Intel Solutions for 21st Century Education

Intel has introduced the Intel studybook, a 7-inch tablet and the latest addition to the Intel Learning Series family of devices. 

Targeting the seven till eleven age-group, the tablet is ruggedly built to withstand drops from 70cm, is water-resistant, dust-resistant and ready for the classroom with specialised educational software and purpose-built 1:1 e-learning features like a microphone, front and rear cameras and support for project-based inquiry. There is even classroom management software that allows the class teacher to behave as an administrator with a console to monitor usage of studybooks in the classroom, and shut them all down, if need be.

Brian Gonzalez, director of Global Education Programs, sales and marketing at Intel Corp. said, “An Intel studybook offers limitless opportunities to enhance their learning experience. Expanding the Intel Learning Series portfolio of affordable, purpose-built educational devices brings us closer to our vision of enabling more students and teachers to participate in high quality education.”

Gonzalez observed, “The classroom hasn’t changed much in the past 100 years. Kids are not engaged as much (by the time they hit the fourth grade). But they can’t wait to get engaged with technology for entertainment.”

He also added that creativity is important, and generation of content is just as important as consumption of content. “Intel wants to close the gap (between generation and consumption). User-created content should be encouraged, and there are examples of this happening.” To date, 7 million units of Intel’s learning devices; or Classmate PCs in convertible and clamshell form factors; have been rolled out in more than 2000 classrooms in 36 countries.  The Intel studybook is based on an Intel Atom Z650 and comes in Android or Windows 7 flavours.

Something for teachers too

Too often, the focus is only the device or technology, but Intel recognises that teachers are an integral part of the classroom and a new Intel Learning Series Teacher PC will enable solutions developed specifically to meet teachers’ needs, and even offer access to education content, professional development and digital literacy resources.

An Intel Learning-based criteria along with resources and references from the 500 member Intel Learning Ecosystem are also available to partners and ODMs to manufacture purpose-built education notebooks and teacher Ultrabooks.

There are also efforts on the content and applications front. Prakash Mallya, country manager of sales and marketing at Intel Malaysia said, “Local Malaysian content that can cater to kids of particular school grades is the ideal vision. We are engaging with the education ministry and agencies (via our Software Services Group) to integrate local content into the device.”

About 100,000 units of Intel’s Learning Series devices have been deployed in Trengganu as well. These Intel-powered Classmate PCs were rolled out by the Trengganu State government and their wholly-owned subsidiary, Top IT Industries Sdn . Bhd., and were supplemented with Intel’s 1:1 E-Learning project.

Globally, there are over 500 vendors in the Intel Learning Series Alliance, who are developing applications, peripherals and services optimised for Intel Classmate PCs and tablets.