Dell wants to revolutionise the learning experience of Pakistani students by offering them connected classroom solution that combines innovative technology products, services, software and training that makes learning in the digital age a reality for students.
It also provides teachers with the tools needed to equip students with the 21st century skills they need to be competitive in the global economy, said Head of Education Practice for Dell in South Asia, Rani Burchmore, while talking to Business Recorder during her two-day visit to Lahore.
Talking about classroom technology Burchmore said that Dell has partnered with a number of leading global and local partners to bring the solution to this part of the world. The key components of Dell's Connected Classroom solution include: the Latitude 2120 netbook designed for students, the Latitude XT tablet for teachers, interactive whiteboards, classroom management software and video conferencing for greater interactive learning, mobile carts for ease of management, and professional services for ease of design, deployment and support.
She said that the Latitude 2120, features an optional touch screen for enhanced student interaction, assessment, and for special education needs. The Latitude E-Family notebooks are built for the most robust applications, giving students' versatility for more intense projects and collaboration. Ideal for teachers, the Latitude XT2 Tablet is an ultra-portable, high-performance device. With a multi-touch screen and pen, it allows for greater teacher-student interaction.
Interactive whiteboards, projectors, and audio systems help teachers differentiate instruction for multiple learning styles, individualise lessons for each student's needs, and encourage students to collaborate and communicate their ideas through technology.
Pakistan's neighbour countries like India, China, Bangladesh and countries in Asia pacific as well as Australia have already adapted the Dell connected classroom technology to offer better learning environment to their students, she said. We are willing to help Pakistan bridging the gap of learning and technology, she added. For a large-scale change, Pakistan needs to have consistent policies to ensure a long-term positive impact of the change on the society and enhance its investment in IT sector and IT- enabled learning in schools, she maintained.
Pakistan should learn about the benefits of utilising connected classroom solution from other countries especially from Bangladesh where over 20,000 schools are benefiting from this technology to equip their students with better technology- driven learning. It would require political will to change the present system of imparting education. Every change needs proper management and we are confident that once there is a will to provide better learning opportunities to students in Pakistan this solution can help immensely she said.
It is good for far fledged areas especially, which can be kept connected through technology and a unified system of learning could replace the current systems of different method of learning in different parts of country. By using the IT technology in classroom learning, we can produce better human resource, which is capable enough to compete in job markets in a very tight and competitive environment, she maintained. In Australia we had over 60,000 distant learning students with over 700 lecturers from different parts of the world. This is not difficult or impossible for Pakistan, she said.
She said that for Dell connected classroom the initial primary market is from KG to class 12 and our initial target is private educational institutions who prioritise better learning environment for their students.