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Two classrooms in the Harrisburg school district are piloting the use of iPads for instruction, thanks to a grant written by Media and Technology Coordinator Cindy Black.
The grant, which is set up to provide assistance to rural and low-income schools, provided 60 iPads to the district. The challenge then for Black was to decide how best to distribute the iPads.
Most teachers agreed it would be counterproductive to make several children share each iPad because they would have such a small amount of time with the equipment, and thought it would be best to provide entire classrooms with iPads so each student could have his or her own.
Black sent an email to East Side and West Side teachers inviting them to come to a training if they were interested in the program. After attending the training, teachers who were interested in the iPads sent letters to Black explaining what they would do with the new technology in their classes.
“They were all good,” said Black. “But we had to choose two.”
In the end, Jake Dixon's fifth grade class and Patti Collins' first grade class received the iPads.
“They were so excited,” said Black, speaking about both the teachers and the students.
Dixon's class received the iPads a week ago, and Collins' class received them Friday. Dixon said he has been trying out a new application with his students everyday since then.
“It is my belief that Harrisburg Unit 3 is already envied by other districts due to our wealth of technology,” said Dixon. “With the incorporation of iPads into our classrooms, I feel we are taking a step only taken by the highest achieving schools.”
So far his students have used the iPads for math, learning the states and to create a water cycle using an interactive whiteboard application.
“Harrisburg has always been a leader in technology,” said Black. “But due to funds being cut statewide and school-wide, I feel like we're getting behind on one-to-one initiatives.”
Black hopes to expand on the program next year by distributing iPads to two more classrooms.
Two classrooms in the Harrisburg school district are piloting the use of iPads for instruction, thanks to a grant written by Media and Technology Coordinator Cindy Black.
The grant, which is set up to provide assistance to rural and low-income schools, provided 60 iPads to the district. The challenge then for Black was to decide how best to distribute the iPads.
Most teachers agreed it would be counterproductive to make several children share each iPad because they would have such a small amount of time with the equipment, and thought it would be best to provide entire classrooms with iPads so each student could have his or her own.
Black sent an email to East Side and West Side teachers inviting them to come to a training if they were interested in the program. After attending the training, teachers who were interested in the iPads sent letters to Black explaining what they would do with the new technology in their classes.
“They were all good,” said Black. “But we had to choose two.”
In the end, Jake Dixon's fifth grade class and Patti Collins' first grade class received the iPads.
“They were so excited,” said Black, speaking about both the teachers and the students.
Dixon's class received the iPads a week ago, and Collins' class received them Friday. Dixon said he has been trying out a new application with his students everyday since then.
“It is my belief that Harrisburg Unit 3 is already envied by other districts due to our wealth of technology,” said Dixon. “With the incorporation of iPads into our classrooms, I feel we are taking a step only taken by the highest achieving schools.”
So far his students have used the iPads for math, learning the states and to create a water cycle using an interactive whiteboard application.
“Harrisburg has always been a leader in technology,” said Black. “But due to funds being cut statewide and school-wide, I feel like we're getting behind on one-to-one initiatives.”
Black hopes to expand on the program next year by distributing iPads to two more classrooms.
