Middle Schoolers get iPads for class

OLNEY, Ill. (WTHI) - It’s lunchtime at East Richland Middle School in Olney, Ill., and dozens of pre-teens stream to their lockers to stow away their books and bags.

While each carries a unique load (blue trapper keepers, Justin Bieber notebooks) they all carry one item in common: an iPad tablet.

Since October 2011, each student and teacher at the school has been issued his or her own iPad for use during school hours.

Principal Andy Thomann said the program came after months of preparing teachers.

“We spent a lot of time training our teachers and getting them comfortable with the device before we expected them to do it in front of a group of 25 kids,” Thomann said.

The devices were paid for through a $300,000 grant from the State of Illinois, which also helped pay for training, cases for the iPads, and other costs.

Many teachers said while the iPads took some adjustment, they have since proved useful in keeping students interested and engaged.

“Normally they wouldn’t step out of their comfort zone and raise their hand, so it’s really nice for them to be able to express how they feel,” said Jamie Tyler, a 6 ^th Grade Science teacher. “I can get the temperature of the whole class instead of just a few kids.”

Tyler said some classes have used the iPads to communicate with other students in New Jersey and in France.

Other teachers said the iPads also help students learn how to communicate through newer technology.

“Not only are we able to teach them the core academics and the subject matter that they need to, they’re also figuring out how to do it through technology,” said Camille Stephens, an 8 ^th Grade Language Arts teacher.

Students have also used to the iPads to take notes, answer questions in class, research topics and read textbooks that are downloaded to the device.

Principal Thomann said many of the students are almost as proficient with the iPads as their teachers.

“As soon as you get 25 kids with an iPad in front of you, you cease to be the expert pretty quick, because they know what they’re doing, and they will tell you that,” Thomann said.

While students take the iPads with them from class to class, they do not take them home and are not yet able to take them along to high school, Thomann said.

Apple, which makes the iPad, estimates that more than 1.5 million iPads are being used in schools.