By: Alexis Losse ’17

This upcoming year, Seattle Prep is going to undergo a big change. Prep is officially switching to a “One to One” environment where each student will have an iPad.

These efficient tablets will make communication with teachers easier, give internet access to students in every classroom, do some homework, and may even have their textbooks in one lightweight place. Especially with textbooks getting heavier these days, this will definitely be a plus for the Prep student body.

There’s also new applications becoming available all the time that will help the students learn even more. This decision was reached by the technology committee including Principal Maureen Reid, and the chair of the technology committee, Ms. Freeman. This iPad program is supposed to best fit Prep’s educational needs at this time.

To start off this whole process, all the teachers at Prep were given their own iPads. One idea that the school has had is that by having the teachers record themselves teaching lessons and uploading it to some app that the students can access while at home, then during school they can just discuss the material, rather than covering new content. This would mean they can go deeper into the topics and really figure out the smaller details of the subjects. An example of what will be used next year is screencasting because it lets people watch the presentation slides, while listening to their teachers explain it as the presentation moves along.

Another bonus to the One to One program is that there will be internet access and wifi spots in a big portion of the new building that is being constructed. People will be able to use their iPads throughout the school day, whether they’re projecting their notes on to the board, getting a head start on tonight’s reading, or simply emailing a teacher during lunch about some questions they may have, the iPads are going to make a big difference.

Although there’s this optimistic view, there’s also some challenges that can come with it. There’s going to be lots of changes going on and students are given a lot of responsibility about using the iPads responsibly. Although the iPads will be used a lot this next school year, it’s not going to be all about technology all the time and the teachers will have technology-free times because they recognize the importance of it. Technology can be a distraction at times, but it’s important to just use it correctly and wisely throughout the next couple years. Get ready Prep, iPads are coming.