Costs and Considerations For iPad Deployments In Educational Settings A Panel Discussion Moderated by NJCART Hosted By Monroe Township

High School April 24, 2012 Monroe Township: Monroe Township stated that the use of iPads in their classrooms is a learning initiative, not a technology initiative, preparing students to become independent learners and to prepare students for college in the 21st century. Students need to be able to communicate in a digital fashion. They need to learn and be able to apply knowledge. iPads enable students to interface with the digital world. There are qualitative and quantitative assessment checks that are performed. Monroe currently has 2000 iPads in use in their district. They purchased their iPads though the volume purchase program. They said they made the decision to purchase them in July and had everything in place by September. Monroe currently has 3 techs for the High School to cover all the iPads for the 1,700 students.

Bancroft School in Haddonfield, NJ They currently have around 250 students in their school. There are 75 iPads in use in their school setting. There is at least one iPad in use in every classroom as well as one iPad per administrator. They have zone coordinators that help support the use of the iPads in the school.

Horizon Schools There are 2 schools with around 70 students. There is one iPad in every classroom to supplement and support learning. The use of the iPads supplements teacher lessons. There are currently 5 people assigned with tasks to help support their iPads within the school. There is a purchaser, 2 support staff and 2 people are assigned to manually install apps. iPads are used on an individual classroom basis. The apps and use are designed for the students in each class to support lesson plans, goals and objectives. Some iPads are also customized for an individual student, if needed.

All three schools agreed that the iPads can be used for many uses in the classrooms. The lowest level for use is when the iPad is used to display information to the class such as an overhead to the highest level where classrooms are creating wikis and varying lesson plans. IPads are used in general education and special education classrooms to differentiate and support instruction.

How does it improve a teachers lesson plans? The iPad replaces the overhead. It can be utilized as a class wiki. They can help to vary a teachers lesson plans through providing differentiated instruction for use in regular education as well as special education classrooms. A teacher can request new apps to support lessons they are doing. Apps are correlated to the CCCS and objectives.

How is the device deployed and what kind of training do the teachers receive? You can learn on demand anywhere at anytime. Students can interface with the world at large. iPads increase the mobility by giving the opportunity for 24/7 learning to take place. Knowledge is everywhere, all the time and students need to be able to use digital technology and be able to apply their knowledge.

Planning Process: Who did they consult? They all agreed that they received input from case managers and parents. They researched other school districts and their agreements that are in use in the district/school (School owned, district owned and family owned). They met with the Apple Representatives and learned how to effectively manage how much it was going to cost. Apple also walked them through step by step. Apple provided step by step pdfs as well as hands on support. They said the iPad is quicker and faster than the Windows Slate. The all did online research and read technology magazines. As well as attended conferences for additional information around the country. They use social media (Twitter) to find out new information and stay connected with others who are using them in the classrooms.

Monroe Township explained that having the iPads in use in their district was a must in their new state of the art high school.

They met with the Apple representatives and it was always about learning and never about sales. They came in and presented to the Superintendent and Administrators. The classrooms are using the iPads for digital textbooks, they create their own content, apps, They also have an ongoing service learning project. How do you identify problems in your community? Students collect data, videos and pictures with their iPads to work on this project. Mini pilot.iPads were used in a control group in Basic Skills Math. The district saw a large improvement in this control group. It started out in a classroom environment and now it is a one on one environment.

All of the schools stated that they brought in and met with multiple vendors before making their decisions. Some of the vendors they met with were Dell, HP (Touch Pad), Kindle and Apple. They stated that Apple blew all the other vendors away. Apple was most impressive and came in with a complete plan and solution. Apple still currently supports the Monroe district and did not disappear after purchase.

How did you prepare teachers? All districts gave teachers time to explore. They were given iPads for use in every classroom. Teacher had online access to explore, become familiar with and use before using in their classrooms. They have iBreakfast Club. This club meets before school in the morning before class. The iPad is displayed on a Smartboard and they all explore the apps together. They also have classes to help teacher learn how to use them and use the apps. All the districts encourage staff to take home the iPads to explore at home a well. Monroe provided teachers with a two day training on the iPads and Mac Book in September. All teachers were given both (the iPad and the Mac Book) in September when school began. They also provided training though half day workshops, mini courses and they are still working with Apple education.

Infrastructure They contacted Apple for Educational Pricing. They needed a school wide network upgrade. Schools went wireless. They needed many access points. Learn how to have apps without syncing

Websense security being used. Monroe has VGA cables to the iPads so they can use the iPads with a projector. Monroe plans on installing Apple TV over the summer.

Funding Bond referendum State funding can be used in Technology. IDEA has funding for technology. Partnerships with local organizations

What did you spend the most money on? Horizon: Most of their money has been spent on labor. The costs go down once the teachers learn how to use them. Bancroft They spent most of their money on infrastructure and professional development. Monroe: Stated that they spent the most money on Professional Development and the substitute coverage that was needed to send the teachers out for the PD.

How does the iPad impact learning and/or test scores? Through a program called Motion Math, of the 5th grade students who used it, they achieved 15% higher scores on the topic of fractions with repeated use. Skills can be repeated over and over again on the iPad until a student feels confident with that particular concept. Horizon had a mixed feeling of iPads. Some students seemed to thrive using it, while others didnt care either way. For Monroe, the iPad does not equal guaranteed test results. It involves lots of coaching, support, data collection, and data analysis, which they are in the process of compiling this year.

Apps and IEP modifications: Horizon Individual needs to the students or a class. Bancroft Each classroom has they apps that they want and use. Parent can also purchase an iPad for their own child and the parents sign a paper to filter what can be seen. This iPad will be able to see all district apps.

Monroe IPads are not locked for teachers. Teachers can go out and explore on their own. Student iPads are locked. If they need a specific app, the techs will load that app on for that child. Money is budgeted for teachers to purchase apps for their classrooms. Cons: Child uses an iPad at home for fun and entertainment and when they come to school they do want to use it educationally. iPads can disappear so Monroe installed Find an IPad" app in order to locate a missing iPad. They said all are always accounted for with this app. Screens can crack if not properly cared for.

Advice: Monroe advises the district to give teachers time to become familiar with the device before giving them to the students. iUniversity: Teachers and students can go online and create their own content. If it meets the district standards it can go online. If you will be sending home the iPads with the students you must have a Partnership with parents and an acceptable use policy signed. How do they monitor what apps are good and which ones are not? They track by their apple id. The id should be the district email so district owns the apps. You can sign in under multiple accounts through iTunes.

Conclusion: All of the schools are pleased with using the iPads in their districts and they highly recommend using them.