In an effort to enhance student motivation and engage and to support ECCA's mission of creating lifelong learners and productive global citizens, the ECCA Board of Directors approved a 1:1 Netbook/iPad Program for 8th and 7th grade students for 2012-13. This program is designed to help students become lifelong learners and productive global citizens through the development of 21st Century Skills. ECCA's experience with the 1:1 Laptop Pilot has taught us that true technology integration in middle school can only be achieved when students have full-time access to dedicated technology. Our 7th and 8th grade students are in the digital age. ECCA strives to be on the cutting edge of educating this generation of digital natives. Digital natives, who have never known a world without advancing technologies. Our students understand technology as it is used inside the school and outside in world applications. As part of the 1:1 Program, each 8th grade student will use a netbook and 7th grade students an iPad in their class, then take them home to continue integrating technological projects at home. iPad Program for Incoming 7th Grade Students
By now most of you know that ECCA will be hosting a new 1:1 iPad program for 7th grade students during the 2012-13 school year. Your 7th grade (2012-13) student will use an iPad in class and at home during his/her next 2 years at ECCA. Students will need an iPad 2 or newer.
An E-mail was sent out with information to all 7th & 8th grade parent/gaurdians just before school started. If you did not receive an email please contact the office for the information. Standardized Equipment Some parents ask why standardized equipment is required for a successful 1:1 program and why they cannot send their student into 7th or 8th grade with a laptop from home. ECCA piloted and refined their 1:1 program for two school years. In an effort to help parents control expenses during the pilots, we allowed a limited number of non-ECCA issued laptops. For the school year 2012-13 ONLY, some 8th grade students, with approval, can use their personal computer from home. We learned from the pilot programs that non-ECCA laptops do not function well on our complex computer network. Using a laptop on a home network is much different than joining a computer to a complex business level computer network, like the network that is in place at ECCA. During these pilot programs we learned that students with non-ECCA laptops have trouble joining our network and using their laptops in class. Difficulties accessing network resources causes students with non-standardized equipment to lose valuable class time. It also regularly causes the primary classroom teacher to have to completely stop lessons to address technical difficulties. Lost class time isn't fair to a student, their peers or the teacher. In addition, disruptions in instruction are contrary to our high academic standards and, as such, it is ECCA's policy to use standardized ECCA equipment for the 1:1 program. | 
