Empowering Unique Learners
in Tennessee
Apple 1 to 1 Learning
When Cassity Degges was preparing for her role in “The Tempest,” learning her lines was no small task. Degges, like all of her classmates at Currey Ingram Academy, has a learning difference which can make memorization challenging. But thanks to her iPod, Degges could listen to her own recitation of her lines ... and in no time, she had the play down cold. With Currey Ingram’s technology immersion throughout its curriculum — and a 1 to 1 learning program based on iBook laptops — such individualized learning is now commonplace.
“By giving every student an iBook, we’ve integrated technology throughout the curriculum, which has had a tremendous impact on learning.”
— Wilkes Baugh, Director of Technology and Webmaster, Currey Ingram Academy
In the past, Currey Ingram students’ learning differences have had the most impact in the areas of informational organization, focus on lessons, and their ability to communicate their learning. With the 2002 distribution of iBook laptops to all students in grades 5-12, such differences have become much less problematic.
Some students use voice-recognition software to dictate writing projects into their laptops; the text then automatically appears in the document. Others use iCal to map out project completion schedules, and rely on the application’s alarms to remind them of important milestones. Almost all students use the digital learning tools in the iLife suite to create multisensory projects. For auditory learners, GarageBand is especially helpful, enabling students to express themselves through sounds and music. And having ready access to iTunes — along with the school’s supply of iPods — provides still more learning opportunities.
One of the biggest benefits of the iBook laptops is their ability to assist with academic assessment. Along with taking traditional standardized tests, students complete online exams using their iBook laptops and such applications as Academic Progress and Blackboard. For students who process information in unique ways, Currey Ingram’s computing model has proved to be ideal.
