14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is featuring an original piece on its Hot News section to show how students at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, use Macs and iDevices to research class assignments and achieve better and better results.
As the story goes, teachers at the school noticed that students were immediately drawn to interactive tools - the Mac, and Apple’s line of iOS devices, “and they saw the effect as potentially transformative.”
“With such promising results, school administrators decided to comprehensively integrate Mac as a learning tool throughout the curriculum for all grade levels,” Apple explains.
The kids took an instant liking to iLife, and iWork, the two Apple-developed suites for fun, experimentation, creativity, and office work.
“In addition to writing papers and taking tests, students deliver fully realized learning projects, complete with images, video, and sound,” according to the editorial.
“These include songs and podcasts recorded and edited in GarageBand; digital presentations and portfolios created in Keynote; videos for Punavision — the campus news program — edited in iMovie and Final Cut Pro; and even iOS apps built using Xcode.”
Teachers and students gain another major benefit from using the Mac, and that is they don’t have to bother their heads with “how to use the tools”. Naturally because the Mac and its apps are so intuitive.
“The Macs in my classroom are completely indispensable,” said Sandy Chang, Reading, Writing, and American History teacher, Punahou School.
And, “because the notebooks are so easy to use and maintain, most students and teachers can resolve problems on their own,” Apple states.
The school has also introduced iPod touch for student activities. For example, making real-world measurements on field trips. The initiative made sense if the school was to put the right device in students' hands for any given learning opportunity.
iPads are used by students of all levels. According to the California-based computer giant:
- kindergarteners use iPad to practice letters and numbers; - fourth graders use the tablets to design and manage virtual cities; - middle schoolers experiment with geo-location and video journaling; - and high schoolers create advanced music and art.
Everyone from administrators to parents at Punahou believe that "the Mac has transformed the curriculum, extending the school’s long history of innovative excellence."
"I’m no longer standing in front of a room, putting information on a blackboard, and lecturing," says sixth grade teacher Sandy Chang. "Instead, I'll put a question out there, and the students know how to look for the answer. They open up their Macs and get the information. And because the learning is interactive, it keeps them more focused, more interested, and more motivated."