HONESDALE, PA — Children born after 1980 are said to be “digital natives” because, while the Internet was not widely in use at the time, computer bulletin boards and Usenet were. Certainly any student in high school today can be considered native to the digital age. Recognizing that living in the digital age has an impact on the way students receive information, the administration at Honesdale High School decided this year to provide all of their students with iPads, which may be taken home and used in many ways.

According to Greg Frigoletto, superintendent of the Wayne Highlands School District, the experiment actually began last year in the sophomore class. The district decided that at least one text book—they settled on a history book—would be an eBook, which would be interactive and online, and was loaded into an iPad for each student. Frigoletto said the program was met with enthusiasm because even outside of the history classes, teachers in other classes started to use the iPads with students.

Frigoletto said these digital native students “do well with technology, they’re motivated by technology. We have a lot of staff that are increasingly interested in using more technology as part of their instruction.”

It worked so well that this year all 790 students in grades nine through 12 have been issued iPads. Along with the freshman and sophomore history eBooks, there are also a variety of educational applications that can be used.

The iPads are an expense, but this initiative has been funded through a roughly $57,000 grant administered by the PA State Department of Education Rural and Low-Income School Program.

Asked if some students had a problem using the iPad, Frigoletto said, “We found that there were very, very few homes that would not have some sort of access for the students to be able to use them at home.” He added if there were ever a case where a student would not be able to connect, “we would always be able to have available to them some other means to get them the material.” He stressed again the relationship between students and this sort of technology: “There really is not any inhibition that students have in regard to an iPad or any sort of electronic device.”

He also noted there was a wide range among teachers, with some teaching for 30 years and others relatively new on the job. He said they have different approaches to this technology, and he added, “That’s OK. Nobody’s saying a lecture is not still a great part of a lesson, but the technology needs to be included on some level, and so we have some teachers who are maybe really our more resident experts.”

In fact there are staff positions now directly related to technology. Frigoletto said Lori Sheldon is the district-wide technology integrator, and Scott Miller is the director of technology.

As to the practicality of handing out so many pieces of equipment, last year it turned out better than expected for the district. He said there were only two that were damaged, and they were investigated and turned out to be accidents. He said the kids have a special interest in their iPads, and parents had mostly positive responses.