Students at Deep River Elementary School are learning hands-on, 21st-century technology applications through a new program that provides one-on-one access for all students.

Principal Christian Strickland, along with Deep River Elementary School teachers Allison Vicino, Caitlyn Cody, Brett VanderMale, and Nicole Dubios, recently gave a presentation on the new program in front of the Deep River Board of Education explaining the application of the program and how it has been a success in the school.

Currently the pilot program is a one-on-one technology access program, which supplies an iPad to every student in the 5th grade, as well as every student in one 3rd grade class. In total, 59 students are involved.

The program has been successful so far, said Strickland, crediting the teachers with thoughtful planning and successful classroom implementation. “Our purpose is to show how integrating technology into our classrooms at this level can be used to enhance the learning experience.”

Strickland added, “We are not looking to replace any current aspects of teaching with this technology; [it’s intended to] strictly enhance our applications.”

The iPads are used only in school and are kept in secure, locked charging stations overnight, on weekends, and during school vacations.

The program allows teachers to educate students about the best way to use new technology and also allows the teachers to work with new teaching tools, said Strickland. “The iPads are used throughout the school day in all academic disciplines including physical education, library, and music. What we are doing here is knocking down the walls making our classrooms more global,” Strickland said.

Through this program each student is able to use Google platforms and drive documents for different kinds of classroom learning. They have the opportunity to make iMovies and Google slide presentations, as well as respond to classroom discussions, and more.

“Because of the way students can now respond on the iPads, very often it is giving quiet students a voice,” said Strickland.

Trying this application out with a small control group of students has allowed the school to track its success and prove its usefulness in the future.

“The pilot program was rolled out in a thoughtful way highlighting the fact that technology is a valuable, useful tool, which is an asset for our students who will be 21st-century learners and eventually going out into a technological work environment,” said Strickland.

All students at Deep River Elementary have access to iPads, laptop computers, and other technology devices for learning. What differentiates this program is that the students involved each have a device and do not share one.

“With this program, primarily what we are looking to do is increase accessibility of technological learning to a one-on-one ratio for students. We hope to continue to expand the program in the future and will be asking for additional funding in the upcoming budget,” said Strickland. “This is a way for us to implement powerful, exciting forms of learning for our students and allow them to express themselves and show us what they are capable of with the addition of 21st-century technology as a viable classroom tool.”