The tools used by sixth-graders in Carolyn Conners’ English/world studies classroom at Alki Middle School are a study in contrasts.
On each desk is a hardcover novel sitting next to an Apple iPad. Students are reading the book, but writing about and discussing the story using applications on their iPads.
The 256 sixth-graders at Alki are on the leading edge of technology not only for Vancouver Public Schools, but also among school districts nationwide. Although some Vancouver students already are using iPads in the classroom, these sixth-graders are the district’s first students to be assigned personal iPads used in school all day and then taken home each night to complete homework assignments.
