Before the end of this school year, every full-time certificated teacher in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District should have an iPad in his or her hands.
The iPads will provide teachers with the freedom to move around the classroom, improve interactions with students, and keep them connected to all of the digital resources they need to facilitate learning, according to district spokesperson Maggie White. Over the summer and throughout the next school year, teachers will be trained on how to use the device for curriculum and lessons
An app on the iPad will allow teachers to project onto a larger screen as well as project and share student work from Chrome Books. There are now approximately 8,080 Chrome Books in the district for student use.
“The iPads encourage and support collaboration and interaction,” Brian Rieke, the district’s information technologies coordinator, said in a press release. “The physical form and function of the iPad invites a teacher to leave the front of the room and join students in learning, without becoming unplugged from the tools, such as Goggle Apps, that facilitate that learning.”
Money for the iPads comes from one-time funding from the state to implement Common Core curriculum standards.
This article appears in May 7-14, 2015.