A New Initiative For Computer Technology
After replacing student and teacher PC’s with Macs during the summer of ’06, we continue to implement our Apple technology plan. Thanks to the wireless network installed last fall, teachers discovered the benefits of mobile technology in many curricular applications.
Because of the enthusiastic response to this improved technology, we deployed another mobile lab with 22 additional Macbooks. We now have 55 MacBook units, which students use for numerous research, creative, and publishing activities. This summer we were able to replace 24 VGI monitors with smaller, more energy efficient LCD monitors, reducing crowding on computer work stations.
After adjusting to the new technology and learning more about what Apple offers in education, teachers are collaborating to create cross-curricular activities that best use our technology resources to benefit our students as they explore our world through the arts, science, and literature.
A vision for learning.
Today’s generation of students looks at technology as part of their everyday environment. Recent research has shown that today's students learn differently than their predecessors. They are "digital natives." What we think of as tools or technology, they think of as the stuff of their daily lives. They watch, listen, communicate, and collaborate digitally in multiple media all the time, and often all at the same time. To best reach and teach these students requires an approach that mirrors their life experience.
A path for digital immigrants.
If students are digital native, most teachers and parents are "digital immigrants." Even for those who understand and embrace technology, it does not come naturally to them as it does to their students. Apple is uniquely able to bring digital immigrants up to speed. Their technology is easier to use than any other. And Apple Professional Development tools prepare them to create curriculum that engages students and increases achievement.
