The Peng Lai Elementary School conducted a pilot program in which it gave slate PCs—portable computers with a touch-screen interface—to one teacher and 30 fourth grade students. The teacher and students benefit from a cost-effective approach that makes use of existing educational materials and expands learning opportunities for students.

Business Needs
Founded in 1910, the Peng Lai Elementary School in Taipei City, Taiwan, is known for innovating in the area of information-based learning. In recent years, government authorities have honored the school with recognitions, including the first “Future Cloud School” in the country, a “Model Information-Based School,” an “Education Innovation School,” and a “111 Mentor School.”

Students, teachers, and parents all benefit from the learning tools available with slate PCs and the eSchoolbag software. The tools have increased interaction between parents and teachers, and have been very popular. Wu Zhung Jung Principal, Peng Lai Elementary School

Despite demographic shifts in the country that have forced many schools to reduce class sizes, enrollment at Peng Lai Elementary School is higher than it was a decade ago. The school has 700 students and 56 teachers. School leadership has been paying close attention to the question of how to use technology to improve education. “Learning definitely needs to be individualized for students,” says Wu Zhung Jung, Principal at the Peng Lai Elementary School. “To move toward our goal of individualized learning, we were looking for technology that would allow us to use the wealth of digital content available to offer students dynamic ways of learning.”

The school had developed a curriculum that uses technology to cultivate each student’s special characteristics. The curriculum focuses on computer-based learning and takes advantage of resources that include the scenario-based English Learning Center and digital archives that hold the school’s teaching materials.

Peng Lai Elementary School sought to provide students with a comprehensive information-based learning environment that would include school-wide wireless Internet access, and electronic whiteboards and projectors in every classroom. The school also sought an instant response system for teachers so that they could closely follow students’ progress. The school wanted to offer computers to children in grades three to six while containing costs.

Solution
In April 2011, Peng Lai Elementary School launched a pilot program that employed slate PCs to teach a specific knowledge node of mathematics to one fourth grade class. The school provided 30 students with FIC Tycoon TVB00 slate PCs, portable computers that employ tablet PC technology, run the Windows 7 operating system, and have wireless access.

Students can interact with slate PCs by using a stylus, and they can automatically convert handwriting to typed text. The computers have no lids or keyboards and are slim, light, and easy to carry. They can be loaded with learning materials. Pilot program teachers can view students’ desktops from an administrative console, making it possible to oversee students’ progress in real time.

Peng Lai Elementary School teachers are able to leverage an e-books production platform made by Hamastar Technology Co. of Taiwan to produce customized contents independently. They are also able to use online textbooks and practice books made by Kang Hsuan Educational Publishing. The school is promoting the use of slate PCs in combination with eSchoolbag software as tools for attaining the five “Rs”: reading, research, response, report, and remediation. For example, students can access reading materials beyond their textbooks while cultivating research skills. Teachers can monitor students and analyze the learning process. Finally, the school can foster students’ capacities for independent learning.

Students at Peng Lai Elementary School with their slate PCs

The pilot program was successful, and the school plans to expand the use of slate PCs to more classes and additional subjects. “Our vision is to make learning more lively,” says Wu Zhung Jung. “We want students to take more initiative.”

Benefits
By adopting slate PCs with eSchoolbag, Peng Lai Elementary School does away with the constraints of a PC while offering students a stable, widely used, and user-friendly operating system environment that parents and students are familiar with. This approach is cost effective because the school can access archived educational content from its previous systems. In addition, the slate PCs are compatible with students’ home PCs and even their cell phones. “Students, teachers, and parents all benefit from the learning tools available with slate PCs and the eSchoolbag software,” says Wu Zhung Jung. “The tools have increased interaction between parents and teachers, and have been very popular.”

Provides a Cost-Effective Platform
Because the school runs Windows 7 on the FIC slate PCs, it can easily access educational materials from its extensive digital archives, which are stored on hardware platforms running the Windows operating system. “Thanks to Windows 7, we were able to maximize our resources and safeguard our investment in existing educational resources,” says Wu Zhung Jung. “Plus, students are already familiar with the operating system, so they could easily start using the slate PCs.”

Expands Educational Opportunities
Modern Taiwanese students are familiar with electronic learning and are eager to take advantage of opportunities to engage with an information-based learning environment. “With eSchoolbag and slate PCs, students can study their course work anytime or anywhere,” says Wu Zhung Jung. “For example, they can learn while using mass transportation. Students can review past materials or skip ahead. It is a convenient and effective way of teaching.”

For more information about Windows 7, go to:
www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7