Apple Devices Allow Students To Succeed At Their Own Pace

• Schoolgoers at Wilder, both above and below grade level, are using Apple devices to learn and succeed at their own pace.
• Teachers at Mariano Azuela Elementary School in Southwest Chicago are helping students embrace technology by utilizing Apple's Everyone Can Code initiative.
• Even in Japan, at Kumagaya Special Needs School in Saitama, students are using iPads to embrace their creative sides.

The Apple ConnectED grant provided millions of dollars in support and technology to underprivileged schools in America. Wilder Elementary and its sister Middle and High Schools were the first among the 114 schools to receive the grant from the tech giant. And with access to Apple’s strong hardware and software, the students of these school are getting a quality education despite their underprivileged backgrounds.

For example, let's consider the teaching atmosphere over at Wilder. When kids reach school, all of them gains access to an iPad, every teacher has a MacBook, and every classroom is fitted with an Apple TV. This simple access to powerful technology is essentially turning the notions of traditional education upside down. It is allowing teachers to address the specific needs of individual students which helps them to learn at their own pace.

In the words of Stephanie Bauer, a fifth-grade teacher, “The personalized learning aspect is so important because these students are able to go on their own path and excel. [...] Before, I would stand at the front of the classroom and say, ‘okay, I’m going to show you how to do something and we’re all going to do it together.’ And half the students didn’t know what they were doing, and the other half were bored.”

So it is clear that students performing below grade level can benefit from this system. But how about the overachieving students? Well, let’s considering Marco Araujo and Kahlilia Mark, who are both in Bauer’s fifth-grade class. Both of them are above grade level students and thanks to access to advanced technology, they can now nurture their interests and gain more skills. Marco is learning to code using the Sphero app while Kahlilia is on her way to becoming a novelist as she has already penned over four novels using the Book Creator app.

Image Courtesy of Times Higher Education

In other schools such as Mariano Azuela Elementary School in Southwest Chicago, teacher Kasia Derza has helped her shy students gain more confidence through the technology-powered teaching curriculums - namely Apple’s Everyone Can Code initiative.

Whereas, to gain an international perspective on the matter, Kumagaya Special Needs School in Saitama, Japan is utilizing iPads to help students become more expressive and to help them hone their creative potentials.