iPads at Drew

Starting in the fall of 2011, all students and teachers are provided with a Drew-owned iPad, to use both at school and at home. We firmly believe the iPad enhances teaching and learning at Drew. We have been committed as a school for several years to finding both a digital reading device and also a mobile computing device that best suits the needs of our students. Our goals:

  • To replace bulky, expensive textbooks, readers, books and other written material with a mobile digital platform
  • To provide all students with a mobile computing device that meets most of their day-to-day academic needs
  • To give teachers new ways to engage students
  • To provide a set of tools to our students that will encourage them to interact with instruction materials in new and better ways and collaborate with each other and teachers
  • To open the classroom up beyond the physical constraints of the building via a web-enabled device

After evaluating many devices including laptops, tablets, netbooks and digital readers, we have chosen the iPad. This device is a wonderful combination of physical and interactive design. Combined with a rich and burgeoning array of apps, the iPad is the obvious choice to engage our students in collaborative, creative learning and prepare them for their lives in the 21st century. As history teacher and Social Studies department chair Shane Carter says:

"The versatility of the iPad is exciting and helpful from a teaching perspective, as well as from a learning perspective. Not only does it make it easier to include various media in my course materials, it enables my department to utilize tools that are specific to our subject. Also, I feel like introducing this device to the school invites teacher and students to collectively explore new ways of interacting in an academic setting."

Some resources to learn more:

Why iPads? - highlights why a student iPad program is right for Drew.

iPad FAQ - answers to some specifics about our program (this will grow as a resource over time).

Ask a question - a form for you to submit questions that haven't been answered in these pages.

iPad Parent Night - early in the year we hosted an informational evening for parents. If you missed it, you can view slides and notes here.