When classes start Aug. 26, Thomas Jefferson High School students will have new iPads.
Over the past few years, the West Jefferson Hills School District has distributed Apple-branded tablet computers to its other academic buildings. Supplying ninth through 12th graders completes the transition from Google Chromebooks.
Jennifer Kassimer, district director of technology and innovation, cited the iPad’s capabilities for sharing as educationally advantageous.
“Our teachers can take their notes and reproduce those for students more easily,” she said. “If a student wants to relook at what a teacher wrote, if they didn’t copy it down exactly as it was on the board, they might be able to see those drawings or those writings.”
The district is installing compatible monitors in all teaching classrooms, Kassimer said, “which allows our teachers to connect and seamlessly share what’s on the screen that they have in front of them.”
Students receive tablets as early as when they enter kindergarten.
“It’s important to remember that you can put a device in a child’s hand, but it’s really key to have that teacher who understands the additional tools a kid can use to really learn,” Kassimer said. “They’re not just turning on a video and watching it, or playing a game. There are so many more tools we can use that would enhance critical thinking in students, to really think about topics.”
Superintendent Janet Sardon compared the early use of a computer to, say, starting to teach kindergartners about tools by showing them a picture of a hammer.
“Then, as they progress through, maybe they learn how to hold the hammer and what it’s used for. And then as they get a little further, they learn how to utilize that hammer,” she said. “By the time you get to high school, you’re using that tool to build learning that is incredibly different and extremely creative.”
Some youngsters, of course, arrive at West Jefferson Hills ahead of the curve.
“I’ve seen a huge shift in what our students are coming to school with as far as knowledge in technology,” Kassimer, a former teacher, said. “It’s humbling as a teacher to remember that we can learn from students about these things, and that’s OK. That’s a good thing.”
An administrator who looks forward to helping make decisions regarding technology as an educational boon is Erikka Kuhse, who started her new job as director of curriculum at the beginning of July.
“Within this position, I’ll get to take a deeper look at what we are teaching and learning, why we are teaching and learning what we are, and then how we are doing that,” she said.
In June, the school board approved director of curriculum as a new position, voting at the same meeting to hire Kuhse. She previously served as high school assistant principal, and prior to that was a physics teacher and dean of students for ninth grade.
“One of our core values is the customization and personalization of learning for every student, which I truly believe in,” Kuhse said. “Something that drew me to this position is that I will get to help determine what we are going to use and how we are going to implement that to make sure every student gets that customized learning plan to ensure that they succeed.”
Sardon linked the new post’s creation to the departure of communications coordinator Patrick Harrigan, whom she credited with setting up a solid base with regard to the district’s website and social media presence. Going forward, such forms of public outreach will be among Kuhse’s responsibilities, although the specifics have yet to be determined.
“The way we do school communications now is evolving,” the superintendent said, “so we’re evolving with it.”
