St. Thomas More Students To Get iPads

students will be provided with iPads under a new technology plan that will begin this fall, according to school officials.

“Information technology is vital to the mission and function of St. Thomas More School enhancing teaching and learning and supporting the function of the school," Principal Peter Schutzler said in an e-mail to Patch.

The school will roll out the iPads in phases.

For the 2012-2013 school year, students in first, second, fifth and sixth grades will be issued a school-owned iPad. Each kindergarten classroom will get five iPads to be used in small groups. Students in seventh and eighth grades will use iPads in the social studies classroom.

By the 2013-2014 school year, the school hopes to provide all students with an iPad.

“Throughout the 2012-2013 school year, we will meet to evaluate our needs and measure our success of the first phase of the initiative,” said Schutzler. “These discussions will help guide our decisions for the 2013-2014 school year.”

As the initiative progresses, students in grades five through eight may be able to take their devices home to complete assignments.

Parents will not have to pay for the iPads, but will have to pay a "moderate fee" to offset the cost of insurance and a cover for the device, Schutzler said. The school will notify parents of the cost sometime this week, he said.

The insurance will cover theft, accidental damage, fire/flood, power surges and natural disasters.

St. Thomas More representatives visited to get a better sense of how such technology is incorporated into the curriculum. Schutzler said St. Thomas officials spoke numerous times with Apple systems engineers and educational consultants to determine an effective plan for the school.

"As a result of this investigation, we are convinced that iPads and the applications and tools available with them, are more than educational resources," Schutzler said. "We are convinced that these devices will transform the teaching and learning environment."

He said students will be taught to use the devices in an appropriate manner and will not be able to download applications.

"[St. Thomas More] will provide strict 24/7 content filtering in accordance with Federal Child Internet Protection Act guidelines," said Schutzler.

"This software/hardware will block inappropriate sites and will also log a history of every site that each user opens. Students who attempt to find inappropriate sites will be subject to disciplinary measures."

Students will learn about cyber bullying, Internet safety, social networking and acceptable use on the Internet.