It looks like there are a number of schools using (or getting) grants that enable them to use iPads in their school. The following are a few of the articles I’ve found recently that mention how schools are using grants to get iPads.
Updated: 9/30/2010 11:07:05 AM West St. Paul, Minn. — From the curb of Butler Avenue, Heritage Middle School looks like any other school. But step inside and you’ll quickly learn science and technology is king. Now, a federally funded grant for magnet schools will give the king a kick start.
Every kid at the 690 student school will get an iPad or iPod touch. It means a lot to a magnet school that focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math.
Published: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 9:14 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 9:16 p.m. The school system recently used grant funds to purchase 10 iPads to be used by administrators, teachers and students.
“We’re trying to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs,” said Wesley Gulledge, assistant principal of Etowah Middle School and site director of the school’s 21st Century Community Learning Center. “Tomorrow’s jobs are going to want them to have technology skills. It’s our job to make sure students have access to that technology and know what they’re supposed to do with it.”
A grant written by technology coordinator Robbi McKenney and awarded from the John R. Applegate Fund through Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation has allowed the district to purchase 10 new iPod Touch units, two iHome speaker systems and extra headphones.
These are in addition to 10 iPod Classics, 20 iPod Touches and an iPad the school already has available for K-12 students.
The iPod Touch and iPad units have been loaded with educational applications that can integrate into a variety of subject areas including Spanish, science, history, art and math. Last spring, the advanced computer class completed a project with second and sixth graders using the iPod Touch to learn Spanish, improve spelling, do research online and study geography.
Mount Carmel Elementary School in New Waterford, Cape Breton, bought 10 of the high-tech tablet computers this year to share among its students as a complement to textbooks and chalkboards.
Principal Lowell Cormier said the $10,000 cost was covered by a combination of fundraising, community partnerships and school board contributions. He said the school expects a good return in the form of improved learning.
The school district last week provided its 29 freshmen with iPads outfitted with educational software such as graphing calculators. The high school has 150 students.
Apple’s latest portable computer typically retails for $499. The Daily News of Longview reports the district purchased the iPads with a $20,000 grant from a private foundation and invested $25,000 of its own money in training for teachers.