This year at Eagan, many changes have occurred.  Not only does the school look different with the removal of a locker bay and the addition of new carpet and desks, but now every student is in possession of their very own iPad for the year.  Not all iPads are the same, however.  Freshmen and sophomores use the iPad Mini model, while juniors and seniors have original sized tablets.  These school owned iPads have changed the overall dynamic of many classrooms as they can be used for everything from notes to online assignments to in-class activities like Kahoot.

Also new this year is full on use of the app Schoology.  Schoology is an online base for all Eagan classes and activities.   It is an application where teachers can assign homework and students can check class calendars or view notes.   Campus Portal, the system used in years past, is no longer relevant to students, since all grades and test scores are also available on Schoology.  StudentVUE is another new application.  Students can use it to check their attendance, and parents can access this information through their own app, ParentVUE.

Spanish teacher Profe Redig says that this new technology has changed activity in her classroom by giving her ten extra minutes of instruction time.

“Just being able to see if [my students] turned something in on Schoology is easier than checking every student’s paper.  It give us more time to practice vocabulary and actually learn.”

The iPads this year are supposed to be helpful to students, and Profe Redig agrees.  “The iPads are beneficial to all students.  Though some students definitely still prefer using pencil and paper, I think they’ll see the good that [iPads] do soon enough.”  The switch from paper to iPad, along with other recent technology, is indeed a big change, and one everyone at Eagan is learning to adapt to.