Four iPads

Four iPads are not enough.  How could they be?  At our school, there are 450 kids, an army of teachers, and lots of other people like me (speech therapist) who all need their own little personal data device/computer/toy/camera to carry around with them.  We need piles of them--or so it seems!  Read on.

won't happen

Unfortunately, there is the money thing.  Even though iPads are cheaper than laptops, they are not free.  At $500 dollars each, plus money for the case and apps, supplying even a fraction of the school is not feasible unless Santa Claus appears.

Being a public school, we know that Santa won't step a foot into the door, so resourceful people need to look at other sources of funding.  That's why I am so grateful to the Public School Foundation and the Stroud Roses Foundation for generously funding four iPads for Ephesus Elementary.

Four iPads may not sound like a lot, but to a good teacher who knows the value of using an iPad as a tool for data collection, an iPad is invaluable.  In the hands of a teacher, all IEP data, intervention data, attendance for reading and math groups, and anecdotal data can be easily entered into Google forms, which then throws it all into a neat google spreadsheet. Four iPads translates into helping at least 100 kids.  Tracking progress is important!  Plus, for those kids who need an extra little nudge, there are thousands of educational apps out there for them to spend a little time exploring.   A teacher can build this time into a child's schedule.

I just filled out a purchase order today for these four invaluable tools, and can't wait until they arrive! 

For those of you in Chapel Hill, check out the website for the Public School Foundation!  This is a wonderful organization that is really making a difference in the education of our children.