Lyle schools will put iPads in students’ hands going forward

—This feature originally appeared in Progress 2013. Get a copy at the Austin Daily Herald office, 310 Second St. NE.

Lyle Public Schools is on the cusp of a technological breakthrough.

The district has focused on classroom technology over the past two years, starting with an order for 30 iPads in 2011. Teachers found a good use for those tablets, as the district has expanded to about 120 iPads this year.

Yet Superintendent Joe Guanella said the district’s technological innovations aren’t over yet. As more educational applications are released, Lyle students will use tablets and other computer-based learning systems.

“We’re going to grow into it in a logical, responsible fashion,” Guanella said.

While other districts in Mower County put technology in older students’ hands — Pacelli Catholic Schools and Grand Meadow Public Schools, among other districts, give computers to high schoolers — Lyle is going with a different plan: Elementary teachers will emphasize tablet-related lessons.

As there are far more elementary education resources for elementary students, Lyle teachers will integrate iPads and other tablets into fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms over the next year, Guanella said.

“If you think about that for a minute, it kind of makes sense,” he said.

Middle school and high school students will still benefit from increasing technology in other ways, specifically the “Flip Classroom” concept. Students will receive instructional videos going over new material to watch at home as part of their homework. Some students will understand the lesson in the video and can do further work when they come to class the next day. Those students who still need a little help understanding a concept will get it from the teacher, who will have more time to work with students in class.

“The idea is to cut down that amount of time for the kids that get it,” Guanella said.