Thanks, Faith, for posting your notes! It is good to see it all in print on the blog. I have a few things to add from my notes as well:
- Since Maryvale owns the iPads, the students aren't actually purchasing the device. Instead, the parents pay a $400 / year "tech fee," which is meant to cover more than simply the purchase of the iPad (tech support, special safety iPad apps, etc.). According to Lisa, parents aren't complaining about the fee, even though they could practically buy a new iPad for their daughter every year with that fee. (I talked with Renee about this, and she said -- by the way -- that a "tech fee" has been suggested here in previous years, but given the high cost of tuition, it is not really an option for us).
- The school suggests parents budget $100 / year for apps that the teachers might want their daughters to purchase for class.
- When we asked the students what apps they found most helpful at school, they referred to Pages (the Apple word processing program similar to Word) and Keynote (the Apple version of PowerPoint). They also appreciated the ability to access and send email quickly (since previously they had to go to a computer lab to do so).
- The students use the built in camera in meaningful ways -- i.e. Skyping with each other to review for a test or to "meet" with students who are absent from school, taking pictures of handouts to have a copy on their iPad, etc.
What other information did we gain from this trip? Keep adding your responses / feedback or even wondering questions ...
-Alice
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