LIMESTONE, Maine — Representatives from Apple will visit Limestone Community School on Jan. 19 to distribute iPads to students as part of a literacy pilot.
“The premise is that early intervention for younger kids in literacy is proving, by research, to be the very effective,” said LCS Principal Susan White. “The Maine Department of Education is partnering with Apple for this project, and it is similar to the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) in which seventh- and eighth-graders received devices.”
Apple has already provided tablet computers for LCS staff members involved in the program, along with some training.
During a Jan. 9 phone interview, White said that kindergarteners and first-graders will each get one iPad while a single device will be shared by groups of two in the second and third grade.
Limestone is one of nine schools in the state participating in the program, as the DOE chose one school from each superintendent region.
“Any time you can get technology into a kid’s hands and have a real purpose for it, with a relationship to learning, will help students as they move into the future,” White said. “We have to be careful that we’re not just giving them screen time, though. It needs to be purposeful.”
When the program begins, White hopes to have access to educational apps that will literally put the data at student and faculty fingertips.
Unlike other pilots, the state will allow LCS faculty to maintain their current literacy program while the devices are integrated. As of Jan. 9, White says no word from Apple and the DOE has been given concerning whether or not the students or faculty will be able to keep their devices at the end of the two-year pilot.
“Their feedback is going to be immediate and the ability to instantly step in and provide intervention for a student who may need help with their progress is going to be huge for their development,” White said.
As far as working with the vendor, White says the relationship has been great.
“One of Apple’s engineers working with us has been with the MLTI project for over a decade and he understands the instructional aspect and also the logistics of adding a large number of devices to a school and how that can change the learning environment,” White said.
“Working with people who have knowledge of the schools and how things operate with the addition of these devices is a big help.”
