Hillsborough Students to Use Tablets in Class
About 450 students will be part of second phase of district's pilot technology program.
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A program that may eventually give every student in grades 5-12 a tablet computer will be gaining steam in the 2012-13 school year.
About 10 percent of Hillsborough students in those grades will be given either iPads or Chromebooks in the new school year as a pilot program enters its second phase, Superintendent of Schools Jorden Schiff said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting.
This year, in the program’s first phase, students in algebra classes at the high school and seventh grade were given the tablets. Next year, the program will be expanded at the high and middle schools and started in fifth grade at Auten Road Intermediate School.
The goal is to equip every student in grades 5-12 with a tablet over four years, Schiff said.
One of the interesting findings of the pilot program this year, the superintendent said, is that students were using the tablets as an organizational tool and using them for subjects other than algebra, Schiff said.
Another advantage of the tablets, he said, is that they allow “asynchronous” learning at any time of the day because the material is Internet-based.
The tablets also allow for the classroom walls to be torn down and learning could become globalized, according to Lisa M. Atunes, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.
The curriculum will be written to utilize the technology, Atunes said.
Atunes also said the tablets help special education students in a number ways. The tablets help students with their development of fine motor skills, helps them "find their voice," and increases socialization."
"They can now be just like the cool kids," Atunes said.
Karen Bingert, principal of Hillsborough High School, said next year the program will be expanded to 10 new courses at the school, with half the students in those courses receiving iPads ands the other half receiving Chromebooks. The courses will cover much of the spectrum at the high school, including English, social studies science, math, world language and special education, she said.
“This will give the students all the tools they need all the time,’’ she said.
She emphasized that the tablet’s role as an organizational tool and as a communication device, allowing students to receive emails. She also said they would allow students to do their schoolwork at any time during a busy schedule of afterschool activities.
About 240 students at the high school will be receiving the tablets, Bingert said.
At the middle school, principal Joseph Trybulski said, about 120 seventh-graders will be receiving the tablets.
“Kids can find their own resources at lightning speed,” Trybulski said, adding that, like at the school, the tablets will be used across the curriculum.
At Auten Road Intermediate School, about 100 fifth-graders will be getting the tablets, Vice Principal Steve Kerrigan said. Teachers will stress computer etiquette and other protocols in an age-appropriate way, he said.
Kerrigan said there will also be a parent advisory council not only to inform parents about the program, but also to gather their feedback. Kerrigan said it will be a forum for “open dialogue.”
Schiff said this phase of the program will cost $340,000; that money was included in the budget approved by voters in April.
If the pilot programs are successful, then the district will consider whether to implement the program fully, Schiff said. At that time, the board will decide whether to buy or lease the tablets or explore other funding options, the superintendent said.
“We’re very excited,” Schiff said.
In This article
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Auten Road Intermediate School
281 Auten Rd, Hillsborough, NJ -
Hillsborough High School
466 Raider Blvd, Hillsborough, NJ
Joanna
8:04 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I find it almost comical wondering how the BOE will manage to keep all of these students off of all of the social media sites while allowing them to find resources at "lightning speed". I, myself, own an Ipad2 and love it to pieces. Yet, not only was it a fabulously expensive piece of machinery, from "a to z" to purchase, the monthly cost of 3G (naturally, you can now get 4G) is a pretty penny. Also, it will come to a point where many other (if not all) students will want them. How will the BOE fairly distinguish who does and who doesn't get one? If you think it'll only cost a total of $340,000.00 you have another thing coming. Something like this should be a personal choice within the family to purchase or not-NOT the BOE making such an extravagant purchase for "some" students! And again, watch how our taxes head "north".
Laura Madsen
8:35 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I love the idea. It's nice to see that the school district is keeping up with technology.
Rick
9:22 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
What a crock. First, does it have to be the most expensive hardware? How about a more novel idea...something like a Kindle Fire is less than 1/3 the cost and still has internet. I think the Nook is about the same. Replace all of the textbooks with licenses of ebooks for those devices. (My daughter can't bring home a science book from ARIS as there are not enough to go around.) Have you seen the amount of stuff the kids have to lug in their back packs? Those devices are all WiFi. Rather than having everyone run to the bookstore and plop down money on all of the required reading, just get a deal on a volume license for the kids or go through the public library to license more copies of the required reading books. Come on, BoE, Dr. Schiff and administration...think just a little bit before wasting money. Have a better set of goals beyond "the cool factor". You can get the same or better results when using the right tools, not just the most expensive ones.
Wonder why most school budgets get voted down?
LTK
11:06 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Apple gives HUGE discounts to educators and schools - more than likely there is also grant money offsetting some of the cost of this either Federal or directly from Apple. I seriously doubt the "cool factor" had any weight in the decision but rather the functonality of the appliances and their ability to compete with ever changing technology.
Judith Ferrazzano
5:49 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
FYI- Apple does not give HUGE discounts, just a discount. I am an educator, and just bought a MacBook Pro. The discount came to a little over 8%. That's not huge...it covered the sales tax, and a bit more.
David
9:18 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
I agree with Judith. I know for a fact Apple doesn't give huge discounts. They will only give huge discounts if like Hillsborough said they were only going to purchase and use "Apple" computers in their school system. Then Apple would provide a bigger discount but it still isn't huge.
Jim Minadeo
12:15 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I am in other district but seen it in use for 1st grade. Why the older grades? It would seem that a table would be more useful for younger grades. Younger grades can find more use. Before they can write, they are already spelling words and creating sentences. The teacher had a great presentation with one of the students. Math, reading, science, social studies. All done with iPad. Obviously, one would get a volume discount and no 4G or 3G needed. Yes to ebooks. You can put controls on the other internet junk. The key is to educate the teachers into how to apply the technology. The reason to use Ipad is the tremendous volume of applications available for Ipad. The teacher said that about half of the software was free. She is reporting at least one half letter grade improvement over traditional methods and she is the best teacher in the school by far already. Good luck Hillsborough. I support you 100%
Jabooty
5:39 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Wait..according to the teachers union, when they annually want...if we "value" our children, we will support this...if we "value" our children, we will support annual increases in salaries, if we "value" our children, we will add administrative staff. I do value my children, but as a responsible parent, I feel very comfortable saying "no" to every financial demand they have, the Union "values" their pocket, in the name of our children. Laptops may not be a union expense, but interestingly, expenses will be looked at and perhaps budgets voted down again next year, because of this...as we "value" remaining in our homes.
David
9:08 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
I'm surprised the school is giving out Ipads. I think Android Based tablets are a more affordable option and provide more options for learning. Apple Ipads are limited and don't provide the ability to write on the tablet itself like it is a "Tablet". Ipads are mainly just touchpads.
Check this link of the Lenovo Tablet I provide and help promote with Lenovo.
http://bcove.me/gdzxpvbo
David
9:14 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Forgot to add a comment. I am the owner of Dave's Computers in town and one thing I tried to do was provide computers and tablets to Hillsborough Schools at "my cost" to give back to the community. I tried calling the Board of Education but was never able to reach anyone, hopefully if someone reads this article will at least consider asking me in the future. I always provide products to education in the area for at "my cost" to give back.