Dear Seventh and Eighth Grade Families,

We excited to let you know that this school year your children will participate in our successful 1:1 iPad program. Each year, we learn more about how to better integrate these tools into the learning cycle and this will certainly lead to new areas of inquiry and exploration for your children this year.

Each seventh and eighth grader will receive an iPad mini that s/he will use over the course of the year. Students will use the iPads throughout the day in their classes and will bring them home to continue and extend their work.

We believe that the small scale tablet form of the iPad offers a wealth of ways for us to enrich the already exciting and demanding seventh and eighth grade programs. The following are some of the key elements of this program:

  • Support for deeper inquiry and new approaches to teaching and learning
  • New pathways for collaborative work in and outside of the classroom
  • Access to high quality course-related digital content
  • Regular use of powerful media creation tools
  • Supporting student organization and planning skills
  • Seamless integration with other LREI technology
  • An active focus on the essential skills of digital citizenship

Faculty continue to work to build on learnings from prior years that will allow us to push the educational program forward in support of our progressive mission. Additional information about this exciting project is below.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

LREI iPad Program 

This program has been carefully planned to integrate seamlessly and most of all meaningfully the iPad into our progressive curriculum. What follows is a brief overview of our infrastructure planning that supports the program.

What is provided for each student:

  • 32 gigabyte Wi-Fi only iPad mini
  • Protective case
  • Power supply
  • Wireless keyboards will be available in school, but will not travel home with students

Students are responsible for arriving each day at school with a fully charged iPad in the case provided (no other). Forgotten, or discharged iPads significantly impacts their classroom work. Unlike shared laptop or desktop computers on campus, the iPad is a “personal” education tool. The iPad are insured for damage and theft, but not for loss. If a student loses his/her iPad or if it is damaged while out of its case or in a non-school issued case, families may, depending on the circumstances, be responsible for some portion of the replacement cost. If it can be determined that the damage was the result of negligence or inappropriate use, families will be responsible for the full repair or replacement cost.

Software Apps:

Students learn the protocols for ensuring that school-purchased apps to their iPads are regularly updated and when informed that new apps are available. Software applications are carefully chosen to both complement existing desktop software, and fully exploit the unique advantages of the iPad. Students have some say in new application purchases through regular on-going conversations with the faculty and tech support team. Once the program is underway, faculty will have discussions with students about permissions that they will be given to personalize the device.

Classroom Design:

Our classrooms are all equipped to fully exploit the iPad’s features:

  • Projection systems supporting iPad display mirroring
  • Wireless AirPlay support for streaming audio visual content from any iPad to the classroom projection system
  • Printers designed for iPad, email, and remote internet printing
  • Document scanners and network shares designed for quick conversion and distribution of paper-based materials to digital
  • Enhanced wireless network coverage and bandwidth increases to accommodate the additional data traffic the iPads generate

File Servers: 

While most student work will be saved to the cloud through our suite of google doc tools and other cloud-based apps, our file server system is also designed to allow easy iPad integration. The idea being that a student can work on a project anytime using a desktop, laptop, or iPad (on-campus or from home) thereby using the appropriate tool they choose to produce the best work. File shares are carefully designed and organized for easy access to any file from any network device (Macs, Windows devices, iPads, iPhones, Android devices, etc.)

Collaborative Services:

There are several network servers configured to support network services that support our existing curriculum, and also allow it the freedom to develop in new exciting ways. This includes:

  • Annotation servers that provide the ability to instantly share both student and teacher notes on digital media.
  • Audio/video streaming servers to provide a means to host, distribute, and archive all student produced multi-media content.
  • Media distribution servers to host and distribute digital versions of existing paper-based content like textbooks, novels, and worksheets. (This to both make use of the iPad as an excellent reading device, and to curb the ever escalating consumption of paper.)

Organizational Tool:

Our LREI Connect information distribution system is fully supported by the iPad. Students are able to organize their curricular life through a wide varieties of shared calendars and to-do lists. Whether working alone, or in groups, calendars are in place to help teach organization and time management.

Digital Citizenship:

While proper and respectful use of digital tools and networks has been an ongoing conversation in the middle school, the regular use of the iPads helps to reinforce and establish important skills connected to digital citizenship. The LREI Technology Responsible Use Policy applies to all iPad use and violations will be dealt with per that policy. The Responsible Use Policy covers minimum expectations, our goal for this project is for students to exceed these expectations in support of academic success and the development of important life skills.

Prior to receiving their iPad, we ask students to complete the following form (note: student most be logged into her/his lrei.org email account to view and complete — parents can scroll to the bottom of the page to view the iPad RUP text):

iPad RUP Text: