Unsolicited Request to Research iPad Implementation Feasibility in Pinellas (Activity, 2012)
Superintendent Chalmers:
My esteemed colleagues and I have an idea to implement a proven system into Pinellas County High Schools that will aide in achieving our County’s goal of exemplifying exceptional, bar-raising education standards. It is after months of thorough research that we have decided to propose the implementation of Apple’s iPad tablet technology in Pinellas County High Schools.
Proposed Solution: iPads for Each Student
Developing new methods to effectively engage and teach students is a challenge that every facilitator gladly faces. With a vested interest in the success of every student it is up to us, as educators, to decide how to best engage them in a way that makes them want to learn. Resulting from research conducted with my award-winning colleagues, we are proud to present to you a relatively straightforward proposal to help our county move closer to the top of the state’s standardized scores. To do this, we must follow the path forged by numerous schools across the Nation and embrace the iPad tablet as the future standard of educating students. With your permission, we would like to move forward with a proposal to implement Apple’s iPad technology into Pinellas County High Schools, beginning with a modest with 350 units to gauge student interaction and monitor test results before making a full, district-wide commitment.
Role of the iPad Inside Schools
The idea of integrating iPads into student life presents itself as the next logical step of technologies’ role in education at nearly half the cost of a computer. With the tablet, students will be able to experience interactive learning environments; their lessons will become something they enjoy learning from. Such innovative iPad applications include Motion Math, a mathematics application that was recently used in a study conducted by Professor Michelle Riconscente of the University of Southern California. According to Riconscente’s study, “test scores improved an average of over 15% after playing Motion Math for 20 minutes daily over a five-day period”(2012) and she concludes, “[that figure represents] a significant increase compared to a control group”(2012).
Along with learning applications, the iPad has the ability to be a virtual-textbook repository for all of the student’s classes and will reduce the costs associated with providing individual textbooks. Through the application GoodReader, students can view, highlight, and annotate their textbook on the iPad without doing harm to a hardcopy. According to a study conducted by Kaiser in 2010 which measured, among other things, the amount of media consumption in 8-to-18-year olds, “students spend over ten hours a day using technology such as cell phones, computers and laptops, and surfing the Web” (Rideout et al.). With the iPad, we can build on a foundation they are already familiar with and seamlessly integrate the process of learning into an engaging medium they can transport with relative ease.
Costs Associated with Preliminary iPad Integration
In 2012, Fritz Busch of NuJournal analyzed the costs associated with an technology implementation similar to what is being proposed here and found that, in April of 2010, Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop High School purchased 310 iPads for students, which was accurately budgeted at $267,748 for a complete technology overhaul through the introduction of tablet technology (2012). Since then, there have been several new versions of the iPad —some that are smaller; some that are bigger; some that are faster— all ranging in cost. Although it’s difficult to accurately gauge costs that would be incurred today without a more formal study, the price would be substantially less than it was two years ago mainly because of the ability to purchase previous generations of the tablet at a greatly reduced price. Additionally, Apple offers education discounts that enable schools to attain iPads, in bulk, at a discounted rate. There are also various grants available that can be attained, something that will be covered in greater detail should you choose to move forward.
Moving Forward
Should you wish to pursue implementing the iPad in Pinellas County, my colleagues and I would prepare a proposal detailing a list of quantifiable details, including numerous case studies with comparative results and an itemized breakdown of costs; additionally, we will explore grants available and other funding options. Both my colleagues and I firmly believe the technology will pay for itself through test scores and, should you choose to move forward, we’re confident you’ll find additional evidence to support our claims. We look forward to your response.
Works Cited
Busch, Fritz. "IPads Are Apple of GFW's Eye." NUJournal.com. The Journal, 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.nujournal.com/page/content.detail/id/512977.html>.
Riconscente, Michelle. Mobile Learning Game Improves 5th Graders' Fractions Knowledge and Attitudes. N.p., 2012. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://www.gamedesk.org/reports/MM_FINAL_REPORT.pdf>.
Rideout, Victoria J., Ulla G. Foehr, and Donald F. Roberts. "Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year Olds: A Kaiser Family Foundation Study." The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf>.
