"iSchool: a closer look at Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program
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Does Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program represent the future of education?
Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian
Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian
Just before 8 a.m. one recent Tuesday, Andy Caine wheeled a waist-high cart into his second-floor history classroom at Mira Costa High School, as the Beach Boys' "I Get Around" played faintly in the background.
On the syllabus for the day: the First Amendment.
As the first period bell rang, Caine unlocked the cart.
"Come and get 'em," Caine said to his class of seniors, and stood behind his podium, on which he's pasted a sticker reading, "Think for yourself. Question Authority."
The students put aside their pens and notebooks and lined up at the cart to pick up an unconventional tool that school districts across the nation have been implementing into classrooms.
Each student grabbed an iPad and returned to his or her seat.
Caine is one of 43 Manhattan Beach Unified School District teachers chosen to try the $500,000 iPad pilot program, which started last fall. At Mira Costa, two English, math, science and social studies teachers use iPads, along with eight science teachers at Manhattan Beach Middle School and 27 teachers of different grade levels at each elementary school. The district purchased 560 student iPads (32 gigabytes and costing around $700 each), in addition to iPads for pilot teachers and administrators.
A quarter of the pilot costs are grant funded, while the district supports the rest. Later this year, the School Board will decide whether, and in what capacity, to continue the pilot.
Caine and pilot teachers implement iPads into their curricula two to three times a week, a total of 30 to 90 minutes. "I would use them every day if I had the po
Gain access to primary resources centering around the hot topics of Kennedy's presidency - Civil Rights, Cuban Missile Crisis, Race to the Moon and more. By entering the various interactive timelines, students and educators can view primary documents and videos of the events as they unfolded.
"If the message in this video resonates with you feel free to send it to any teachers, principals, professors, university presidents, boards of regents, boards of education, etc. you think should see it."