allow teachers to deploy a method based on learning by doing, where the goal of the lesson is not just to learn about one topic at a time, but to apply principles from multiple areas to a real-world problem to be solved as a team—and if one solution fails, you can just adapt and try the next one! From learning coding from an early age with Micro:Bit and Scottie Go!, to using Minecraft as much more than just a fun game, to learning to write persuasively to present your project in the best way possible, STEAM makes all of human knowledge come together.

Taking digital learning to the next level

What makes some educational solutions more successful than others?
The keywords to a successful implementation are simplicity, scalability and integration, in order to offer a seamless experience with minimal hassle on your or the students’ part.
Whatever a teacher is willing to embrace, it must have a plug-and-play approach and make it easy to find, or better yet create, a unique journey to education.
What makes these times exciting is that all these possibilities can be unlocked and centered on a single device, the teacher’s laptop, the key to open all doors to knowledge and really change the game.
At Acer we strongly believe the innate value of these fresh and exciting teaching resources will further empower our educators and bring about a new digital era for our schools.
In order to support their journey, we are committed to collaborate with the most valuable partners and promote their solutions, turning your device into a trusted companion of your life in the classroom.
“It is teachers with technology that will make the difference” (Fullan, Stratosphere, 2013)
Are you a teacher? A school principal or an IT manager? Or are you a reseller? If you would like to know more about our recommended Teaching Resources, please feel free to write me at roberto.rosaschino@acer.com. Let’s get in touch!