Client

Samsung Electronics, implementing its Smart School interactive classroom program in partnership with Pearson, one of the world’s largest educational publishers.

Problem

Samsung had the hardware foundation for digital classrooms, but leading publishers like Pearson required strict guarantees around content security, licensing control, and distribution oversight:

1. Publishers would not release digital textbooks without hardened protection
    Standard tablet deployments risked file extraction, uncontrolled sharing, or offline copying.
2. Licensing had to be enforced at the level of individual students and classes
    Schools needed flexible entitlements that could be assigned or revoked instantly.
3. Local storage was unacceptable
    Storing raw textbook files on devices or school networks violated publisher security requirements.
4. A unified content backbone was needed for multi-school deployments
    Samsung required a neutral, scalable system that many institutions and publishers could rely on—not a one-off integration.

Without solving the rights, security, and control layer, the Smart School classroom ecosystem could not support major publishers.

Solution

The team delivered a secure digital content distribution and rights-management infrastructure tightly integrated with Samsung’s classroom environment and Pearson’s catalog.

1. Centralized entitlements for Pearson’s educational materials

• Pearson’s licensed textbooks were distributed through a centralized system.
• Each student tablet received entitlements tied to subject, grade, and curriculum.
• Schools could dynamically add, revoke, or update access without touching devices.

2. No local storage of publisher content

Pearson’s textbooks remained in secure remote storage:

• Tablets received only encrypted fragments needed for the active session.
• No persistent files existed on devices or local servers.
• Content disappeared instantly when access was revoked.

This matched Pearson’s requirements for controlled digital distribution.

3. Hardware-backed security on Samsung tablets

The system used Samsung’s security stack (TrustZone/KNOX/TPM-like secure storage):

• cryptographic keys stored in hardware-backed secure elements
• decryption allowed only on authorized devices in approved configurations
• publishers could rely on a verifiable device trust boundary

This ensured that licensed materials were consumed only within trusted classroom hardware.

4. Integrated classroom workflows

The content layer worked seamlessly with Samsung’s teaching tools:

• synchronized broadcasting of materials
• interactive annotations via S Pen
• teacher-directed lesson flow
• output to Samsung ME65B interactive displays

All content interactions remained governed by the rights layer.

Outcome

Pearson’s participation enabled Samsung Smart School to offer a complete, rights-controlled digital classroom ecosystem.

Key results:

• Pearson’s catalog became available in a secure, managed environment
• Schools gained a low-overhead system for distributing and managing educational content
• Students accessed dynamic digital textbooks, not isolated PDFs
• No raw content was stored locally, meeting strict publisher requirements

The solution established a scalable model for secure digital classrooms using Samsung hardware