Rural Arizona District Goes 1-to-1 with Android Tablets

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 09/17/13

A rural school district in the middle of the Arizona desert has just deployed a 1-to-1 program in 15 classrooms. Eloy Elementary School District pursued federal school improvement grant money to purchase the professional development and hardware and software it would need to expose its middle-school students to digital classroom activities.

After evaluating three different sets of classroom programs, the district chose Samsung School from Samsung Electronics America. On the device side, this suite of products includes a Galaxy Note 10.1 tablets, interactive whiteboards, and wireless printers, tied together with classroom management software. The Galaxy runs Google Android and features Samsung's S Pen technology, which allows the student to write on the tablet like a pad of paper.

According to Superintendent Ruby James, the school faced problems in two areas: student engagement and school attendance. "Access to this caliber of classroom technology is life changing for our students and faculty. Following the implementation of Samsung School at the beginning of the 2013/14 school year, both student attendance and engagement have skyrocketed with teaching staff seeing nearly 100 percent student attendance and a new eagerness to learn," she said. "It's opening new opportunities for learning for these students and helping give them the 21st century skills to compete at college and in the workforce."

Michelle Covarrubias, curriculum director for the district, said it was "imperative" to get the technology grant. "We're on the cusp of change in terms of education," she noted.

Teacher Irene Avila at Eloy Intermediate School added that she appreciates the Samsung management tool. "As a teacher...you're able to manage what your students are doing, where they're going, what sites your students are looking at."

As part of the engagement, which Samsung said was the first school-wide deployment of Samsung School, the company also provided professional development and technical support for implementing the initiative.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • classroom scene with students gathered around a laptop showing a virtual tour interface

    Discovery Education Announces Spring Lineup of Free Virtual Field Trips

    This Spring, Discovery Education is collaborating with partners such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, National Science Foundation, NBA, and more to present a series of free virtual field trips for K-12 students.

  • glowing padlock shape integrated into a network of interconnected neon-blue lines and digital nodes, set against a soft, blurred geometric background

    3 in 4 Administrators Expect a Security Incident to Impact Their School This Year

    In an annual survey from education identity platform Clever, 74% of administrators admitted that they believe a security incident is likely to impact their school system in the coming year. That's up from 71% who said the same last year.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • pattern of icons for math and reading, including a pi symbol, calculator, and open book

    HMH Launches Personalized Path Solution

    Adaptive learning company HMH has introduced HMH Personalized Path, a K-8 ELA and math product that combines intervention curriculum, adaptive practice, and assessment for students of all achievement levels.