Peter Smith is the Middle School head at St. Andrews in Savannah, Georgia. In this podcast (148) he discusses about how his school has been upgrading their technology by integrating; iPads, interactive white boards and a complete instructional over-hall. 100 mac books 40 iPads.
iDiscover is the name of the program and was initiated in June and implemented in August. The school owns all of the devices and have technology packages. They use these additions as library books, renting them out and updating them. Overall the Discovery method was most important in this implementation of the iPads. The recognition that technology is constantly changing, and sometimes mistakes will be made in using these technologies is necessary in order for everybody to be on board and for the overall implementation to be a success.
I think that the implementation of this discovery package is a huge step for St. Andrews Middle School. Personally, I was a little skeptic of the size of the steps taken from having access to 6 to 7 PC machines, to having a technology package full of macbooks, iPads and a google amount of applications to use in the classroom.
The fact that this school has been able to implement these technologies and allow the students and parents to meet at an understanding in using them academically is quite an accomplishment for having only two months to prepare. I really think it was important for the school and students to be on board that these tools are just that--technologies to aid in learning rather than entertainment devices. The no game policy went over better than I had expected it to with these young students.
Many of the applications seem extremely beneficial and can be used in countless ways in the classrooms. From ABC's to stock market simulations, the iPads and macbooks have raised the curriculum standards within St. Andrews. As a teacher, I would be very excited to use this discovery program because it allows for students to be trained as young as kindergarten in technology and its' endless uses in the classroom.
Just as I was trained to read out of books and answer questions on paper, these students will be able to grow up using these technological advances so that school work on sick days is not as overwhelming, and they will still be able to actively participate in their classrooms.
I think that St. Andrews is right on track to making its necessary advances in technology and in turn in their academic progress.
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