Hardware vendor Acer has won a contract that will see the deployment of up to 65000 Acer Aspire 1830T notebooks before the end of the year, to secondary schools in Queensland.

 

The contract was put for tender by Queensland Department of Education and to supply notebooks for round three of the National Secondary School Computer Fund.

 

After trials to test viability with students, the Acer Aspire 1830T Notebooks were successfully integrated and provided a digital learning environment without boundaries. The 3G-enabled Acer Notebook is being hailed as a first in Australian education for a program of this scale.

 

Under the agreement, Acer is set to provide along with the notebooks; a Computrace license protecting against theft; and a student notebook bag customised by Targus for protection and portability.

 

DET chief information officer David O’Hagan said the rollout of 3G-enabled devices was valuable for students.

 

“The 3G initiative will ensure more than 60000 state high school students have access to the department’s online learning environment, anywhere and at any time,” he said.

 

“The decision to purchase 3G laptops means students will have access to important online resources, resulting in improved learning outcomes, collaboration and greater opportunity for personalised learning.”

 

Acer Computer Australia’s managing director Charles Chung said collaborative and mobile work places are common in IT environments.

 

“Ensuring our students are well equipped to face tomorrows demand is fundamental in that process,” he said.

 

 “The implementation of HSPA+ 3G technology in the Acer Aspire 1830T Notebook is a key component to the educational development of Queensland students.”