Today, Neary Principal Linda Murdock sent a letter to parents. She informed them that the iPad Pilot is being revised. It will no longer be a parent-funded 1:1 program.
The new focus for the pilot is increased access to ipads within 4th grade classrooms. Currently, the ipads are only available to 4th grade teachers at at 1:8 ratio (2 classrooms’ supply shared by the 16 4th and 5th grade classes). They hope to lower that ratio to 1:2.
We expect that this will enhance our students’ learning for this year and give us a good base to move forward for next year, while responding to parent concerns regarding cost and transportation of the devices.
The plan is in response to the recent survey results. Details are still to come while the school works out the budgeting details.
To read the full letter, click here.
(Photo posted to Flickr by flickingerbrad)
I like this phased approach much better than the original proposal. I don’t think that kids really need full time access to an iPad.