UPDATE: Northfield Students to Get iPads Beginning Aug. 15

UPDATE THURSDAY: Matt Hillmann, director of administrative services for Northfield Public Schools, emailed the following letter to parents of incoming sixth- and ninth-grade students on Thursday:

Good Morning,
Last Friday, the Northfield Public Schools sent a message to families of Middle and High School students announcing the dates and times for iPad distribution in August. Unfortunately, due to a database issue, some families with students entering 6th and 9th grades did not receive the message. We apologize for this issue. In an effort to ensure all families have the necessary information, we are re-sending this to families of 6th and 9th grade students. Below is the message that was sent on July 12. The PDF message attached also accompanied that message.
As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Respectfully,
Matt Hillmann, Director of Administrative Services
Northfield Public Schools | 507.645.3458 | matt.hillmann@nfld.k12.mn.us 

____________________________

ORIGINAL STORY: The iPads are coming! The iPads are coming!

Northfield Public Schools will begin distributing iPad 2 tablet computers to students in grades six to 12 on Aug. 15.

The 2013-14 school year will be the first year that students will be provided tablets as part of the district’s Transformational Technology initiative.

The project calls for the district to shift toward a more digitally base learning environment, meaning more reliance on the digital world and less on traditional textbooks.

As part of the initiative, each student at Northfield High School and Northfield Middle School will receive an iPad 2. The tablets will be used in the classroom, as well as for homework.

Elementary students will access the tablet technology with what is called a “pod-based” approach, meaning four to six iPad Mini tablets will be available in each classroom. The tablets will be distributed using a ratio of one iPad Mini for each 3.5 students. The computers will stay at school.

The district has signed a three-year lease agreement that includes the cost of the iPads and protective cases. The lease and other costs associated with the initiative—including applications (better known as apps) and digital textbooks, and mobile-device monitoring and learning systems—are expected to cost about $550,000 each of the next three years, according to the initiative proposal.

The district has a website devoted to explaining the Transformational Technology project and the process the Northfield School Board took to approve the initiative this past spring.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE IPADS

Information explaining the distribution process, as well as links to the online copy of the students’ iPad loan agreement and to an a “Frequently Asked Questions” document, was distributed to parents and guardians via the district’s Skylert message system on July 12.

Those materials also are available on the district’s website.

Before receiving an iPad 2, each student and a parent or guardian must attend a two-hour orientation session.

Sessions are planned for Aug. 15 and 20 for Northfield High School students and Aug. 19 and 21 for Northfield Middle School students. Students have been assigned sessions by last name.

Those students who cannot make it to the orientation at their assigned time can attend a later session.

Each student will pay an annual insurance fee of $25 to cover accidental damage to the iPad 2. That fee is lowered for families eligible for reduced and free lunches. There is a $100 per-family cap on the insurance fee.

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