Verizon Wireless 2011 Annual Report Download - page 19

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. | 2011 ANNUAL REPORT
Verizon worked closely with Our
Lady of Mt. Carmel School in
Baltimore, MD, where teachers
like Ryan Kloetzer use 4G LTE
tablet computers to build
excitement for learning science.
Studies show that increasing
student engagement with
mobile learning devices such
as tablets and smartphones
brings improved academic
achievement.
We are also working with entrepreneurial partners to help stimulate tech-
nological innovation in health care. Through our 4G LTE Innovation Center
in Waltham, MA, a wide range of companies are developing new medical
monitoring devices such as glucose meters, blood pressure monitors and
pulse oximeters that can be deployed in patients’ homes to feed con-
stant, real-time data streams to our cloud network, so patients can be
monitored by physicians from a distance. In addition, we are collaborat-
ing with Duke University to test and incubate innovative telehealth and
biometric business initiatives that can be brought to market quickly and
scaled across the health care system using our advanced wireless and
ber-optic networks.
Bringing Technology Solutions to Education
Education is another market ripe for transformation through the strate-
gic use of technology. Mobile broadband can spread scarce educational
resources across a wide population. More broadly, putting smart tech-
nology solutions in the hands of students, teachers and parents has
tremendous potential to change the educational culture — engaging
students in their own learning, promoting family involvement and provid-
ing valuable hands-on experience with the tools of the digital economy.
This new educational model is coming to life in places such as Baltimore’s
Reginald F. Lewis High School, where Verizon is working with partners
and educators to deliver education solutions that leverage our 4G LTE
network. Working with Samsung, we provided 30 tablet computers that
work over the 4G LTE network to be used in the teaching of Spanish,
along with software to manage classroom use and provide access to a
wide range of online resources. We also provided training and worked
with teachers to develop curricula and lesson plans that maximized these
new technologies.
We’re also taking this approach on the road using a customized school
bus equipped with 4G LTE tablet computers and staed by tutors who
travel to high schools in Washington, DC, and Maryland to help students
prepare for their SAT exams and to support other academic needs. One
principal predicts that this innovative program, called the Verizon Mobile
Learning Lab, will raise SAT scores by up to 500 points.
Longer term trials in rural Virginia’s Mecklenburg County have gone so
well that the school district purchased netbooks that connect to our 3G
wireless network for every 9th and 10th grade student. A member of
the county school board said Verizon’s service and aordable computers
oer local students many of the advantages found in suburban school
districts, helping them to keep pace with their peers.
Computers by themselves don’t change educational outcomes. But
creating a whole ecosystem of learning — connected by broadband,
enabled by smart devices and enriched by software-based solutions —
can potentially transform education and enmesh Verizon even more
deeply with our communities.
To view the Verizon Corporate Responsibility report online featuring
additional content, go to responsibility.verizon.com/2011.
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