Junior Achievement of South Florida Boosts Interactive Learning for Students
Junior Achievement of South Florida is part the JA Worldwide network which teaches students skills in financial literacy, workforce readiness and entrepreneurship. As part of this mission, Junior Achievement of South Florida offers interactive courses for fifth and eighth graders to better prepare them for real-world scenarios.
Zebra Success Story: Junior Achievement of South Florida
Overview: Government Challenge
Find a mobile tablet with strong Wi-Fi™ to host course curriculum, withstand daily use and handle potential drops.
Benefits / Outcomes
- More teaching resources for daily simulations
- Reduced course preparation time for faculty
- Eliminated the daily need to print course materials
- Long lifecycle helps with capital planning
- Extended battery life and durability hold up to daily use and potential drops
Customer
Junior Achievement of South Florida
Coconut Creek, Florida/USA
Partner
Industry
Government
Solutions
About Junior Achievement of South Florida
Junior Achievement of South Florida (JA) is part of a worldwide network that strives to inspire and educate students in financial literacy, workforce readiness and entrepreneurship. Junior Achievement of South Florida is one of 100 plus Junior Achievement locations in the United States and serves approximately 80,000 students a year.
Kids Run the World
As part of its mission to better prepare students for real-world scenarios, Junior Achievement of South Florida offers interactive courses that allow kids to be adults for a day. JA BizTown is a mock city with 18 storefronts sponsored by real local businesses. When students arrive, they are assigned careers for the day, such as bank tellers, doctors, attorneys, magazine editors and meter readers. Students perform that role while interacting with other students and businesses within the town.
Eighth graders get a similar experience with JA Finance Park. While it looks and feels similar to JA BizTown, it is a different program with different goals. Students receive a profile and a life scenario for the day where they simulate real-life decisions for that profile. Additionally, students learn about different career paths they might want to pursue.
The Challenge
Before 2017, faculty printed course packets for students who attended both JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. The packets contained details about the course and each student’s role in the simulation. With thousands of students attending each year, the amount of paper printed each day was significant. Additionally, staff spent extra time printing course materials and preparing for the next round of students.
Zebra’s tablets have helped Junior Achievement of South Florida take existing course capabilities to the next level by offering an interactive experience for the students. Using Zebra’s innovative tablets, Junior Achievement’s national office is transitioning to a computer-based teaching model to reduce paper consumption and take advantage of the endless expansion possibilities.
The Solution
To reduce paper consumption and to keep up with cutting-edge technology, Junior Achievement’s national office moved towards a more computer-based teaching model. Junior Achievement of South Florida initially selected a competitor in the tablet space, but based on the advice they received from Centuric, their managed service provider and a Zebra Solution Partner, it later switched to Zebra’s ET40 tablets. Junior Achievement simulation software runs on the ET40s in kiosk mode. Students use the tablets to learn about and perform their simulated roles with access to resources, checklists, videos and life scenarios.
The Zebra Difference: Outcome and Benefits
Zebra’s tablets have helped Junior Achievement of South Florida take existing course capabilities to the next level by offering more jobs and a more interactive experience for the students. “The ET40s give the students more tasks to complete,” said Lora Schemel, Senior Program Manager, JA BizTown. “One of the tasks is our attorney, and they have a case to solve. Instead of reading the case, the tablets play a video that gives them clues to help solve the case.”
Built To Last
In addition to the new course capabilities the tablets offer, connectivity and durability have also been key. The ET40s have proven to be rugged and able to withstand drops without the need for a case. “Durability was a good selling point,” said Monica McNerney, Chief Operating Officer, Junior Achievement of South Florida. “The tablets have the required WiFi capabilities we need since the students roam about the space.”
Long battery life is also a highlight since the tablets are used daily for at least four hours. “The battery life in the Zebra tablets has been excellent,” said Schemel. “Most of our previous tablets died by the end of the day, whereas the ET40s, even if they didn’t get charged, can still be used the next day.”
Positive Feedback
Students only attend JA BizTown and JA Finance Park for one day, so teachers are the constant. Some led the experiences when they were paper-based and the feedback on the digital transformation has been positive. Teachers appreciate the new capabilities the tablets offer for students. They have also saved time since they no longer need to print daily packets with course materials loaded on the tablets and reset each day as students arrive for the course. Tablet setup is also an easy process for IT.
“When we had to configure Zebra’s tablets for the year, it was a much simpler process than before,” said Schemel. “We could scan the configuration and the tablet was set up in minutes. In the past, it would take us almost 15 minutes per tablet.”
Planning Ahead
Each Junior Achievement location differs in facilities and educational programs and has different needs, but Junior Achievement of South Florida sees the ET40s as part of its long-term vision. “As far as planning, this is a great selling point for us,” said McNerney. “We know these tablets are going to be sturdy and have an operating system that’s guaranteed. They should last us a full six years. That lifecycle helps when we are dealing with capital planning.”
To learn more about Junior Achievement of South Florida visit www.jasouthflorida.org
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