This summer, the purchase of numerous iPads was approved for classroom use in the district. The iPads that were purchased were implemented into an “iPad initiative” in the R.L. Wright Elementary school. Each classroom was given five iPads to use. Normally, most classrooms break down into “centers” which are groups of kids that are working on the same task and able to share resources and devices.
Also approved this past summer was the adoption of the new reading curriculum for the lower K-6 grades as well. This new reading curriculum can be web based with their “leveled readers” which are reading materials suited for each grade level. The leveled readers are available on the iPads so students are able to break down into their centers and read the same material designed for in class.
By placing the iPads in the classrooms, students have more access to devices than in the past. In the past, using a standard 20 student classroom, FOUR classrooms shared a cart of 20 computers. This worked out to only 5 computers a classroom. This year, a new computer cart was added to the elementary classrooms as well as the iPads in each classroom. Currently, each classroom has access to 10 laptops and 5 iPads, tripling the number of devices in students hands. The feedback from teachers is that the use of the iPads and laptops is going up and devices are being used with classroom instruction and especially with the new leveled readers with the new reading textbooks.
