VISTA: VUSD piloting iPad lessons
Eighteen teachers will start incorporating the tablet computers into lessons beginning next month at Alamosa Park Elementary, Lake Elementary, Empresa Elementary, Madison Middle School, Rancho Buena Vista High School and Vista High School.
"Technology can't be something that happens after they're in the classroom, it needs to be in the classroom," said Matt Doyle, executive director of curriculum and instruction for the district.
Each school will get a different number of iPads, which they will pay for with grant money and different site funds, said Donna Caperton, assistant superintendent in charge of business services. The district will use 140 of the mobile devices this school year, she said.
No money will be used from the district's general fund for the pilot program, she said.
The elementary schools may need to raise money through donations to pay for the devices, Doyle said.
By the end of the school year, teachers are expected to develop a plan to integrate the mobile devices into curriculum.
"The whole purpose of this is to start getting teachers involved at the ground level of determining what the future of technology in the classroom should look like," Doyle said. "They know the best."
By 2014, Doyle said he'd like to have a set of iPads that teachers could check out for specific lessons at each of the district's schools. Whether or not that happens is based mostly on if the district can find the money to buy them, he added.
Most of the schools in the pilot program are in wealthier areas and tend to have higher test scores than others in the district. Doyle said those schools were picked because they can be overlooked, as district officials often focus on schools with lower test scores.
The teachers involved in the pilot program volunteered to participate and will get special training. They will meet periodically to develop and critique technology-enhanced lessons.
The updated lessons will help the district meet new state standards expected to take effect over the next several years, Doyle said.
Schools around the country and the region have started incorporating mobile computers into lessons, including ambitious technology programs being discussed in Encinitas and Carlsbad.
Larry White, principal at Vista High School, said he's excited to start using the devices there.
"I'm sure there are going to be a great deal of opportunities to expand the students' learning through the use of iPad technology," he said.