HP accelerates smarter learning solutions

As the hallmark of learning and advancement in our society, the higher education sector has long understood the importance of technology in challenging traditional learning processes and creating new models for education best practice.

A seasoned advocate of the use of technology in education, HP has recently awarded five universities from around Asia Pacific with US$350,000 in grants, to positively transform the teaching and learning environment, using HP Mobile technology.

Run as part of the HP Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative, the successful universities are: Anna University (India), the University of Tokyo (Japan), Yonsei University (Korea), the University of Canterbury ()New Zealand) and Jadavpur University (India).

To participate in the program, 15 universities from around the region were invited to submit a presentation on how HP mobile technology could be integrated as part of the redesign of key courses.

Five universities were selected as the successful grant recipients and their proposals will now be brought to life with approximately US$70,000 worth of technology per university, including HP Tablet PCs, external storage and optical drives, wireless networking cards and printers. />The grant will also include payment for staff to work on the projects, which have to be completed in 15 months.

In the spirit of collaborative learning, the successful universities will also receive a fully funded trip to meet and exchange ideas with their peers at the annual Worldwide HP Technology for Teaching Higher Education conference in early 2007.

According to Rita Sully, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, HP Asia Pacific and , the grants recognise the increasing role that mobile technology is playing in shifting traditional educational paradigms and creating smarter and more efficient ways of doing things.

“Mobility and wireless technology can bring down barriers to learning and open up new possibilities for teaching and learning, so crucial in today’s global marketplace of innovation,” said Sully.

“As a company that subscribes to innovation and education investment, HP is thrilled to support these five universities with the grant. />Senior faculty and students alike will be able to benefit from a whole new learning experience,” she added.

And the grant recipients agree. />Mr Sugimoto from the University of Tokyo said that the grant opens up a host of opportunities that will enhance the knowledge delivery process and ensure students and faculty members become highly conversant with evolving technologies.

“The HP Grant will enable us to create a truly innovative e-learning experience for students that will have a significant impact on the way students learn,” said Mr Sugimoto.

“Using HP mobile technology, our new learning program will ensure a more engaging, interactive, enriching, efficient and rewarding learning experience for staff and students,” he said.

Part of a broader program

And just in case you were wondering, HP’s US$350,000 grants are more than just a random act of generosity. They are part of the HP Teaching for Technology Grant Initiative that was started in the in 2000, to integrate mobile technology into teaching environments, to add to the education process. The program also aims to engage university faculty in adopting and implementing these models and foster opportunities for academic leaders to understand the potential of mobile technology in university environments.

Since the program’s inception, 19 universities throughout Asia Pacific and have been awarded mobile technology grants and reported excellent results following the implementation of their mobile technology projects.

One recipient, RMIT University in , used their grant for a project with Bachelor of Nursing students to explore the use of PDAs in the medical surgical clinical environment. The aim of the project was to investigate whether a PDA could enhance the pharmacological and contextual knowledge of undergraduate nurses in a medical surgical clinical practicum.

The project showed that not only did students believe their contextual and pharmacological knowledge had been enhanced, but PDAs were also seen as valuable educational tools that should be integrated into the theoretical and practical components of the Nursing course.

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Each of the 2006 grant recipients will now use the technology for a broad range of mobility projects, from the development of an m-learning centre, to an environmental simulation tool that integrates the outdoors with classroom learning.

It’s all part of HP’s broader vision to make technology accessible to everyone, as a means to learn, work and benefit from information. In Asia Pacific and this extends to a strong commitment to working with educational bodies around the region, such as these universities, to heighten the learning experience for the students of today and into the future.

The winning projects

The five successful universities have all won grants to pursue a range of mobility projects, each that exemplifies the creativity and innovation of Asia Pacific and ’s higher education sector. The winning projects are as follows:

Jadavpur University (India)

Jadavpur University will introduce mobile technology for its new graduate program, Distributed & Mobile Computing (for engineers with backgrounds in computer science and engineering, information technology or electronics & telecommunication engineering).

Classrooms and laboratories will be co-located and students will access all back-end lab facilities from within the class. Instructors will demonstrate concepts by staying online and by using a specially designed Learning Management System. In addition, the University is collaborating with HP to set up a mobile computing laboratory.

Universityof Tokyo (Japan)

The University of Tokyo has developed a learning program that integrates the outdoors with classroom learning in order to enhance a child’s learning experiences. With a tablet PC augmented with a GPS receiver, students can create maps of different areas around their school’s grounds to uncover environmental issues (such as garbage, water pollution etc). The GPS log data can later be merged into one map so that students can collaboratively discuss their ideas to solve the issues.

A multiple input board called a SensingBoard allows the students to conduct environmental simulations. By connecting Tablet PCs and a SensingBoard via wireless LAN, children can learn individually and collaboratively at their own pace.

Anna University (India)

Anna University is establishing an m-learning centre for students studying Computer Science and IT courses which will assist with content management and development, including setting up a digital library, maintaining a portal and developing an m-learning oriented authoring tool. M-learning simply means mobile learning, that is, using mobile technologies such as hand held computers, to enhance the learning process.

The university is also creating a server-based open source wireless laboratory that uses low-end existing computer systems and wireless technology.

In addition the university is establishing a Project Incubation Centre where students submit project proposals, with a selected few being provided with the facilities and mentorship to see their projects through to fruition.

Universityof Canterbury (New Zealand)

The University of Canterbury will develop an Intelligent Tutoring System which will provide individualised support to Engineering Mechanics students through e-learning. Course improvements include standardising presentations using Powerpoint, allowing online submittal of homework along with online tutorial assistance.

The hybrid project provides students with the opportunity to improve their problem solving skills through individual feedback. As it is available on the Web, students are able to use the system both at on campus and from their homes, providing unrestricted access to guided learning.

Yonsei University (Korea)

Yonsei University is using HP mobile technology to enable students to transmit questions and answers to their instructors using wireless transmittable messages. The on-line space allows students and instructors to communicate with each other and share information and materials relevant to their course. The next step in this project will be to efficiently integrate the theory students have learned in class, and practice.

Tablet PCs and HP’s mobile technology will be used in teaching simulation techniques and tools and students will be able to share each others’ simulation progress and data.

HP accelerates smarter learning solutions

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Overview

Part of a broader program