Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Brooklyn School Pilots iPads in 1-to-1 Initiative

Yeshivah of Flatbush (YOF) will soon use iPads for everyday learning. The 1-to-1 iPad initiative will start this fall at Yeshivah's Joel Braverman High School and will expand to the YOF Elementary School after it establishes wireless access.

Over the last few years Brooklyn-based YOF has made educational technology in its classrooms a priority, so iPads are the next stage in its development. Rabbi Raymond Harari, head of school for Joel Braverman High School, talked to parents in a recent iPad orientation meeting about personal computing devices being "the norm" in the near future so the school should prepare students to make intelligent, constructive and responsible use of them.

"Smart Boards are now in every classroom; our library resources are increasingly available digitally; our teachers have created their own Web sites; and this is the next stage in our process," Harari said.

Sixty freshmen have already received their own iPads and will be using them daily in class and at home. Starting in fall, freshman and sophomore students will be required to have an iPad in school.

Rabbi Lawrence Schwed, YOF Elementary School Principal, recently announced that 30 iPads will be distributed on loan to teachers who have volunteered to learn how to use and experiment with them in the classroom. Teachers will then share creative techniques for the classroom with colleagues.

Yeshivah's leadership said that utilizing new media will engage students more than before, expand opportunities for individualized learning and research, and facilitate collaboration and interactive activities in-school and throughout the world.

"The iPad supports Hebrew," Assistant Principal Rabbi Joseph Beyda said. "We will be using the iPad in Judaic Studies classes as well as in secular studies classes and believe that Hebrew will be more fully supported as iPad use continues to grow."

YOF made arrangements with Apple for leasing iPads through YOF. The school cited relative affordability, portability, durability, and sustainability as reasons for choosing the iPad.

About the Author

Kimberly Horg-Webb is a reporter based in California. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • digital graph

    Building Genuinely Data-Informed School Districts

    Schools today generate enormous amounts of data. The difference between collecting it and using it effectively often comes down to quality, access, and context.

  • Neon blue security locks with a single red highlight

    With AI, Cybersecurity Focus Shifts from Finding Flaws to Fixing Them

    For decades, one of cybersecurity's biggest challenges has been finding vulnerabilities before attackers do. A growing number of security professionals now say artificial intelligence is changing that equation, shifting the focus from discovering flaws to fixing them quickly enough to prevent exploitation.

  • Top View Shot in Elementary School Computer Science Classroom

    Education's Top 5 Technology Priorities and the Challenges Standing in the Way

    Cybersecurity ranks as the No. 1 priority for education technology leaders in the United States, according to the latest State of Ed Tech report from CoSN, yet insufficient cybersecurity staffing and the lack of a dedicated budget are key barriers.

  • Engineering team implements digital guardrails on AI

    3 Starting Points for Integrating AI Guardrails in K-12 Districts

    As education leaders start to craft an AI policy that is both practical and flexible enough to evolve with this fast-changing technology, there is at least one principle that should be foundational: AI should serve to augment human critical thinking and creativity but never replace human interaction and decision-making.