LZ District 95 Distributes iPads to Students, Offers Orientation

Sara Cozzi looked intently at her new iPad, carefully following a tutorial as her mom, Gail, watched.

Cozzi was excited to get the iPad. Her mom was excited that Sara wouldn’t have to bring a lot of books home anymore.

“The backpack was crazy, sometimes it weighed more than she does,” Gail Cozzi said.

The Middle School North eighth grader is one of 1,300 Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 students receiving iPads through the district’s Mobile Learning Initiative. All eighth grade students and some high school students enrolled in select courses are receiving their iPads this week.

District 95 students must go through an orientation to receive and setup their iPad.

Every iPad has the student’s name on the back and has been inventoried, said Melissa Gray, systems engineer/lead technologist.

“This is iPad central,” Gray said, pointing to the hundreds of tablets ready to be handed out.

Gray and a team of six students, called iAgents, installed standard utility apps, like note taking, onto each tablet. It took about a month to get the iPads ready, she said.

“They’ve done everything to make this possible,” Gray said of the iAgents.

The team was on hand Wednesday to help students setup the iPads. Students received a tutorial, developed by iAgents, which guided them through the whole process of setting up the iPad, from how to turn it on to how to install an iBooks app.

Carlos Ramirez, a senior at Lake Zurich High School, said the orientation was going well. Students did not have many questions, and parents seemed more confused than their kids.

“The kids are saying `I’ve got this,’” Ramirez said. Students seem to want to get through the orientation and get the iPad home to play with it, he said.

One of the messages, however, District 95 wants students to remember is while the iPad is fun, it is an educational tool. Students need to limit personal use and must use their school Apple ID for all work, not their personal Apple ID.

The iAgents will staff a Student Help Desk at the Lake Zurich High School library for any students with questions about their iPad. There is also an online forum for students to ask questions.