DALLAS, Dec. 9, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It's the start of a new era at Dallas Christian School. As part of the school's ChargerTech initiative, 60 Apple iPads are now in the hands of every full-time teacher on the DCS campus. Faculty will spend the Christmas holidays familiarizing themselves with the device, after which they will begin collaborating with experts from Abilene Christian University, a recognized leader in the area of Mobile Learning.
"This initiative will help our students get a leg-up on being ready to live and work in a digital world," says Colleen Netterville, president of Dallas Christian. "We are diving into an area that will take our students and our faculty – our entire school – fully into the 21st century, and we're ready to make use of the most cutting-edge tools the market has to offer.
"The world is changing before our eyes," she adds. "We have to change with it."
The iPads are a gift from Texas entrepreneur and DCS alumnus Randy Hill (Class of '86). Hill is the founder and President of Advanced Trailer a company that developed and patented the specialty semi-trailers that are used to harvest and transport over ½ of the U.S. peanut crop each year. Hill believes Apple's tablet device has the potential to revolutionize how teachers teach as well as how their students access their course work, notes and raw data from the Internet.
"We can't keep giving our kids the kind of instruction I received in the '80s, let alone giving it to them essentially in the way it was delivered in the 1880s," says Hill. "I'm thrilled to be able to help DCS accomplish its goal of becoming a more innovative institution that can get these students ready for the jobs they will want in the future – many of which don't even exist right now. We need to get more technology into the classrooms of our schools, and the hands of our students. We must improve the way we educate students at not only Dallas Christian but in all schools across America."
Plans call for all of Dallas Christian's high school students to receive their own iPads in August 2011, prior to the start of the school year. iPad carts will be available across campus for use by students in the lower grades.
Dallas Christian's partnership with Abilene Christian University will give DCS faculty access to the latest research in the ever-expanding world of mobile learning technology.
"We look forward to supporting the ChargerTech initiative," says Dr. Billie McConnell, director of ACU's k-12 Digital Learning Institute. "Schools need to be developing their students' critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills. Making use of the latest digital tools is one of the most important ways they can accomplish their mission.
"At ACU, our students and faculty are immersed in the day-in-day-out process of adapting this technology to the classroom, and we're succeeding. We look forward to sharing our experience with Dallas Christian," says McConnell.
For more information on Dallas Christian or its ChargerTech initiative, call Steve Bivins at (972) 270-5495. For more information about Abilene Christian University's Mobile Learning program, call Grant Rampy at (325) 674-2692. For more information about Advanced Trailer or its ongoing research in agricultural crop drying, bioenergy products and biomass, contact Randy Hill at (800) 860-1360 or randyhill@rwhill.com
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