Lincoln Elementary School District 156 - Education

With the recent adoption of the ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T, Lincoln Elementary School District 156 has been able to achieve school wide 1:1 student-computing and has seen improved student engagement.

Overview

Lincoln Elementary School District 156 is a public school located in Calumet City, IL. It serves 1,100 students from grades pre-kindergarten to 8^th. Art, music, physical education, and technology are core programs. The district is dedicated to preparing its teachers and students for an information-based, technological society where they will adapt teamwork and problem-based learning strategies as pedagogical tools for the future. With the adoption of netbooks in grades 4^th to 8^th and the recent adoption of ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T tablets for grades K to 3^rd, the school has been able to achieve school wide 1:1 student-computing.

The Problem

With the goal of preparing students for the 21^st century working environment in mind, Lincoln Elementary recognized the importance of incorporating technology into the classrooms, specifically adopting a 1:1 student-computing program. Especially, since the majority of students come from low-income households, access to technology in the classroom is even more important to provide equal educational opportunities. Previously, only students from grades 4^th to 8^th were supplied with a netbook. The school decided K to 3^rd grade students also needed a computing solution as well to get off to an early start in developing necessary 21^st century skills.

The Solution

When testing netbooks versus tablets among K to 3^rd grade students, it was readily apparent students had a desire to touch and tablets would be better suited for their educational needs. The most difficult part came in evaluating and determining which brand and model to go with. The hardware guidelines dictated by PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) standardized testing immediately eliminated the 7" tablets. Since testing is administered from 3^rd grade and up, Lincoln Elementary wanted a device great for learning but also compliant with the testing guidelines.

Tablets were also evaluated on criteria which included memory cards, memory slots, USB ports, battery life, and durability. Toshiba's Thrive^TM tablet was found to be highly durable but was ruled out since it measured 2.5 times thicker than the ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T. It ultimately came down to choosing between the ASUS Transformer and the iPad 2. Since the school used a lot of Google apps, such as Google Docs, Lincoln Elementary was leaning toward adopting an Android^TM -based tablet. A significant benefit and feature of the Transformer was its docking option with QWERTY keyboard. Not only does the docking option enhance productivity, but it also extends the battery life by an additional 6.5 hours^*. The dock's 4-in-1 SD card reader can be used to boost the tablet's installed memory and the USB 2.0 port connects peripherals. But the ultimate deciding factor in choosing the Transformer turned out to be its Adobe^® Flash^® support. Of the top 10 websites most used by Lincoln Elementary teachers, 8 only worked on the Transformer. Docking options are currently used with the tablet in 3^rd grade classrooms only, but enough docks have been purchased for grades K through 2^nd as well.

Results have thus far been positive. Compared to the previous pen and paper format, students are more engaged and learning is better tailored to their individual needs. The tablets are used as a learner response system in conjunction with interactive whiteboards, and are used with applications, such as Skitch, where students can use the tablets as a dry erase board to answer questions. Another application used with the tablet is Study Island which incorporates interactive features and games to help students in K-12 master state standards while having fun. The application's real time performance reporting helps teachers create individualized learning plans for students.

Transformer Pad TF300T

Users can enjoy increased mobility and productivity with the Transformer Pad TF300T, the successor to the TF101 tablet. Equipped with an NVIDIA^® Tegra^® 3 processor and the latest Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, the tablet delivers improved performance in a sleeker and lighter form factor. Productivity is not sacrificed for portability with the optional docking station with QWERTY keyboard that extends battery life up to 15 hours* and the tablet's multiple preloaded productivity applications.

Learn more about Lincoln Elementary School District #156 here

^* Battery life reflects internal testing and varies with use and configuration