Telecom Lead Asia: Chip major Qualcomm, via its Wireless
Reach initiative, Microsoft and Nan Chiau Primary School have unveiled the WE
Learn mobile education project. The project will use 3G smartphones to create a
21st century classroom experience for students in Singapore.
The project will demonstrate how the latest wireless
technology can be used to transform learning from a traditional,
teacher-centric model to a student-centric and collaborative framework with
24/7 access to resources.
Encouraging the use of technology to enable innovative
methods of teaching and learning will address the needs of the next generation
of digital native learners to become savvy citizens and leaders of the future,”
said Jessica Tan, managing director for Microsoft Singapore.
The Singapore Ministry of Education is promoting the
development of self-directed learning and collaborative learning skills in its
third master plan for ICT in education.
With a grant from Qualcomm’s Wireless Reach initiative,
the WE Learn project is providing 3G-enabled Nokia Lumia 710 smartphones
enabled by Qualcomm Snapdragon processors; mobile broadband connectivity via
SingTel’s 3G wireless network; a mobile learning platform (MyDesk) and
educational applications developed by University of Michigan; and Microsoft’s
Windows Phone operating system, which all software for these smartphones is
built upon, to 350 third-grade students and their teachers at Nan Chiau.
All smartphones provided under this initiative are
equipped with MyDesk, a mobile learning platform tailored to leverage the
capabilities of Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system.
The ability to do everyday tasks faster, like accessing
the Web, capturing information or viewing content from anywhere makes Nokia
Lumia an ideal tool for mobile learning,” said Neil Gordon, vice president of
sales for Nokia Southeast.
Recently, Qualcomm
announced that its Snapdragon processor will be joining Microsoft’s Windows on
ARM developer seeding program, as it is working with Microsoft to provide test
PCs to select developers.
