Photo of the Day: Kids Receive New iPads

Special needs' students in Gene Siller’s classroom at the Phillips Avenue School, a K-4 school in the Riverhead Central School District, recently received the gift of 15 new iPad2s.

The iPads were purchased with a monetary gift from a local business and matching funds from the school district. 

“I have been using my personal iPad in the classroom individually, one-on-one with students, and projected, with an untethered connection through Apple TV, on the SmartBoard in my classroom,” said Siller. “My students love to use my iPad. This gift will enable them to hold and use an individual iPad on their laps or at their desks for a variety of classroom activities."

Siller said she hopes to use the iPads to help students improve their writing skills, as the touch screens and keyboards are easier for students with fine motor difficulties to use.

In addition, Siller said, there are also several apps and applications that will be used more comprehensively now that each student has access to an iPad. "There are interactive apps that allow the students to interact during discussions, sticky apps that help them with reading comprehension, apps that reinforce concepts in math, and apps that provide parental interaction.”   

Phillips Avenue Principal Debra Rodgers said the gift "will keep on giving for years."