iPads help Fisher students in the classroom

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This cart is where St. John Fisher’s iPads are locked away to be charged and synced every night. | Supplied Photo

Updated: January 23, 2012 4:09AM

Ask any number of students at St. John Fisher Elementary School if they want an iPad for Christmas, and the response will be a quick and emphatic, “Yes!”

Even if Santa doesn’t bring all those iPads for Christmas, the children at the Catholic school in Chicago’s Beverly community are getting a chance to use Apple’s popular equipment.

The school recently invested about $19,000 to put 30 iPads into the hands of their students — all in the name of learning in a way that is effective and fun.

“Anything that engages a student; anything that gets them excited to learn is a positive thing,” said Pat Reed, the school’s assistant principal and one of the educators who spearheaded the effort to bring in the equipment.

“We try to stay at the forefront of technology. I heard about this and went to Sr. Jean McGrath (the school’s principal) and said, ‘I think we need this.’ We are very lucky in that we have a lot of parent support, and they were willing to generously support ongoing fundraising efforts for this.”

Part of the money that went toward the purchase of the iPads also included a “charging cart” where the iPads are locked in every night to be stored safely, and also to be charged and synced for the next day’s use. Teachers who want to use the equipment merely sign into a school calendar and reserve them for their classroom’s use.

Because no class at St. John Fisher has more than 30 students, each child is guaranteed to have an iPad to work with during class time.

There are a variety of educational applications — apps — that are available for use on the iPad. For example, children in lower grades can use the touch screen to practice forming letters as they learn to write.

Fourth- and fifth-graders can play geography games that have animated states falling down on the screen. The student must touch the state and direct it to the correct spot on a map of the United States to get a correct answer.

Math games include floating equations that students must answer by tapping the correct numbers into a numerical keypad on the side of the screen.

Junior high students can dissect a “virtual frog” and can challenge themselves in grammar.

“We just purchased an app called ToonTastic,” Reed said. “It’s a tool for storytelling. Students can select from pre-made settings and characters, or create their own. They can record their own voices as the voices of the characters, and make their characters move. Best of all, they are guided through the elements of a story — settings, characters, rising action — as they create.”

“We’re hoping to inspire the creative genius in our students,” she said.

The iPads were ordered during the summer after a faculty-sponsored fundraising auction.

“The time and talent of the faculty was amazing as they put together grade-level baskets to be auctioned, as well as grade-level art work, Holy Communion platters, tablecloths, quilts, pizza, bowling with the teachers, dinner for six at the rectory and so on,” wrote Joan Rogers, a St. John Fisher school board member, in an email.

“The creativity was astounding; therefore the auction was successful because there truly was something personal and memorable for everyone to bid on.

“Fisher is known throughout the diocese for its strong technology program, and this was a natural progression for our school. If Sr. Jean is made aware of a way to improve the curriculum and benefit the instructional program for the students, she supports it and finds a way to make it happen.”

“If the iPads are in demand (and I believe they are), the school hopes to add more and move in that direction. We are very fortunate to have Pat Reed keep St. John Fisher at the forefront of technology in the classroom. Mrs. Reed’s vision, in the not too distant future, would be to have a handheld device that connects to the Internet, contains apps and all of their textbooks (and who knows what else) in the hands of every learner,” wrote Rogers.

When the iPads arrived, 15 faculty members used the equipment, not only to test how to use the iPads, but to research educational applications suitable to their grade level and subject area. Teachers from pre-school through eighth grade were represented in this group.

Children are captivated by the programs and are enthusiastic in their support of this learning tool.

“I liked the math bingo,” said first-grader Samantha Giglio, 6. “They give you math problems and, when you get them right, you get bingo.”

Jack Budewitz, 10, a fifth-grader at the school, said the iPads make learning easier.

“It’s much easier to know geography this way,” he said. “You know your state capitals and it’s more fun to learn this way.”

St. John Fisher Elementary School, 10200 S. Washtenaw Ave., has an enrollment of more than 700 students from pre-school through eighth grade. For more information about the school, visit www.sjfschool.net.