Affordable DepEd-compliant e-learning tools available for students to use in online classes

In a new partnership of Smart Communications Inc. and Acer Philippines, incoming students can now avail of a convenient and affordable gadget bundle to help them take part in online classes this academic school year.

Photo credit: yugatech.com

In this partnership, a Smart School Bundle which consists of an Acer Aspire 5 laptop and a Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi can be availed by parents.

The 14-inch Aspire 5 laptop has Intel Core i3-813OU processor that has a 2.2-gigahertz (GHz) base speed with turbo boost of up to 3.4 GHz, an 8-gigabyte (GB) double data rate 4 memory, a 128-GB solid state drive and a 1-terabyte hard disk drive. The bundle also includes a Windows 10 Home operating system and other features that can help students cope with their school requirements.

If the students need to attend video conferences or submit their homework online, Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi is available for them to use which connects to Smart’s fastest LTE network.

These gadgets are compliant with the Department of Education’s (DepEd) minimum specifications for devices for distance learning as the country continues to face the coronavirus pandemic.

“We believe that e-learning is an important building block under the ‘new normal,’ where education would be driven largely by digital tools and products. We hope that through this partnership, we could help students make a smooth transition to distance learning and help make sure that no learner is left behind,” said Precy Katigbak, first vice president and head of national key accounts at Smart.

“It has always been our mission to enable Filipino students by providing them the tools that they need in their education. With this partnership, we hope to give them not only the means to do their school work, but also the connectivity through Smart’s network so that students could continue to learn amid the pandemic,” said Manuel Wong, managing director at Acer Philippines.

The gadget bundle can also provide reliable tools and LTE connectivity to teachers, students and employees and other professionals who are also working from home.

Smart LTE remain strong in providing the best mobile data experience, particularly for video, to customers in the country. Smart surpassed competition in most metrics, including “Video Experience,” where Smart posted a score of 55, well ahead of competition’s 39.8 according to independent mobile analytics firm Open signal’s latest Philippines Mobile Network Experience Report released in April.

“We have invested billions of pesos in our mobile phone network over the last few years and this has enabled to serve our subscribers well, especially during this pandemic,” said Jane Basas, senior vice president and head of consumer wireless business at Smart. “At the end of the day, our goal is to make sure that our customers have a good experience with us and that our network could help them achieve their goals in school or at work.”

The Smart School Bundle is obtainable at all Acer concept stores and distributors nationwide.