AP Human Geography teacher Erik Hodges has always loved technology. When the D214 Director of Technology at the time came to Hodges with the opportunity to pilot the newly-released iPads in 2010, he gladly applied. The pilot was introduced as a way to reduce paper usage in classrooms, specifically because of the environmental impact.
The iPads significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions: it would take more than seven hours of note-taking on an iPad to produce more greenhouse gas emissions than a single sheet of paper, according to the Environmental Paper Network.
Soon enough, Hodges was approved for the iPad and received a grant from the district; his classes began using the iPad 1 in class on Aug. 30, 2010.
It wasn’t long before the iPads posed challenges for Hodges and his class: bad styluses and a lack of physical keyboards put things at a challenging start.
Additionally, Hodges and his students had to trial different apps on the iPad, such as Moodle and eBackpack.
“I hope [eBackpack] has gone out of business,” Hodges said. “It was just really awful [because] … you couldn’t grade in it. It was … a locker [for assignments], almost.”
Fortunately for Hodges, he and his students found ways to make iPad learning educational and fun. Hodges would create assignments to get the kids familiar with using the new features.
For example, after Prospector Editor Maddie Conway wrote a story about the new pilot iPads, Hodges’ students read and commented on the article, testing out the keyboard and browser system. Students shared mixed, but mostly positive feedback about iPad usage (see “From the archives: 2010 students’ opinions of iPads”).
Since the 2010s, iPad usage in the classroom has continued to develop. However, teachers are starting to pull back on iPad usage, with some removing them from the curriculum altogether.
Science teacher Michelle Tantillo, as well as all the other Physical Science teachers, switched to only paper for the 2024-25 school year for their classes.
Regulation of iPads has become increasingly difficult for some teachers, with both Tantillo and Hodges noticing iPad management becoming worse since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“[I’m] not saying that kids weren’t distracted before, but I think [it got worse during] that time at home where kids were on a screen and there wasn’t somebody truly looking at what they were doing,” Tantillo said.
Since increased iPad usage became the norm, Tantillo and Hodges haven’t noticed any improvements on device distraction. This is a main reason why Tantillo and the Physical Science team made the switch to paper.
“It’s very easy for students to get off task by trying to watch a YouTube video, or check their email … if they have an iPad,” Tantillo said. “Whereas a piece of paper in front of them doesn’t ding and tell them their friends are trying to contact them.”
Even Hodges, who refers to himself as the “iPad pioneer,” is taking a step back from the devices by printing out reading guides for his students.
“I think we’re getting a better grasp of how to effectively use iPads,” Hodges said. “I think equally, if not more importantly, we’re finding out when not to use them in class.”
This isn’t to say that Tantillo and Hodges are completely anti-iPad. During this last month, Physical Science classes have been learning about sound waves with their iPads. Tantillo thinks that using the iPad for this unit makes learning the material a little easier, as applications can show what a sound wave or colors of light look like in different scenarios.
“We could certainly pull out colored pencils, but it doesn’t mix the same way [as it does on the iPad],” Tantillo said.
For her Earth Science class, Tantillo only uses iPads as it would be difficult to effectively teach the class without online resources such as simulations.
Hodges still uses iPads for lots of his classwork, specifically for his geo inquiries. This is where AP Human Geography students use a website to answer questions while manipulating maps. This helps the students visualize areas on a different scale.
iPad or not, Tantillo and Hodges both want what will help their students learn in the best way possible.
“I’m not anti the iPad. I just think that there’s a time and a place for everything,” Tantillo said. “It’s just really hard [for students] to focus … and [teachers want to] try to find a way to help … them.”
