Microsoft-led consortium to enable futuristic classrooms

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Microsoft India has announced the availability of special bundled tablets for private schools (K6-12) in partnership with Acer, MBD Group & Tata Teleservices. This consortium envisions a future of education where content, technology and connectivity come together seamlessly to make learning more immersive.

Priced at Rs. 24,999 per device, the bundle is available to all private schools (K6-12) in India.

A complete consumption and creation device, the bundle includes digital learning curriculum for students of K-12 state boards, CBSE & ICSE from MBD Group, India's largest publishing house with 60 years of experience in creating meaningful and relevant learning resources, said a press release.

The highly interactive multimedia content from MBD is currently available in English and will soon be available in various regional languages as well, it added.

Arun Rajamani, head - Public Sector & Education, Microsoft India, said, "This feature-rich tablet provides a secure, convenient and hassle-free experience for schools who want to integrate technology to make learning more enjoyable and interactive for students."

"No other industry player offers this unique combination of usability, productivity and dynamic digital educational content along with internet connectivity. We are excited to launch this custom-made bundle for the Indian student, who can now consume, create and share from a single device," added Rajamani.

As part of the offering, students can avail the Microsoft Office Specialist certification program and teachers in turn can gain access to eighty hours of self-learning content on leveraging technology while teaching.

S. Rajendran, chief marketing officer, Acer India said, "Education is the backbone of a country, and we are proud to empower our younger generation for the future through the Acer Iconia W4 Tablet, an industry-leading 8" Tablet that is complete with connectivity and productivity suites."

"Enabled with internet connectivity and pre-installed educational content, the W4 tablet forms a compelling offering, providing students with a whole new universe of resources at their fingertips," added Rajendran.

The device is a major step in transforming education by creating an enhanced learning experience for teachers and students by giving them access to the very best of content. Educational content on the tablet is provided by the MBD Group and will consist of complete digital learning curriculum along with assessment tools. The curriculum covers all subjects for class VI to X and Science, Commerce streams for class XI and XII, mapped to NCERT's National Curriculum Framework.

Monica Malhotra, director - MBD Group, said, "Over the past decade we have observed that students respond better to engaging educational content available across multiple consumption mediums, thus making their learning experience more interactive. As part of this consortia, we can now offer a dynamic digital learning curriculum on a device equipped with a plethora of productivity tools and internet connectivity."

Akshay Mathur, vice president, Non Voice Services, Tata Teleservices, said, "In India, proliferation of internet and availability of smart-devices at affordable prices has changed the mobile landscape and the way people use internet to access information on the fly."

"Similarly with high speed internet connectivity available anytime, anywhere, and the introduction of applications there are newer techniques and ways of gaining knowledge and information. We are pleased to partner with Microsoft on this unique educational initiative and play a role in enabling Photon Plus services across schools in India," added Mathur.