Catholic Central will provide iPads for all students next year
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
While most schools are keeping their options open as they test the digital waters, Catholic Central High School in Burlington is prepared to take a quantum leap into the technology pool next school year.
CCHS will issue Apple iPad3 tablet computers to all students for the 2012-13 school year in attempt to enhance learning and cut future costs by staying ahead of the digital curve, according to business education teacher Matt DeLorme, who is spearheading the project for the school.
“We’ve been looking at it for a couple of years,” DeLorme said. “We’re struggling every year to keep up with new technology. This will keep that new technology in (students’) hands now and into the future.
“I think it’s going to be awesome for our students,” he added. “Anything we can do to improve the educational experience is important.”
However, before students rejoice with thoughts of playing Angry Birds during a particularly boring physics lecture, DeLorme has a reminder:
“This is an educational tool, not a gaming device,” he said, noting there will be restrictions on uses.
And, before parents get carried away with the expanded digital learning opportunities, they must be reminded that such tools come with a cost.
All students at CCHS will pay technology package fee of $400 in addition to regular tuition next year and in successive years. The fee covers everything from the device itself to a case, insurance, apps, e-books, technical support, maintenance and campus-wide wireless access.
From the perspective of the CCHS School Board, Principal Greg Groth and the staff at the school, the cost is justified for the learning enhancement the iPads will bring, according to DeLorme.
“It’s time to change the way we teach and the way our students learn,” he said. “We are extremely excited about this initiative and feel that it is going to be the best way to help our students succeed, not only today but well into the future.”
Here’s how the program works:
• Partnering with Capital Technology and Leasing of Missouri – which leases the devices and provides technical support – CCHS will issue iPads to all students and staff.
• Students will have the tablets 24/7 during the school year and will turn them back in at the end of the year. The iPads will be reformatted, refreshed and reissued the following school year.
• Every two years – freshman and junior years – students will receive new devices with the latest upgrades.
• New textbooks and classroom materials will be purchased or provided in electronic form – more commonly known as e-book or iBook, which is Apple’s format.
The first step in the process, which will begin this spring, is providing iPads and training to the 20 members of the teaching staff, DeLorme said.
The teachers will integrate the iPads into their lessons, ordering the appropriate apps (short for software applications) and, where applicable, electronic textbooks.
According to DeLorme, the school’s current textbooks will be eliminated by attrition – as they become worn and dated they will be replaced by e-books.
“Within a two- or three-year period, we’re looking to go all iBook or e-book,” he said.
The electronic forms of textbooks can include embedded video and other interactive features to engage students.
Another benefit of electronic materials is the cost, according to DeLorme, which is about $15 per unit compared to $80 or $100 for substantial hardcover textbook.
Catholic Central’s relatively small enrollment – the school has about 150 students – makes implementation of the program logistically feasible.
DeLorme said that while considering the program he and Groth visited Racine St. Catherine’s, which has an iPad program for 6-8th grades, and Kenosha St. Joseph High School, which has a laptop computer program, to learn about the benefits and pitfalls.
At CCHS, the iPads will remain property of the school and as such are subject to search and/or revocation. Students and their parents are required to sign an Acceptable Use Policy.
During school hours the tablets can only be used for academic work approved by teachers. However, students will be allowed to use them for recreational browsing outside of school hours. That doesn’t mean free reign.
While school officials will not routinely monitor iPad use, DeLorme said, the students have no expectation of privacy in use of the tablet. The school also restricts the type of apps that can be loaded to the iPads.
“We’re beginning something different and neat, and I think it will be in all schools eventually,” DeLorme said.
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