The Valley Grove School District of Franklin, Pa. was reportedly named the grand prize winner of the Acer (News - Alert) Education Initiative. The school will receive a fully equipped computer lab equipped with 30 Aspire One 10.1 Netbooks, 30 LV460 Desktops and 30 V-Series 17-inch LCD monitors as part of the award.

 

Three runner-up winners - Charleston Community Unit School District 1 in Charleston, Ill., Monroe Road Elementary School from Bedford Public Schools in Lambertville, Mich. and Sikeston R6 in Sikeston, Mo. - will receive 30 Aspire One 10.1 netbooks for classrooms.

 

The winners were selected as part of a random drawing of educators and school administrators who participated in a 30-day free trial of the Acer Aspire One netbook. More than 5,500 educators participated in the contest by spending 30 days with an Aspire One. This enabled the educators to test the functionality and durability of the netbook.

 

With the addition of 90 computer products from Acer to Valley Grove School District’s assets, students can spend additional time in the computer labs.

 

According to Jeffrey A. Clark, superintendent of Valley Grove School District, the Valley Grove School District was surprised to hear that they were recipients of the grand prize in the Acer Education Initiative. This award will provide the district an opportunity to expand their technology resources and take the educational possibilities to a higher level.

 

In addition, the receipt of the Acer computers will aid the teaching staff as they continue to enrich the educational opportunities that are provided to the students at Valley Grove. Clark added that they appreciate the opportunity that Acer has given to school districts to participate in such a worthwhile program.

 

Research shows that technology plays an important role in the classroom. In fact, recent research from Henry County, Va. revealed that student scores improved by 20 percent on state tests during the first year that new laptop technology was introduced. Schools leverage resources and sharing tips to make one-to-one computing goals a reality. The Acer Education Technology Initiative gives schools a chance to realize these goals.

 

According to Connie Cunningham of Valley Grove School District ITS, the computers will create two completely new computer labs, one at the high school and one at the elementary school. This will help to resolve the scarcity of available computer time for teachers and students.