Kirkwood Middle School Begins 1:1 iPad Initiative

Eighth-graders at in Kirkwood have what many techy adults covet, a personal iPad 2, which school officials say will engage "digital natives."

Students received the device last month and now the school is moving forward with providing an iPad 2 to each seventh-grader at the school.

The effort is made possible by grant money received from the Innovative Technology Education Fund, according to a statement from the school.

While planning for the 2011-12 school year, the school's Educational Technologist Carrie Reck-Meyer, and the school leadership team researched different options for engagement tools most effective for today's digitally saavy students, the school says.

The team decided on implementing iPads at the middle school level because the tablet was “app”-based and education friendly and also because it operates on a platform that immediately connects with youth, the statement said, adding that iPads for every student will allow faculty to focus on collaboration, presentation, assimilation, research and reporting.

In April, faculty began researching different educational apps which can be used to supplement their teaching and underwent extensive training at the beginning of the 2011-12 school year.

“The iPads bring all of the world’s learning with them, and that access at one’s fingertips is transforming," the middle school's principal Jonathan Butterfield said in the statement.

Other recent advancements in technology include the implementation of Google Chromebooks in elementary school classrooms at the school's Webster Groves campus, which has prompted the school to become a Google school, giving students the opportunity to have their documents available to them in the cloud.

Kirkwood Patch would like to extend a sincere thank you to Kirkwood Patcher Erin Brinker for sharing this story with our readers.