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4 | on the mountain winter/spring 2012
In a review of the research conducted at other schools and
colleges, the faculty and administrators observed that other,
similar iPad programs yielded consistent increases in the level of
collaboration among students, organization/executive function-
ing of students, ease of conducting research, and amount of
reading students completed with interactive textbooks.
Students also appreciate the decreased weight of their back-
packs when printed textbooks are replaced with less-expensive,
electronic texts. Because anecdotal evidence suggests that stu-
dents’ writing does not improve and may actually decline when
working on the iPad, students will be encouraged to do most of
their writing on laptop and desktop computers. The School will
also continue its current emphasis on writing across the curricu-
lum, which includes writing substantial research papers in the
winter trimester in all English and history courses.
This March, faculty members were issued iPads and are
exploring and planning implementation of this new program.
Each student will receive an iPad2 when he or she arrives for the
start of school in the fall of 2012. In the meantime, approxi-
mately five iPad professional development days for faculty and
involved administrators will take place after spring break, in June
and in August.
Shortly after Apple announced its move to make iPad the
textbook platform of the future, Storm King’s Board of Trust-
ees voted unanimously to support a proposal by the School’s
administration and faculty to join this movement. In making this
decision, The Storm King School has chosen to be part of the
vanguard of schools using technology to better prepare students
for college and university studies and for life in the 21
st
century.
The college preparatory school has long been known for its
academics, arts, and athletics, in addition to its spectacular loca-
tion in the Hudson Highlands. On the shoulder of Storm King
Mountain, between Black Rock Forest and the Hudson River,
Storm King will now expand beyond its 6000-acre classroom
into the virtual world, as technology meets tranquility at
The Storm King School.
eginning in September 2012, The Storm King School will be a One-to-One iPad
School. All students and faculty members will use iPads as the primary platform for
textbooks, notes, organization, and many other school functions. Together with
Web 2.0 tools and applications, the iPad will serve as a hyper-notebook and textbook in which
students read their assignments, highlight and take notes both in class and on their own, and
complete many parts of their homework.