Beyond The Bell: Arthur Elementary Awarded Grant

In southwest Oklahoma City, students are already using computers, clicking their way through class. But they're about to get a big upgrade.

Arthur Elementary was selected to be a part of President Obama’s ConnectEd Initiative. It was the only school selected in the state.

“Us here at Arthur are going to have to kind of turn our minds around and go for the journey,” said Nycole Blakley, a teacher at the school.

So students and teachers will receive Apple products worth $1 million.

Teachers get a new laptop, iPad mini, Apple TV system and projector to make instructing more interactive. And every one of the school's 700 students will get an iPad.

The older students will have the iPads 24/7 and the younger ones will use them mostly at school.

But whether they're keeping them in the building or taking them home, teachers said the educational possibilities are endless.

“It’s really going to be life changing for these kids,” said Technology Integration Specialist Ruthie Gallardo-Owens.

Among other features, the iPads will give kids a new way to do and store personalized homework, then submit it to teachers with a swipe. But maybe most importantly, they'll deliver lessons to the tech-savvy students using their language.

“It’s just a way of blending their real world and their everyday digital world with their education and making them more proficient and successful in the long term,” Gallardo-Owens said.

The teachers are being trained on the equipment currently and the official rollout is set for Oct. 5.

Each student is required to create a special Apple ID through the school, for educational purposes only. In order to do this, parents must attend a sign-up event to meet with school officials and get the process started.

Here is the schedule for those meetings:

Friday, September 4, 9:00- 3:00pm   

Apple ID Sign-Up in the Media Center

Thursday, September 10, 5:00-6:00pm

              Parent Information Night (Last Name A-G)

                              Spanish~ Media Center

                              English~ Cafeteria

Monday, September 14, 5:00-6:00pm

              Parent Information Night (Last Name :H-O)

                              Spanish~ Media Center

                              English~ Cafeteria

Thursday, September 17,  5:00-6:00pm

Parent Information Night (Last Name: P-Z)

                 Spanish~ Media Center

                 English~ Cafeteria