John Steinbeck The Pearl

Catholic Schools Debut iPad Program As School Begins

Catholic Schools Debut iPad Program As School Begins

ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer

Published: August 18, 2011

ATLANTA— Textbooks will be staying on the shelves as some students return to the classroom carrying only lightweight iPads.

Six schools in the Atlanta Archdiocese are embracing the touch-screen iPads as the newest classroom tool to recreate Civil War battles in social studies, reinforce math lessons with instructional videos or write a classroom blog to improve writing skills.

All the eighth-grade students in the participating schools get their own iPad 2 as part of a pilot program to test a new educational application, Net Texts.

Students in Barbara Findley’s algebra class at Notre Dame Academy, Duluth, will have step-by-step videos of math problems with them at all times.

“It’s as if I could go home with them,” said Findley, a veteran teacher of 41 years.

The price tag for the new technology is being picked up by two private foundations, one founded by an alumnus of Immaculate Heart of Mary School. The grant, valued at approximately $250,000, paid for all the hardware, including 300 touch-screen tablet computers and other accessories. Teachers also trained with educational researchers and consultants on the device and the software.

The Speedwell Foundation and the Shelter Hill Foundation are funding the project. The program tests a new program called Net Texts, which allows teachers to draw from free educational resources on the Internet and combine them with their own materials to create courses. Teachers and students will rely on the customized courses, replacing textbooks for the eighth-graders this year.

More schools are experimenting with iPads, bringing the latest technology into the classroom. Some educational experts have questioned the wisdom of introducing the iPads in the classroom without knowing whether the technology helps students learn.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck | Rebecca Reads

Is so much more than the story of one family. In between the narrative sequences about the Joad family, Steinbeck writes more general descriptive chapters about the fate of masses of migrants uprooted from their homes during the Dust Bowl and forced to search for work in California amidst thousands of other displaced workers. The Grapes of Wrath (by John Steinbeck, published 1952) for the first time, I was bubbling over with excitement about the themes, the wonderful writing, the incredibly described setting, and the beloved characters. I couldn’t wait to find someone to talk to about it. As a result, I ended up starting my book blog Rebecca Reads, simply because I wanted a community (besides my family members, who had no comments) that would respond with excitement about my love for a newly discovered book.