Edison students first in NJ to use iPad algebra app

Superintendent: Start of pilot program a ‘historic day’

BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

Freshman students in Jameel Misbahuddin’s Algebra 1 class at Edison High School received quite a surprise at the start of this school year.

On each of their desks sat anApple iPad, the product of the school district’s recent partnership with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) to add 60 iPads for use in algebra classes at the township school district’s two high schools. The district is the first in New Jersey to implement a full algebra curriculum on a digital tablet.

Students Mackenzie Peacock, William Povaloc, Anthony Pinell and Tijae Brown were among those excited to discover that they would be using Apple iPads in class.

“I think it’s a good way to teach students,” Brown said.

Pinell said use of the interactive devices enriches the students’ experience.

The students, some of whom already have iPads or iPod Touch devices, said it was easy to learn how to use the iPad.

“My great-grandmother even has an iPad,” Brown said.

Superintendent of Schools Richard O’Malley and Board of Education members came together Sept. 12 to recognize the official launch of the pilot iPad program. Ed Burger, HMH Math and Holt McDougal author, joined the class via Skype from Texas. Josef Blumenfeld, senior vice president of corporate affairs at HMH, was present for the launch.

“It’s a historic day,” said O’Malley. “Our goal is to get students more engaged to learn math and also instill the confidence in math.”

Blumenfeld said he probably would have seen the subject in a different light if he had had the ability to use an iPad when he took Algebra 1 in high school.

“I may have learned something,” he said. “Maybe it would set me on a different career path.”

Burger said he worked on the tutorial videos over three years.

“When we started this project, it started without the iPad vision,” he said. “We were just creating videos to generate interest in the online version of our textbook.” Technology has essentially “caught up with algebra,” he said.

Burger told students to have fun and advised them to contact him via twitter if they had any questions.

The school district announced the oneyear iPad pilot program in June.

HMH created a full-curriculum algebra application for Apple iPads. The curriculum is called the HMH Fuse: Algebra 1 App program.

O’Malley said that when he assumed his post in February, he already knew he wanted Edison to be the first district in the state to pilot the HMH math program using iPads in the classrooms. He said he had read about the program being piloted in several California school districts. According to HMH, its application is designed to deliver Algebra 1 curriculum in a way that engages tech-savvy 21st-century students, who will receive step-by-step animated instruction, instant feedback on practice questions, the ability to write, record and save notes, and access to more than 400 video tutorials with the touch of a finger. The app’s programming combines instruction with ongoing support, allowing teachers and students to customize learning and meet individual needs. Teachers can monitor performance with real-time, student specific feedback via Wi-Fi wireless connection.

Edison Board of Education President Gene Maeroff said officials are pleased to take part in the pilot program.

“We are always trying to strengthen the curriculum,” he said. Misbahuddin, who is known as ‘Mr. M’ by his students, said he learned in the spring that he would be using the iPads.

“It is a different way to teach,” he said. “The students are more interested and it is easier to carry than a textbook. It’s fun.”

Misbahuddin said the students will eventually be able to take the iPads home for homework assignments.

“They will still have to write their answers on a piece of paper,” he said.

Misbahuddin said the iPad gives the students access to tutorial videos if they are having trouble with their assignments.

Roseanna Scimone, class supervisor, said she sometimes finds herself in awe of the device.

“When the students will be able to bring the iPads home, they will also be able to chat with their peers if they have with a problem,” she said. “The iPad in class is just phenomenal and teachers alike.”

Lenore Alfonso, Algebra 1 teacher at John P. Stevens High School, said the iPad is an amazing tool for the students.

“WithAlgebra 1, sometimes you get that specific attitude of resistance where students come into class without their text books, because nine out of 10 students just don’t like math,” she said. “This, I believe, will eliminate that.”

The program was launched at J.P Stevens on Sept. 13. Alfonso, who has been in the district for 31 years, said she taught herself how to use the iPad once she received it last spring. She said she was excited to be piloting the program with her students.