Saucon Valley holds information night for parents of seventh-graders who will be the first class to receive the devices.
Saucon Valley School District officials got an earful of questions
from parents of students who will be the first to get iPads when the new
school year begins.The district is launching its "One to One" program with students entering seventh grade. Eventually, all students in seventh to 12th grade will have the Apple device to use in school and to take home at night.
On Monday, the district held an information night to allow parents — and students— to ask questions about what would be uncharted territory for the district.
For more than an hour, attendees lobbed questions about computer security, use of the device, access to the Internet and insurance the district will require parents to purchase if students opt to take the device home.
During a discussion on the goal to turn learning into a paperless process, one mother asked, "When will this [the iPad] be the only thing the kids will have in their backpacks?"
Instructional technical specialist James Colbert answered, "It could come as early as the end of this year."
But the district isn't just throwing the kids — or their parents — into the high tech pond without life preservers.
Middle School Principal Pam Bernardo told the crowd of about 75 parents, and at least as many youngsters, that the first month of the 2012-13 school year will include 30 dedicated blocks of instruction, including what the district is calling "digital citizenship" on acceptable use of the device.
Students will also learn how to download apps, although what can be grabbed from the district's Internet "cloud" of information will be controlled and monitored. And kids will learn it's a tool, not a toy or handy gaming device.
It's the future of learning for this Class of 2018, Bernardo said, referring to the year the upcoming seventh-graders will graduate. "I know that sounds scary," she said.
In a demonstration of how the iPad works, Colbert, acting as a teacher, corrected a geometry problem fellow instructional technical specialist Rita Chuhran put into her iPad's "drop box." Within moments, Colbert sent it back with "Nice Try!" along with nine out of 10 points in her favor and a smiley face written across her work.
All of this was captured on a large screen projection of the iPad's image so parents could see it working in real time.
Students will be able to download their daily assignments while at school, take their iPads home, work on their screens, return to school the next morning and put their finished work into their teachers' drop boxes.
Can other students access another's work and mess with it? The parents learned that strong access controls through a "mobile device management system" and passwords prevent such access.
Bernardo told the students they should start thinking of passwords they would be comfortable with — "ones you can remember."
Most of the questions centered on insurance for the devices. Parents wanted to know how much it will cost, whether their homeowner's insurance will cover it and other similar questions.
Bernardo said the district is offering insurance through its carrier and it would cost about $34 each school year to cover damage. Lost iPads are not covered, but the district's system is able to locate missing devices as long as they are turned on, officials said.
Bernardo said students and parents should treat the new devices the same as if they were textbooks issued to the kids. They would be responsible for replacing lost devices.
No parent or child at the meeting objected to the district's new direction, dubbed "One-to-One," meaning each child gets his or her own iPad.
After the meeting, when asked if she has received any negative response to the program, Bernardo said, "Some have asked if they could 'opt out' and several families don't allow their children to use the Internet, but we will make accommodations for every student. The nice thing is accommodations can be made easily [with this system]."
Parents learned that the seventh-grade initiation is a pilot program and what the district learns in the first year will be used to shape it for the future.
Tony Nauroth is a freelance writer.
Copyright © 2012, The Morning Cal
