TMCnet News
St. Johns Country Day School students plug in to iPad learning [The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville](Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 03--Emily Patterson and Constantine "Dino" Varelas rarely go anywhere without their iPads. The 16-year-old high school juniors are plugged into their tablet computers, especially in class at St. Johns Country Day School in Orange Park. The school offers a comprehensive iPad digital learning program designed to give the students a solid foundation for the future in the increasingly high-tech real world. While Clay County and other public school districts use iPads on a smaller scale, the private school is among the first in Northeast Florida to feature iPad 1:1 learning for fifth- through 12th-grade students in all classrooms. Each St. Johns County Day School student is required to use an Apple iPad for their classroom lessons, homework and study projects. iPads have replaced most of the traditional textbooks and workbooks for the grades at the school, which has garnered national recognition for providing students with "a superior college preparatory curriculum focused on academics, arts and athletics." The iPad program is an extension of that commitment to students, a step toward better preparing the students for college and ultimately for the job market, school headmaster Edward M. Ellison told the Times-Union. "I believe the world is changing so rapidly that we would be doing our students a disservice if we didn't embrace the technology," Ellison said. "We know our students will be inheriting a world that is rapidly changing. We believe that it is forward thinking to give them these tools, and then teach them how to use them intelligently, productively and in a disciplined way." Located on Doctors Lake Drive, St. Johns Country Day School is the largest private school in Clay County. Established in 1953, the independent co-educational school boasts 635 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. About 432 students enrolled in the Lower, Middle and Upper divisions are participating in the program. Ellison said almost all of the students either own or rent their iPads because the school requires them to have the tablets. A few are provided tablets by the school, which has spent about $250,000 over the past three years to implement the iPad program, he said. Last year, it piloted the iPad program for grades 5, 7, and 9. Pleased with those results, the school expanded the program Aug. 19 when classes resumed following summer recess. "The iPad takes learning to a whole new level with endless possibilities," said Adam Gaffey, school director of technology. "It's about making learning fun and getting the kids to learn more than they could without it." Teachers use iPads to develop and help deliver lessons in the classroom. The technology allows them to easily tailor the curriculum to meet the students' needs. With the tablet, students can access lessons and assignments using text, sound, photos and videos from any location. One of the program's features allows the teacher to know instantly whether a student leaves the lesson in class to check email or social media. Everything meshes together, students said, because everyone has the same tablet and software, and there is no problem with outdated textbooks. Tech support is available 24/7 should a tablet develop a glitch, they said. Patterson and Varelas give the iPad program high marks, as do parents and teachers at the school. "It's more interactive for us. And I think we are more engaged this way with what is going on," Patterson said. "It's easier to access information. Everything you need is right there in the palm of your hand." Unlike textbooks, which have a finite amount of information, tablets can access unlimited data on the Internet. It's been particularly useful, Varelas said, in history and Latin classes because it allows a teacher to access an app that can share a presentation with the whole class directly on the screen of the tablets where its easier for the students to see and to work with than a traditional white or chalkboard. "It lets him go through the lesson and we can read documents on our own at our own pace on our screen," Varelas said. "Then in Latin, we have a document online that can be edited by every member of the class. So as we go through our readings, we add onto the document our official translation, and we can edit and our teacher can give his input right away if we do something wrong." IPADS IN SOME PUBLIC SCHOOLS The Clay County School District as well as Duval County Public Schools and the St. Johns County School District each boast iPad or similar digital learning systems at some schools and for some classes. The iPad 1:1 initiative is being used by students at Clay's eight Title 1 elementary schools: Charles E. Bennett, Clay Hill, S.G. Jennings, W.E. Cherry, Wilkinson, Middleburg, McRae and Grove Park, said Assistant Superintendent Diane Kornegay, who oversees instruction in the public school district. Kornegay estimated about 1,000 students throughout the district are involved in the initiative. Some schools have an entire grade level or two, while others have individual classrooms of students using iPads. Clay Hill Elementary School is close to being fully iPad 1:1 in third through sixth grade. About 250 students are using the tablets. Clay Hill also is working toward becoming an Apple Model School, she said. "In addition, we have other 1:1 initiatives that include Chromebooks and BYOD bring your own device at our high schools. So, adding these others, the impact goes well beyond just elementary and impacts several thousand students districtwide," Kornegay said. About 7,500 students in Duval County Public Schools are using iPads. Although it doesn't have the iPad 1:1 program, the tablets are being used at all grade levels when the software supports it. They are class sets, Tia Ford, school system spokeswoman said. The St. Johns County School District has a 1:1 digital learning pilot program in place at seven schools at different grade levels. Depending on the school, students in kindergarten through 12th grade are using tablets. The students are using either iPads or Lenovo laptops, said Christina Langston, school district spokeswoman. Langston said about 3,000 students over three years will participate in the district's digital 1:1 pilot The digital 1:1 pilot started this year. However, Palencia Elementary School previously had been piloting digital instruction with students having access to digital textbooks via iPads since it opened in 2012, Langston said. It's too soon for comprehensive data from those districts regarding the effectiveness of iPads in student learning. RESEARCH ONGOING As iPads become more common in classrooms, research into the effectiveness on learning and teaching with tablets in the classroom is still largely anecdotal. Some existing studies contradict each other. Ellison said the juries are still out whether tablets or laptop computers are a distraction in the classroom, and how much screen time might be detrimental to students. The school, he said, looked at a lot of research but there wasn't one piece of data or one study that swayed their thinking about whether to implement the iPad 1:1 program. Ellison said for him, it was more of a philosophical decision. EXPERIENCE POSITIVE AT ST. JOHNS COUNTRY DAY Carlie Miles has always been a pretty good student but her mother says the iPad program is helping her daughter become a better pupil. A sixth-grade student, Carlie, 11, was among the students testing tablet learning last year during the school's pilot program. She helped test all the apps, and how to handle any technological issues that might arise. Carlie also learned about the responsibility factor, her mother, Rhonda Todd-Miles told the Times-Union. The iPad gives her daughter more accessibility to reference and textbook materials she needs for school work. It's also improved her daughter's study habits because carrying her iPad is a lot easier than lugging around a heavy backpack filled with books, Todd-Miles said. "There are so many places that have Wi-Fi, if she needs to look up something online ... or if it's just an app on the iPad she needs to reference. It makes it a lot easier for her to study between other activities. She can just log into the library from wherever she might be," Todd-Miles said. Todd-Miles said it's "definitely been a very interesting learning experience -- not only for the student but also for the parent." She's watched her daughter develop academically and as a person since she has been using the iPad for her school work. "One of the very simple things the program has taught, is more responsibility. Such as charging your iPad. Charging the iPad is not the parent's responsibility. It's the student's responsibility," said Todd-Miles, adding her daughter has been good about charging and updating the iPad. It's also been good, Todd-Miles said, for warding off procrastination. Students learn they must get their assignments done promptly or risk a website they need for research or homework not being available because it's being updated, for example, the night before the assignment is due to the teacher. As part of the program, the school has educational nights for parents where they learn about the using the iPad as well as Internet safety, parental controls and details of how students will be learning with the tablets, Todd-Miles said. Gaffey said the school has conducted training for teachers every day. The training has included an Apple technology training specialist conducting an all-day session at the school. The focus also is on getting teachers to be excited about using the iPads, he said. "We teach them not just how to use the iPad but how to be better teachers using the iPad," Gaffey said. A teacher at the school for 16 years, Walter Newsom said the tablets have "really transformed learning" for students in his sixth- and seventh-grade history classes. "Now, they're fully engaged and excited about learning," said Newsom, adding the iPad has been as asset to him as well. "I do everything on the iPad from taking attendance, grading and providing feedback to sharing lectures, creating interactive assignments and even taking my students on virtual field trips." Teresa Stepzinski: (904) 359-4075 ___ (c)2014 The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.) Visit The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.) at www.jacksonville.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |