PSHS Launches its First Samsung Smart Classroom

As a geeky parent who has experienced just how heavy school bags can get (and they weigh a ton!), I totally embrace the growing concept of shrinking school material into ebooks and portable devices such as tablets.

So when I got an invitation to the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Samsung's first smart classroom in the main campus of Philippine Science High School (PSHS), I did not hesitate to say yes. After all, PSHS is where you'd find some of the country's most gifted student-scientists who are well known for their skills in math, science and technology.

At the Advanced Science Technology Building, one of PSHS's main campus classrooms was renovated completely to house a fully digital and interactive learning environment filled with the latest in Samsung's technology solutions for learning. Not only did Samsung provide the hardware inside this classroom but they also provided the software platform upon which the learning tools ran.

 

Plaque right outside the smart classroom

The smart classroom was impressive! Here's a list of what was inside:

* Collaborative learning furniture - colorful upholstered stools, tables specifically outfitted with placeholders for the tablets, and tables that can be easily rearranged to suit the occasion

* Samsung tablets good for 30 students are wirelessly connected to the teacher's interactive board

You can see here part of the tables and colored stools, Samsung tablets, as well as part of one video wall

*Video walls that serve to mirror what is on the teacher's board (There are five 55-inch screens at the back of the classroom laid out side by side while on one side of the classroom, there are three 75-inch screens vertically mounted side by side)

View of part of the back wall

Video wall with the three 75-inch screens
as a plaque of appreciation is given to
Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp.’s president and CEO, Chung Lyong Lee

 * Interactive, touch-enabled teacher screen - From this screen, the teacher can send a quiz to the students wirelessly, find out who isn't logged on yet, time the quiz, grade the tests, and produce the test results right away with the capability to do analyses like pie charts showing the percentage of students who got a particular question correctly. Lectures and slide presentations can likewise be projected from this screen.

Samsung also provided the software platform on which these all run as well as teacher training on the use of both the hardware and software.

It is indeed an exciting prospect to eventually have more and more digital, smart classrooms. The Generation C(onnected) kids will be able to learn more productively and faster using the medium they are most comfortable with.