Horace Mann was fortunate to be one of the test schools for the Neenah Joint School District’s digital conversion plan. This year students and staff will be working with iPads to test and evaluate how they can influence and enhance the educational experience at Horace Mann. Each house will have two carts of iPads (60 total) for student use in the classroom. Students were given a brief training about proper handling and operation of the iPads on October 19th and teams deployed their carts the next day. Most of the students were well versed on how to operate the iPads and many students have already taught the staff a trick or two about the new device.

In just over three weeks it has been amazing to see staff and students using the iPads in a wide variety of fashions. Mrs. Macklin’s science class recorded the findings of a lab using the iPad’s camera and microphone and shared their finding via Twitter. Mrs. Ruetten was able to create flashcards for an upcoming test on the eye and share them on the iPad with all of her students as a review activity. In a variety of other classrooms I have observed students using the recordable whiteboard to explain how to solve math equations, teachers sharing their read aloud books using their classroom projectors, and all students working in resource to show their mastery of basic math facts. We are clearly just starting to scratch the surface of the iPads capacity in the classroom. But one thing is very clear; students and staff are very excited to learn more.

By Mr. Wunderlich
Horace Mann Principal