District 15 Approves $1.5 Million to Lease 3,000 iPads

District 15 school children will benefit from 3,000 iPads in the coming school year, at a cost of $1,567,000 for a three-year lease, according to Peggy Babcock, D15 school board president.

Babcock said if the school district chose to purchase the iPads over leasing them, they wouldn’t get the support needed from Apple, and would have had to purchase older models.

“The lease agreement gives us flexibility, and we have a low finance rate,” Babcock said.

The benefits of having the newest technology are many, according to Jim Garwood, deputy superintendent of schools for District 15.

“The whole new common core and college and career readiness emphasis is on technology literacy, and how children can find, and evaluate information online,” Garwood said.

Garwood said the iPads will assist in teaching student how to look at information and sort through it, and determine strategic ways to navigate the print and media world due to so much information now being available.

“Instruction is not being replaced by the iPads, but instead enhanced,” Garwood said. “An example is when Lincoln School students were studying penguins, they were able to hook up with a penguin scientist through Skype and learn first-hand.”

Students will be able to use the iPads, Garwood said, to help them think more critically and to work in more creative ways.

“To hit those high-end critical thinking opportunities, by using real-world source and finding creative solutions to real-world problems,” Garwood said.

Garwood added that technology in general is looked at as a tool, and not a separate subject area for students.

“There is an evolution of what teaching is now looking like, computers are now used as a resource along with instruction,” Garwood said.