Tigers GEAR UP

Through the efforts of a dedicated staff and funds from a federal grant, students at St. Regis High School are getting hands on with technology.

For the seventh through eleventh grade students at St. Regis School, the old excuse of “my dog ate my homework” is becoming a thing of the past.

Through funds from the federal GEAR UP program and matching contribution from the St. Regis School District, students are being trained to utilize an iPad for educational purposes.

“They’re really cool and really handy,” Ninth-grader Shelby Melin said of the iPads. “You can check your grades, send emails, and we have lesson plans on them for our classes.”

According to GEAR UP Coordinator Byron Quinlan, the program is funded on a statewide basis and currently 18 Montana schools are currently participating. The goal of the program is in the name – it aims to prepare students for the transition from high school to undergraduate programs.

“The goal was to put technology into the students hands and the goal of the district was to create a one-to-one initiative with all of our seventh through twelfth grade students,” Quinlan said.

Through the use of the iPads, and the help of former Apple employee and current GEAR UP consultant Brenden McEldery – students and teachers at St. Regis are realizing how the small tablet computers can change their educational experience.

“Brenden is the brains behind the operation,” Quinlan said. “He has been training the teachers on how to utilize the iPads in their classrooms.”

McEldery is working closely with both students and teachers to do what Quinlan called “opening up” the iPad from being a simple Internet browser to a tool that will give valuable skills to students.

The implementation of the iPad program began with the ninth grade Tigers, who have begun to see just what the device can do.

“We have seen a really positive response with the ninth grade students,” Quinlan said. “They are a little further along with the process – I think Brenden has been able to show them that an iPad is more useful than they ever thought it was. I think there is a lot of untapped software on them that the kids haven’t touched yet and Brenden is helping them tap into that. The kids have been really responsive to it.”

For the former Apple employee, the chance to train students and teachers with the familiar technology is one he is proud to be a part of.

“We are putting this technology into their hands that wasn’t available to them prior,” McEldery said.

“It helps them become familiarized with the newest technology and helps them utilize that technology to succeed in school.”

Currently the GEAR UP program at St. Regis is training both students and parents in the functions of the iPad as well as netiquette and Internet safety.

According to Quinlan by the end of the year they hope to implement the program to all students in seventh through eleventh grades as well as fine tune the use of the devices in the classroom.

“We definitely still want to work the process out and between now and the time the school year ends we will have a good idea of where the students stand and what their needs are for the future,” Quinlan said.

“We would like to hit the ground running for the 2013-14 school year with every student having an iPad.”