Hilltop Middle teacher incorporates iPad into daily classroom activities

 In Benjamin Black’s 8th grade science class at Hilltop Middle School, students don’t get ready for class by sharpening their pencils, opening their textbooks and preparing to take notes. Instead, they reach for their iPads, power up their devices and make sure that they are logged on to the school’s Wi-Fi.

Earlier in the school year, Black, like a few other teachers in the Hilltop Middle Foreign Language and Global Studies (FLAGS) Program began using the iPad as the primary tool for instruction in class. The iPads were bought through a fundraising effort and students are paying for the devices in monthly payments so that they can keep the devices.

“IPads are minimum maintenance,” said Black. “The iPads use an operating system that students are used to. It’s very intuitive.”

In a warm-up exercise, Black’s science class is asked a series of questions to which the students respond on their iPads. Black, who is walking freely about the classroom can immediately see the students’ responses and then using a web-based application called Socrative, asks students to vote on the best responses from among their peers.

Students in Black’s class go through all the regular routine as they would in any other class in terms of reviewing the subject material, daily learning targets, use of standards-based curriculum, homework and even exams. However, use of the iPad has made this routine completely paperless and has given students and teachers the opportunity to see immediate results.

“We get our assignments faster and we can even see our grades right away,” said 8th grader Samantha Dow.

Black says that although students have only recently begun using the iPads, he has already seen an increase in academic achievement. On a recent exam, he says that this year’s students are outperforming students from the same class last year.

Superintendent Dr. Edward Brand believes that these examples of using technology in the classroom are important to the success of students.

“If we want our students to be competitive in the global economy, we have to make sure that they have exposure to the latest technology,” said Brand. “Teachers like Benjamin Black are leading the way for not only Hilltop Middle, but the entire Sweetwater District.”