Massachusetts School Issues iPads to Every Student in Grade 6

• by Joshua Bolkan
  

  
   

  The Cambridge Friends School in Massachusetts has issued iPads to each of its sixth-grade students and faculty members.
  

  The school's two sixth-grade teachers, Sandra Rojas and Brooke Chandler, have been using the devices since February to support project-based learning as part of a pilot program.
  

  "There is a strong research component to the work we do in 6th grade," said Rojas, who is in her ninth year of teaching at Cambridge Friends School. "During a project on Mayan culture, for example, students were asked to research the lives of the ancient Maya. From ancient trade routes to Mayan numbers, students used iPads as one of their research tools."
  

  Rojas said that an app called TimeTours: Chichén Itzá is a good example of the iPad's interactive nature.
  

  "You can view Mayan ruins on one slide," said Rojas. "With the swipe of a hand, you can see what the ruins looked like 1000 years ago. That's something which is more difficult to achieve in the 2D environment of the printed page."
  

  Chandler, a graduate of Cambridge Friends School who is currently in her seventh year teaching there, explained that students still begin their research with books and that the iPads are assigned for use in the classroom as a replacement for portable laptop carts.
  

  
   

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