Superintendent's Advisory Committee Meeting at RS

BOE Meeting at RS

WS/RS Preschool Home Visits

Elementary Band Concert at RS

WS Holiday Play

RS Winter Concert

MTES Winter Concert

EARLY DISMISSAL ALL SCHOOLS

SCHOOLS CLOSED

WINTER BREAK

SCHOOLS REOPEN

BOE Reorganization Meeting at RS

Students in Jennifer Ansbach's period 10-11 Junior English class at Manchester Township High School are learning in a completely new way this year, using Apple iPad computer tablets in the district's first iPad classroom.  A typical day in class might find them demonstrating apps to one another with projected presentations, doing web research at their desks, or video-chatting with students in another state.  Tom Baxter, Director of Curriculum, said that the pilot program would help the district evaluate classroom use of the iPad tablet technology for possible future implementation on a larger scale.

Each student in the pilot class was assigned an iPad, which they will use in class and may also take home to work on projects, homework and research. When not in use, the iPads are stored safely in a charging station storage cabinet in the classroom.  Students and parents signed contracts with rules for appropriate use and care of the tablets and wrote deposit checks that will be returned to them when the iPads are returned to the district at the end of the year.  The district's Technology Coordinator, Chip Conover, set up the classroom for iPad use, including wireless internet access.

Ansbach described the pilot class as a mixed population general class with varying academic levels as well as varying degrees of technical experience from fairly tech-savvy to never having seen an iPad.  "They were so excited when we gave them out -it was like Christmas morning," she remarked.

She said that the iPads are ideal for facilitating project based learning, a focus of the latest core curriculum content standards.  The class's first big project will be to create their own digital version of Beowulf.  Ansbach says she is not telling her students how to go about this.  "It requires that they brainstorm and figure it out on their own," she said.  "They will need to read different versions and research tools and resources. They need to learn to evaluate sources in order to decide the best format to use."

It's a new experience for Ansbach, too.  "It does require that you give the students control and trust that they will find their way," she remarked.  "As adults we picture what we would do.  I have to let them go and realize that maybe I don't know best. They don't see the limits like we do."

The students are encouraged to use the iPads on their own in order to learn how to use the apps and become comfortable with the device.  To help everyone learn more quickly, each student was assigned an app to research. "Each student becomes an expert in that app, and presents it to the class," explained Ansbach.  "They will each act as the resident expert for that app so that I can handle other issues."

Baxter said that the feedback from Ansbach and her students has been very positive so far.  "They are so excited about the technology and keep coming up with new ways to use it.  I recently watched them Skype with students in Missouri as part of their research." [read more]