Mt. Carmel Integrates Technology into the Classroom

school 10th grader Kim Single said she’s part of the “technology generation” and that schools need to understand that to best educate students today.

“Everything in our lives revolves around technology,” said Single, 15. “For many students they need more interaction to hold their attention instead of just flipping through a text book.”

Teachers and administrators at agree with that assessment, which is why the Essex Catholic school recently launched a pilot program to introduce digital tablets into a group of classrooms.

Beginning last month, the school began using 30 Samsung Galaxy tablets in four science classes with more than 120 students in elementary, middle and high school able to use the technology to supplement traditional instruction.

Mt. Carmel, which raised about $5,000 to purchase the tablets, partnered with Verizon Wireless over this past summer to train teachers and staff on how to best integrate the technology into the classroom. The program is already in four Maryland schools and Verizon Wireless hopes to reach out to many more schools in the region over the next few years.

“Especially for the younger students, technology is such a part of their world,” Mt. Carmel president Kathleen Sipes said. “Utilizing tablets in the classroom is the wave of the future and we wanted to explore the benefits of them in today’s learning environment.”

Sipes said that even just a few weeks into the program, she considers it a success. All of the tablets are being used in science classes. For example, high school freshmen and sophomores recently conducted a virtual frog dissection.

Also, juniors and seniors have used the tablets in chemistry while middle school students get a clear picture of space in astronomy class. In addition, elementary school students have used the devices for earth science lessons.

Sipes said the tablets provide the students with the most up-to-date information, compared to textbooks, which can be outdated not long after they are published. Sipes added that students have also taken tests on the tablets, which are automatically graded—saving teachers time.

Teachers can also receive a classroom analysis of the test to examine areas in which students may have struggled the most.

“The tablets are a great way to allow teachers to be more efficient and also learn instantly what areas of a unit they need to go reteach,” Sipes said.

Tenth-grader Erica Wheeler, 15, said she already sees many of her classmates  more engaged in the classroom and excited about learning more about science. She also likes how homework assignments can now be done online and then pulled up on the tablets in class.

“You can really visualize what we are learning about much more than if you are just reading a book,” Wheeler said.

Fifth-grader Ashley Conway said using the tablets has made some lessons easier to understand. For example, she said, her teacher used an application, which showed how water cycled through Earth.

“It’s much more hands-on learning,” Conway said. “It makes school much more interesting.”

Sipes said Mt. Carmel hopes to expand the tablet program into other subjects and grades in the future. Cost, she added, is the biggest factor moving forward.

“Once teachers and students have seen how the tablets are being used, they are all asking when their classroom will get it. It’s really an exciting time.”