Growing iPad use engages students, expands horizons
ROCKVILLE CENTRE — With the purchase of 50 iPads, St. Agnes Cathedral Parish School here is one of the growing number of Catholic schools using these devices to bring students more actively into learning.
“We’re learning ourselves,” said Dominican Sister Kathleen Carlin, co-principal of St. Agnes, about how iPads work and how to use them to their best advantage in the classroom.
St. Agnes is one of close to a dozen elementary schools in the diocese that are, to varying degrees, bringing iPads in the classroom.
“We thought it was OK when we saw that Pope Benedict XVI was using one,” said Paul Clagnaz, principal of St. Brigid’s/Our Lady of Hope, Westbury, so the school has purchased a moderate number.
“They work very well in different settings,” said JoAnn DiNardo, principal of Our Lady of Providence Regional School, Central Islip, which has 30 iPads. “We can use them for individuals or for small learning groups.
“For pre-school, students use them to learn letters and numbers. Older student do research for papers,” DiNardo said. “The kids learn to use them easily and will stay with them.”
“We want to offer our students every opportunity to expand their horizons,” said Mary Carmel Murphy, principal of Our Lady of Lourdes, Malverne.
Veronica Danca, principal of Long Beach Catholic Regional School, noted that her school has tried out iPads for remedial reading and math. “We found them to be engaging for the students and they help foster a bond between teacher and student that doesn’t occur with pencil and paper.”
“It is amazing to see the varied uses of iPads in the diocesan elementary schools,” said Norma Whitley, assistant diocesan superintendent of schools for educational technology.
“We see this integration as an important part of 21st-century learning and preparing our students for higher education and the workplace,” where iPads are widely used. She noted a trend toward having textbooks available through iPads, which diocesan schools are preparing to take advantage of.
Other schools, such as St. Aidan’s, Williston Park, are also looking into wider use of iPads. “We began using a small number of them in September,” said Mary Jane Radonic, technology coordinator for St. Aidan’s. “We have different teachers trying different apps,” or applications.
The next step is obtaining iPads for next year’s fifth-grade class. “We looked at other schools that have been using iPads extensively,” such as St. Mary’s High School, Manhasset (See TLIC 1/11/2012) and nearby Mineola High School.
St. Agnes had already been successful in using 10 iPads as part of a special education project with fourth- and fifth-graders in conjunction with Molloy College. So, Sister Kathleen said, the school looked into using them more widely.
Through a donation from its alumni association, St. Agnes purchased 50 iPads and is beginning to use them, training teachers and planning how iPads will figure into the school’s curriculum.
“Anything that you can do with a computer you can do with an iPad,” said Rickey Moroney, technology coordinator at St. Agnes.
“We started with the kindergarteners, having a few of them use one. Soon the others come up: ‘Could I use it, too?’” Older students use them for research or for making “i-Movies,” which they shoot and edit on the iPad, Moroney said.
“They can be used for differentiated learning,” Sister Kathleen explained, with different programs for advanced students who need to be challenged and remedial students who require extra assistance.
The expense is a factor in how quickly schools embrace iPads. “We had a gift from Msgr. Walter Simmons,” now deceased, former pastor of St. Anne’s Church, Brentwood, one of the parishes served by Our Lady of Providence, DiNardo said.
Eileen Kilbride, principal of St. Joseph’s School, Garden City, said that “we have eight and are getting four more, thanks to the Rosary-Altar Society.”
So far, St. Mary’s Elementary School, Manhasset, has bought a few iPads for teachers, who use them with the students, said Dr. Celeste Checchia, principal.
”They tie in to the SMART Boards in the classroom and work really well.”
Checchia predicts that “in the future, iPads are going to become less expensive, many students will have their own, and we’ll be making greater use of them. They’re wonderful tools.”
“There are so many things that can be done with them,” Moroney said, “in ways that we haven’t even thought of.”
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Newly-installed Cardinal Dolan to speak at diocesan Public Policy Convocation
Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan will be the keynote speaker at the diocesan Public Policy Convocation on March 3 at Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, Hicksville.
The Cardinal’s theme will be “On the HHS Mandate: How Catholics Can Make an Impact.” Bishop William Murphy will be the principal celebrant and homilist of the event’s opening Mass. Beginning with registration at 8:45 a.m. and running through 1 p.m., the convocation will include a panel discussion on the New York State bishops’ 2012 legislative agenda which counts respect for life, Catholic education and protection for the poor and vulnerable among its priorities.
The event is free. Registration is required. Online registration is available on the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s website www.catholiccharities.cc/ or by calling 516-733-7078.
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