As the new Battle High School in Columbia opens this fall, each student will begin to receive an iPad mini.
The Columbia Public School district will purchase 1,100 new iPads as part of a new technology pilot program. District Spokesperson Michelle Baumstark said the addition of the new technology is Columbia Public School’s way of changing its teaching methods to keep up with the change in the way students learn.
“So, as new technology becomes available, we want our students to be prepared to be savvy users of that and to be knowledgeable about what’s available to them as resources," Baumstark said.
Across the district schools are introducing more technology into the classroom. The Columbia Public School Board recently voted in favor of a new technology policy that allows students to use electronics in the classroom for educational purposes.
At Battle High School, students will check out their iPad at the beginning of the school year and return it before summer break. They will also now have the option to check out their text books in print or digital copies.