Smart Connected Classrooms

SMART CONNECTED CLASSROOMS PILOT PROJECT

About the project

The pandemic has had a significant impact on all levels of education across the globe, exposing and amplifying inequalities in education systems. However, it has also presented opportunities for innovation, particularly in the use of digital technologies for teaching and learning.

Smart Connected Classrooms, in collaboration with Scientix STE(A)M Partnerships and Qualcomm Incorporated, through its Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ Initiative, and coordinated by European Schoolnet, is investigating the impact of an interactive classroom on the teacher and student experience in two pilot schools in Spain and Portugal. The project will provide insights into teaching and learning processes, technology implementation, and training support needed for schools and teachers.

The Need for Better Digital Education and Training in Europe


Only 39% of teachers across the EU feel ready to use digital technologies in teaching. (OECD, 2018)	Less than 20% of students have access to high-speed Internet above 100 mbps at school. (European Commission, 2019)	Only around one third of students attend schools with strategies on how to use digital technologies in teaching and learning. (Digital Education Action Plan, European Commission, 2023)

Objectives

The project aims to assist schools in their methodological and digital transformation to improve teacher effectiveness, achieve individualized student learning, and ensure digital inclusion for all learners.

The evaluative research will study the added value of Qualcomm® technologies in and outside the classroom, addressing the following questions:

How are Qualcomm enabled technologies influencing learning patterns and classroom atmosphere?
What changes in teacher and student attitudes towards the learning process and experience with digital technology are noticed?

Beneficiaries

The key beneficiaries are 128 students (ages 10 – 12) and 5 teachers in two schools, one in Spain and one in Portugal. It is expected that impact will increase in the 2023-2024 academic year, with potentially more classrooms joining the project and new type of equipment being used in the second phase of the project.

The Education-as-a-Service Solutions Set

Teachers and students are utilizing always-connected personal computers, while classrooms are equipped with a suite of hardware and software solutions, including: a Smart Panel from OneScreen, a wireless teaching station with PC and built-in document camera, eGlass, and EaaS software suite for teachers and students.

Virtual Reality headsets will be introduced in the 2023-2024 academic year, in the second phase of the project.

“We are pleased to collaborate with Qualcomm to bring innovative solutions to schools across Europe. With this project, we want to help students and teachers in primary schools to experience new teaching and learning models and to explore the impact of new technologies in the classroom.”
Marc Durando, European Schoolnet Executive Director

European Schoolnet’s Pilot Methodology

EUN has been running validation pilots for more than 20 years, enabling STEM Alliance Partners to liaise with our MoEs to test innovation solutions with pilot schools. The goal of these pilots, based on specific methodologies and targeted approaches, is to validate technologies by testing, refining and finally mainstreaming them via professional development opportunities or dissemination campaigns, all through a carefully thought and widely proved research protocol.

Strategic Stakeholders

Technical Support

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