Ridge Students & Teachers Rave About iPads

Editor's note: This story was updated at 9 a.m. Sept. 4.

Dagan Groenstein realized "the Internet is like a big online database" long before Ridge Middle School issued him an iPad, but he hadn't considered how the technology might impact his learning until he got one.

So far, it's meant easy, streamlined access.
 
"You can just look up a word and it's right there," Dagan said. "I haven't gotten one sheet of paper yet (this school year)."

Dagan is one of about 150 Ridge 7th graders with an iPad. The school issued the devices at the beginning of the school year as part of the 1:1 initiative Educational technologist Jeremy Shorr and the district began deploying last school year. The district decided the iPad made more sense than laptops, Windows tablets or the Google Chromebook, which was piloted in some Ridge classrooms last year.

"We didn't just jump into iPads, which is another thing we saw with other districts who bought iPads just because they wanted iPads, as opposed to them being the best fit," Shorr said. "From a device perspective, the iPad doesn't do as much as a laptop, but can get in the ballpark and is one-third to one-quarter of the price.

"A big part of our instructional philosophy is that the top level of understanding is content creation, and the Chromebook doesn't really allow for a lot of creation. You can't make videos, you can't make animations, you can't create a lot of content other than typing or spreadsheets."

Parents met with officials for an orientation prior to the first day of school to discuss everything about the iPads, from cases to insurance policies. Parents have agreed to monitor and manage Web access to certain materials at home as the district does when the children are at school.

"The options for their learning are endless," Sean St. Hilaire, a 7th and 8th grade history teacher at Ridge, said. "They can Google any answer they want and learn can learn on their own at any pace. It's our job to facilitate that—make sure sure they're going to the right sites, getting the right information, and 'do you know what you really need to know for our standards?

"It's going really well, but it's a transition it's going to take some time. But, so far, just the engagement with the students is a huge thing and seeing their faces light up is huge for us."

Shorr and Kirby said the devices have empowered the students to learn any- and everywhere and taught them responsibilities.

"They'll take the iPad home, and while they might play a game, they might also want to shift back to what the lesson was for the day … If you want to learn something now, it's instantaneous, so why wouldn't we give them the tools to allow them to learn what they want to learn?"

Added Shorr: "It's really important that they want to take care of this device and want to have it with them when they go to grandma's house, when they go on the bus to an away game. We need them to want and like the device."

The iPads also represent a core portion of the blended learning concept that is in full swing at Ridge. Shorr said the iPads help the school use as much of the building as possible for education.

"When you come by at lunch, you'll see pockets of kids sitting at their tables (with their iPads)," Shorr said. "You'll see some playing games, but many of them are working on projects together, working on homework together. So, lunch becomes a learning space. The hallways become a learning space."

The devices are also much easier to transport for smaller students like Izzy Layman, who no longer makes multiple locker trips for her materials.

"I don't have to bring all the binders back or go to my locker after every single class," she said.

The iPad program will be expanded to other grades next year, Shorr said.

Shorr said the district closely examined similar 1:1 device programs at other districts like Vermillion Local Schools, which has issued laptops and iPod Touches to various grade levels for at least four years. That district reported only a few damages or lost devices, Shorr said.

"The kids really take care of them, and that's we're finding out, so far, here," Shorr said.