Teacher wants to change education using 40 iPads

His proposal can be viewed and voted on through the Pepsi Refresh Project online.

Garfield Middle School teacher Matt Wilson wants to put Apple iPads in the hands of his students. Wilson has had his proposal accepted by the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project and now needs online votes to make his classroom proposal a reality.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch Garfield Middle School teacher Matt Wilson wants to put Apple iPads in the hands of his students. Wilson has had his proposal accepted by the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project and now needs online votes to make his classroom proposal a reality.

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By Richard O Jones, Staff Writer 1:18 AM Wednesday, July 7, 2010

HAMILTON — Matt Wilson, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Garfield Middle School, is asking for some help to outfit his classroom with a set of iPads.

For the month of July, Wilson’s proposal for a grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project is one of around 1,000 proposals that are part of an online election to see who gets a $50,000 award.

Titled “Let’s Change Education,” Wilson’s proposal would allow the purchase of 40 iPads and an iMac computer to help maintain and synchronize them, along with programs and accessories.

“We wouldn’t need textbooks,” Wilson said. “It would essentially turn the classroom interactive. If I ask a question, then everyone could respond on the iPad and their answers would appear immediately on my desktop. It would make sure it wasn’t just the smart kids that are answering questions in class, but also those who are shy or just not engaged.

“This grant would allow us to use the technology that the students actually use, the kind of stuff we take away from them when they walk in the door,” he said. “When we do that, it dumbs them down, takes away their creativity.”

Wilson, now in his third year at Garfield, said that many classrooms and schools have not caught up with real-world technology, that a person time-traveling from 100 years ago would see quite a different world for most of society, but should he or she wander into a modern classroom, the time traveler might not notice much difference.

“I use an iPod touch right now. It has some of the same technology (as the iPad),” he said, “but I only have one, so it’s not very efficient. We only have two computer labs (at Garfield), so it’s hard to get in, but I’ve had them make websites and videos.”

The grant would allow his students to interact with high-tech mapping and other on-line resources that would help maintain interest and order in the classroom.

“Even a kid that’s disengaged, even something like geography becomes more interesting,” he said. “They can see the physical place on the map, not just some purple spot.”

The Pepsi Refresh Project will award more than $20 million this year, up to $1.3 million monthly in grants to the ideas with the most votes, according to the corporate website.

Wilson’s proposal can be viewed and voted on at  www.refresheverything.com/changeeducation or from a link from his website, www.mrwilsonsclass.com.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.

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