Samsung Electronics America has partnered with Academica—one of the largest charter school support organizations in the U.S., serving more than 200 public charter schools and 125,000 students in nine states—to reimagine the classroom for the 21st century.
The partnership arrives during the new learn-from-home era, as traditional classroom settings are being enhanced with virtual setups that are interactive and engaging.
In preparation for the 2020/21 school year, Academica surveyed parents to get a better understanding of how to plan for the fall semester. Over half (59 percent) indicated they preferred a mixture of classes in both physical and online classrooms. Given this feedback, Academica knew incorporating more technology in the on-campus classrooms would be paramount and quickly began designing the Classroom of the Future (COTF).
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As a result of that study, Academica is installing 4,500 Samsung Pro TVs in over 2,300 classrooms in 125 of its schools across several states including Florida, South Carolina, and Nevada. Plans are currently in place to roll out the solution in other states over the next few months.
“As we continue to navigate this new normal together, we need to take a practical approach to helping students and educators adapting to a new learning environment,” said Mark Quiroz, vice president of marketing for the Samsung Display Division. “We’re offering new solutions and working with education networks like Academica to bring ease to the transition to remote and hybrid learning models. Students’ safety and health are top of mind and we are proud to be able to offer tools that bring the classroom into the home.”
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Equipped with Colēgia, a digital education operating system that hubs applications, content and communications, Samsung Pro TVs give both remote and in-person students the ability to interact with each other and their teacher in a live format.
“We are thrilled to partner with Samsung to help our students, teachers and administrators get back to the classroom safely and efficiently,” said Antonio L. Roca, managing director, Academica Virtual Education. “When schools shifted to virtual learning at the start of the pandemic this spring, we took it as an opportunity to shift our way of thinking about the traditional classroom. The display solutions provided by Samsung allowed us to create an environment that allows each student to thrive no matter their location.”
