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Thursday, December 27, 2012 MONADNOCK LEDGER-TRANSCRIPT PAGE

2012: A LOOK BACK

Many of the seventh graders now using iPads say the technology has made learning more fun. Teachers, meanwhile, say it is increasing research skills.

iPad classroom revolution: How kids relate

Jaffrey-Rindge students tap into technology
By Alyssa Dandrea
Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

JAFFREY With a simple swipe of the fingers and a couple light taps on the screen, more than 200 students in the Jaffrey-Rindge School District have access to a wealth of educational resources at their fingertips. But it didnt always used to be that way. The incorporation of the Apple iPad, or touch-screen tablet, as an integral part of a students daily coursework this fall has revolutionized the districts seventh-grade classrooms, said Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School Principal Ryan Early in an interview on Dec. 18. Technology is how kids relate, Early said. The world isnt sitting still its constantly creating and our kids have to be ready for it. This past spring, the School Board approved up to $204,000 of unspent 2011-12 schoolyear funds for the purchase of 280 iPads for all the districts seventh-graders and some high school students. High school students will be using the iPads in ancient and medieval history and senior-level civics classes in the fall semester, and in chemistry and microbiology classes during the spring semester. All the devices are under warranty and have safeguards installed, which prohibit Web browsing unrelated to schoolwork. The iPads are teaching kids not only how to locate pertinent information, but how to synthesize and apply it, Early said. Information is vital, but you have to have that soft skill of making it clean and refined. Everyone gets to do that, but in their own way. Although there were a few challenges outfitting the iPads and getting them ready for students use, Early said the programs launch this year has been a great success. So much so that the district is proposing to extend the program to all of its eighth and ninth graders next year. A proposed plan to fund the program is expected to come before the School Board in January, but Supt. Jim ONeill said Friday that one viable proposal would be

to use SchoolCare surplus funds. SchoolCare, a health insurance provider for towns and school districts, will return $8.5 million in the form of premium holidays to its members under an agreement with the N.H. Bureau of Securities Regulation beginning this month. More than $130,000 will be returned to the Jaffrey-Rindge School District and could be used to expand the iPad program, ONeill said. Seventh grade science teacher Meredith Lyons said during an interview at the middle school cafeteria on Dec. 18 that her students use the iPads for research, to better understand and manipulate data, as well as to view educational videos created by students around the country. Expanding the program would be a positive step for the district, Lyons said, because students could build electronic portfolios and see firsthand how their learning has evolved. Early and Lyons said there was some apprehension at first about giving 12- and 13- year-olds iPads, but the benefits of the program have largely calmed those fears. Students have a sense of pride about using them and thus far there have been no issues, Early said. At the cafeteria last week, seventh-grade girls and boys said the iPad has made learning more fun and that they want to continue to use the device in future years. Dec. 18 also marked the first day that students were permitted to bring the iPads home to complete school assignments. The day was one Riley Buckjune, 12, of Rindge said she and her friends had anxiously awaited. In addition to making class more exciting, Buckjune said there are programs on the iPad that students did not have access to previously. Next year itll be easier, too, because we are used to it and know how to use the different programs, she said. Kyle Billdeau, 12, of Rindge said the iPad reduces the number of paper handouts he receives for each class, making it less likely that hell lose important information.

Staff photos by Alyssa Dandrea

Jaffrey-Rindge Middle Schools seventh graders Cassie Olson of Rindge, left, and Joshua Arruda of Jaffrey make journal entries in iPads at the start of their English class on Dec. 18.

Seventh graders use iPads as part of their daily curriculum in the Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School.

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