Matthew Ayala and Duilio Paccagnini use IPads as part of their lesson plan on Aug. 30, 2012. St. Patrick High School, 5900 W. Belmont Ave., was the first high school in the archdiocese to use iPads as an educational tool during their daily instruction. (Karen Callaway / Catholic New World)
This is not the middle school education Dan Gargano remembers. Back in the mid-1990s, Gargano lugged a backpack full of textbooks to and from school, direct instruction dominated and high-tech education meant a keyboarding class on desktop computers or a PowerPoint presentation. Fast forward into 2013, however, and Gargano understands the world has changed. Student-centered learning and tech-infused classrooms represent the future and a major reason why Gargano, in his second year as the principal of St. Thecla, 6725 W. Devon Ave., brought digital textbooks into the fold at the Northwest Side elementary school. “We’re trying to change the way we teach and embrace the way students learn, making the learning environment more student centered rather than teacher driven,” Gargano said. Across the Chicago area, a number of elementary and secondary schools are turning to digital textbooks and tablet computers — namely, Apple’s iPad tablet — to heighten student engagement, provide individualized instruction and arm students with relevant skills to succeed in an increasingly tech-charged world. Embracing digital Last year, St. Patrick High School, 5900 W. Belmont Ave., became the first high school in the Chicago archdiocese to integrate iPads into daily instruction when its incoming freshmen class began using the devices. This year, all of the St. Patrick’s 700 students are carrying tablets in and out of the classroom. “We saw technology getting into more and more classrooms and wanted to be the leaders in bringing this to our students,” St. Patrick curriculum director Christopher Perez said. Some schools mandate students purchase the tablet device, generally in the $300-500 range; others roll the costs into tuition in a rentto- own-like option; and some schools maintain full ownership of the digital textbooks, essentially loaning them to students for an academic year. While St. Patrick students purchase their iPads for $379, the savings mount as students replace traditional page-filled textbooks with digital assets. Perez said the school’s science textbooks and many literary works are available free, a savings of about $100-200 each year, while families can save $90 on the school’s college-level calculus book and $40 a year on Spanish textbooks. “We recognize our parents are investing a lot off the bat, but they’ll easily recoup that investment over four years,” Perez said, adding that the school did a thorough cost analysis study before implementing the iPad program last year. Challenges of digital Integrating digital textbooks certainly comes with its challenges and costs to schools, teachers, students and families. Most notably, schools must set up a stable, reliable and secure network infrastructure, including new cabling and improved Internet access bandwidth capable of accommodating increased wireless use. At St. Thecla, for instance, 200- 300 devices could be utilizing the school’s wireless network at one time; at St. Patrick, wireless access needs to accommodate more than 1,000 potential devices. Last year, the high school spent about $30,000 installing wireless access points and upgrading routers throughout its Northwest Side campus. “There’s certainly costs associated with going digital, but we believe the merits here justify the investment,” Perez said. Efficient execution and classroom integration is another pressing challenge, particularly given that the digital textbook era stands as a rather new phenomenon in U.S. schools. At The Frances Xavier Warde School, 120 S. Des Plaines St., technology integrationist Sarah Vaughn said one major challenge has been managing workflow for teachers and students, including how to best distribute electronic assignments and assess student work. So far, teachers and students have used Gmail accounts, cloud storage and Google drives to streamline interaction and create a rich and resourceful learning environment. “The challenge is finding the right tools now because technology moves so fast,” Vaughn said. “You want something that the students can learn quick and tools that will not get in the way of what teachers and students need to do in the classroom.” Shifting the paradigm Yet for school leaders such as Gargano, the benefits of adopting digital textbooks both in the present and future far outweigh any challenges. “We’re giving our students the foundation to be successful outside of school and teaching them how to communicate in a digital world,” said Gargano, adding that St. Thecla’s teachers have built technology safety and responsible ownership into the curriculum. Most notably, the technology is creating a shift in the traditional academic environment, compelling students to be active learners and take greater ownership of their work. “Students are not sitting passively and being filled with knowledge,” St. Patrick’s Perez said. “They’re finding, processing and delivering knowledge in new, exciting ways.” Vaughn has noticed iPad-toting students at Francis Xavier Warde spending more time trying to “get assignments right” as well as an increased desire to create original projects they can share with others. “As educators, we always want to make sure we’re teaching in ways that engage students and that we’re using tools they’ll see in the real world,” Vaughn said. “The iPad is helping us do just that.”