Newry Grammar School Equips 120 Pupils with Acorn Pocket Books
Acorn Computers, the leading supplier of computers to UK schools, has won an order worth £20,000 to equip an entire academic year of 120 pupils at Our Lady's Grammar School in Newry, Northern Ireland, with its hand-held computer, the Pocket Book II.
Sister Perpetua McArdle, Principal at Our Lady's School, comments:
"We started off with a pilot study where we equipped a class of 32 pupils, from 11-12 years old, with one Pocket Book each. The pilot was so successful we decided to expand it to the whole year. Since we acquired the Pocket Books they have been in almost constant use."
She continues:
"Rather than only being used in IT lessons, the Pocket Books are integrated into work across the curriculum. The word processor was used in a history project on the Normans, the spreadsheet was used in a survey of the class's physical characteristics and of course they are very well suited to use in science field trips. The Pocket Books are also helpful in language teaching as they are equipped with all the accents required and they are widely used in religion and English classes. In fact, the experience at Our Lady's has been that they are an asset across the curriculum and that the pupils derive great pleasure and benefit from working with them."
Mike O'Riordan, Sales and Marketing Director of Acorn Computers, comments:
"Orders like the one made in Newry recently only serve to illustrate our firm belief that the need for portable computers like the Pocket Book in schools is set to grow and grow. The benefits are such, that soon entire schools, not just entire years, will have their own Pocket Books. The long term government objective of 'one-per-child' is fast becoming a reality."The order, made through the dealership Microcare, in Northern Ireland, illustrates the growing popularity of portable computers in British classrooms. The National Council for Educational Technology (NCET) recently carried out a survey into the use of portable computers in schools. Portability, versatility, cross-curricular value, accessibility and price-performance, major features of the Pocket Book range, are highlighted in the report as key criteria for portables if they are to support, enhance and extend learning significantly in the classroom and in the home.
The Pocket Book from Acorn is an electronic 'exercise book'. Smaller than an average paper-back book, the Pocket Book has its own screen and keyboard, enclosed in a strong case. Powered by long-lasting batteries, the Pocket Book comes with a word processor, spreadsheet, database, diary, calculator, spellchecker, thesaurus, clock and alarm and can easily be connected to printers and to Acorn, PC and Apple computers allowing information to be moved from one computer to another.
Stuart France, NCET Managing Consultant, said:
"We take it for granted that portable computers are going to come into schools in large numbers over the next five years. The Pocket Book from Acorn has proved to be a most versatile and reliable piece of equipment, particularly when linked to desktop computers. We have had enthusiastic requests for more Pocket Books from schools that were initially very sceptical." (Managing Schools Today, March 1994).
Founded in 1978, with 1994 revenues in excess of &163;50m, Acorn Computers is a leading provider of IT to UK education and was the first supplier of low-cost 32-bit RISC based personal computers in 1987. Acorn works closely with a strong community of industry partners, users and software developers to provide innovative technology solutions for the education, consumer, publishing and international markets.
Acorn Computer Group plc is the holding company for Acorn Computers Limited, Acorn Australia, Acorn New Zealand, Acorn GmbH and Online Media. Acorn Computer Group owns 43% of Advanced RISC Machines Ltd. Online Media, a division of the Acorn Computer Group, was launched in 1994 with the objective to design interactive multimedia products.