North Fond du Lac School District Student Engagement Project

North Fond du Lac schools invest in iPads. (Fond du Lac Reporter, 5/30/2011)

Excerpt:  The Board of Education voted on May 23 to approve an initial purchase of 110 iPads for all teachers, administrators and board members. Superintendent Aaron Sadoff said the district opted to forego the purchase of new textbooks and curriculum material and invest in the future.

“The money is coming from saved dollars from each of the school’s budgets. We decided to use the resources we have in a different way to best impact learning,” he said.

The iPads will be equipped with WiFi (not 3g) capabilities at no cost for monthly internet service. A two-credit iPad in education class will be offered to staff in August so they can begin to utilize technology to change the way students are educated, Sadoff said.

Teachers will have the capability to use the various applications to access iTunes University (tool to organize media) and lectures from big name universities online, obtain audio and video support from other schools, skype, and project information onto a whiteboard, essentially turning it into a smart board.

“I haven’t seen a piece of technology that will have more of an impact on engaging kids,” Sadoff said. “We owe it to our students to provide them with the tools they need on their journey to excellence.”