By Celine Klosterman
WEST POINT — It’s a Thursday morning in Jean Humphrey’s class at Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary, and a lonely first-grader is trying to work up the motivation to finish a workbook assignment.
He holds his head in one hand and twirls a pencil absentmindedly in the other. Around him are classmates who, having finished the assignment, are abuzz as they enjoy free time playing math games, practicing spelling words and reading to each other on their iPads.
Then, a student shows the boy how to use the tablet computer to photograph his workbook page and write the answers on the screen with his finger. The boy’s face lights up. “Awesome!” he says.
In minutes, his assignment is finished.
Humphrey and Building Coordinator Michael Sheerin say they’ve seen such increased enthusiasm for learning since Holy Trinity gave a total of 150 iPads to kindergarteners through sixth-graders in December. Private donors have given about $40,000 to pay for the devices, accessories and educational “apps,” or applications, which teachers have downloaded for classes from science to art.
To read the rest of this article, subscribe to The Catholic Messenger’s e-edition.
