Allen J. Warren Elementary School Principal J. J. Boylan conveyed excitement and confidence as he introduced the first wave of parents to “The Connected Classroom” in Highland last week at an orientation meeting.
Parents were required to attend one of the two sessions for their child to receive an iPad. Each parent was to create an “Under 13” Apple ID and password for their child.
The program delivers an iPad into the hands of every student from kindergarten through fifth grade at Warren, the district’s pilot school for technology–assisted curriculum. The program will expand in the 2016-17 school year to include the other Highland elementary schools. The high school and middle school will follow.
Boylan said the school has been preparing for the rollout for two years, with teachers being trained to use the iPad as a teaching tool and testing it in classrooms. Last year, second- and-fifth-graders used the iPads throughout the year.
“The classrooms will be the same,” Boylan told the parents. “We are transforming the tools. We want to change the way the students think and learn.”
More Top Picks Brio Smartclean Sonic
His presentation began with a video, created by Warren students, illustrating a math story problem: There are two dodge ball teams with five kids on each team and two get knocked out on one team and three get knocked out on the other. How many are left?
“We made this to see what a second-grader could do. They had to collaborate and create a story, a film, and edit and present it to an audience. It was a different way of thinking,” Boylan said. “We want creative thinkers.”
He displayed a picture featuring planets in outer space. There were two glowing orbs, one small and one large.
“This picture was taken Feb. 13, 1999. It is a picture of Pluto and Charon in a textbook,” Boylan said. Then he showed a recent colorful and clear image of Pluto and said textbooks may not feature such an updated picture for several years.
After the half-hour presentation, parents were divided into groups by grade to create their child’s ID and password. Teachers and aides assisted, all wearing black T-shirts with “iTransform” on the front and “#Highlandfortomorrow,” Warren’s Twitter hash tag, on the back.
“I feel excited,” fourth-grader Alondra Barajas said as she waited in line at the kiosk with her mother, Martha. They noted the picture of Pluto because Alondra plans to work for NASA when she grows up.
Martha Barajas said she uses computers every day and believes having access to this type of technology is important for her daughter.
“They need to learn this. Technology is moving very fast. It is better for them and us if they know this,” Barajas said.
Boylan said only the fifth-graders will be able to bring iPads home immediately.
The iPad will eliminate the need for the traditional student planner.
Boylan explained the rules and regulations for parents and students to follow and touched on the consequences of noncompliance. While family members may use the device at home to check grades, it is strictly for educational use. It cannot be altered in any way and cannot be used for watching movies or home shopping.
The curriculum covers digital citizenship and Internet usage at every grade level.
Each iPad is in a protective hard plastic case, and Boylan told parents the iPads are covered by AppleCare insurance this year at no extra charge. He predicts there will be an insurance cost next year and estimates it could be $30 or $40 per iPad.
The initial start-up costs for the program were paid for with state technology grant funds. This spring, the state also approved the district’s request for $298,000 in Common School Loan funds to pay for additional equipment and training as the program rolls out to the other elementary schools and the middle school, according to Supt. Brian Smith.
Nancy Coltun Webster is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.