Let the Fun Begin

Photos courtesy of
Marco Torres

It’s been one week since we rolled out close to 300 iPads to our 5th through 8th graders. The rollout night was actually a blur to me. I had spent so many hours planning to make sure that it went as smoothly as possible that when it was actually happening I didn’t relax until it was over. It’s always hard to enjoy your own party when you’re the host.

I had an amazing group of teachers who pitched in and made the event run without any major problems. The event culminated with a performance by our Middle School Rock ON-semble.  It was a great way to finish the night watching the principal doing (more like attempting) the moonwalk.

I had a parent tell me that I made Christmas come early this year! The students are very excited about having the iPads in their hands while the teachers are trying to figure out just how to implement them into their classroom.

We have had some great victories this week. I have watched students working and helping each other get familiar with their iPads. Teachers have been pushing themselves to create and implement new lessons to showcase the iPad’s versatility.  Many students are starting to be more organized using iCal and Google Drive. It is a joy to see.

But it hasn’t been all roses. there are some needs and concerns that we are addressing. The biggest problem that we have is that not all students have Apple IDs. We use Apple IDs with our MDM to push out the apps we want our students to have. The issue is that students under the age of 13 need their parents to follow some steps to set up their Apple ID and we working to get all parents on board. Teachers are working out guidelines and language that is consistent across our school community to make the iPad use most effective and efficient in all classes.

No matter how much you plan, everything is not always going to go smoothly. I am one of those people that worry about every possible problem so I am thrilled at how well it has gone so far. I know that we will encounter some unexpected things with the iPads but I am now confident that we will figure it out and come out smarter and strong because of it.

Let the fun begin! I am excited to start working with my teachers on awesome curricular implementation. Here we go….