All GHS Students Getting iPads

Every student will receive an iPad and all teachers will have a MacBook Pro laptop computer when the new opens this fall, school principal James Pignataro told the School Committee last night.

Doing this will help create “24/7 learning’’ opportunities for students and teachers, he said.

He called it a “major, positive move for our students and staff.’’

The iPads are part of a significant technology upgrade at the new building, which will be wireless throughout.

Having a wireless building will allow education to be portable, flexible and accessible, he and assistant principal Maureen Cohen said.

“We need technology in every classroom and in every student’s and teacher’s hand because it’s the pen and pencil of our time,’’ he said, quoting from a remark on the PowerPoint presentation about the technology changes.

He plans to meet with students this week to discuss this and other technological changes planned for the new school.

The iPads will allow students to have crucial information and abilities in one device, he said. The potential uses include:

Organization: The device can store notes, serve as a planner and maintain agendas. In time, they could augment or even replace physical textbooks.

Research: They provide instant access to information, including digital and interactive books.

Productivity: Writing, presentations, movies and spreadsheets can all be done on the device.

Content: The uses are wide-ranging and include educational apps, music creation, interactive science labs and maps.

Collaboration and communication: Collaboration, media literacy and global awareness can all be enhanced.

Pignataro said the staff decided to provide every student with a device rather than requesting, as some schools do, that students bring in their own technology. This would ensure that everyone was on a level playing field, he said.

He also stressed that the key is not the device itself, but what it is used for, that will enhance the students’ learning experience.

Training sessions are scheduled for students and staff, he said.

A crucial component of this will be the “tech force,’’ a group of students who have expressed a particular interest in technology. They will be called on to offer support and instruction and to provide trouble-shooting when needed.