BERLIN At Ocean City Ele-
mentary School (OCES), students
will soon have some of the latest
technology at their fingertips, thanks
to the PTA's fundraising efforts.
Fifty donated iPads are expected
to make it to classrooms next week.
They will be used for a variety of
lessons, and there are a large num-
ber of educational apps available.
"Students will be using them for
research," said OCES Principal
Dawn Rogers. "They'll be using
them to be part of a math program
that we have this year."
The devices will also be used to
promote typing skills and raise stu-
dents' general technological litera-
cy. Sheri Conner, a former PTA
president and current educational
assistant at OCES, pointed out that
the new Common Core Curriculum
will include tablet-based learning
and testing. Introducing children to
that technology early could give
them a leg-up when they are older.
"Any way we can help our chil-
dren succeed and get used to that
format, I think that's where the mon-
ey should go," she said.
It was during Conner's tenure
that the PTA decided to fundraise
with the goal of providing iPads for
OCES. After two years of efforts,
the group presented the school with
a hefty sum.
"We donated a straight $20,000,"
said Kandy Davis, current president
of the OCES PTA. "And then the
school had a small technology fund
where they could put in the remain-
der of the balance."
Davis credited the current and
alumni parents who dug deep dur-
ing OCES fundraisers, which total-
ed about a dozen a year.
"It's not just the PTA. It's the par-
ents that donate and come to the
events and we are so grateful," she
said. "It makes it easy for someone
like me to run a PTA like this be-
cause they are just so giving and so
generous, and it is definitely impor-
tant to all of them that these kids
have the technology."
Besides the PTA, other community
organizations provided about $5,000
in additional funding for the iPads. It
was impressive to see unfold, accord-
ing to Rogers, who feels that most of
the county is acutely aware of how im-
portant technology is in schools, even
in the youngest grades.
"I look at it as a community step
toward digital conversion, a digital
step toward preparing our children
for college and careers," she said.
Teachers are "ecstatic" about the
new devices, Rogers continued.
There will be some brief training
before they enter classrooms, but
they should be out and operational
by next week.
"That digital conversion initiative
that's taking place in our county, this
is one step toward that," she said.
According to Conner, the PTA
chose tablets as their fundraising
goals because of how easy it is for
technology to drop to the bottom of
the list of priorities when compared
to school renovations and teacher
compensation. While those are
important and a worthy use of pub-
lic funding, Conner felt that it is up to
the community to make sure tech-
nology is a focus.
"That's one place where there is
a constant fight for funding," she
said.The first set of 50 iPads will be
rotated among third- and fourth-
grade students to start. The tablets
came with all of the necessary sup-
port devices including carts and
Mac Books that will serve as a net-
work point for all of the devices.
The PTA's goal is to add another
cart of 25 iPads to the school every
year moving forward.
"Hopefully, we can donate a cart
each year. We were able to do two
this year and on each cart come 25
tablets," said Davis. "So hopefully
we can donate a cart each year.
The goal would be so that every
kind in Ocean City Elementary
School has a tablet in their hand."
Rogers, Conner and Davis all
made a point to stress the school's
appreciation to all who donated. It
shows that "our hearts are with our
students in preparing them for the
future," Rogers said.
School PTA Provides Tech Boost
January 17, 2014
Page 13
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
By TRAVIS BROWN
STAFF WRITER
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