Religion text goes electronic at Archbishop Chapelle

No longer do Archbishop Chapelle students lug notebooks between school and home for religion class.

Through the newly adopted iPad2s in archdiocesan high schools, students in ninth through 12th grades at Chapelle are highlighting words and text blocks, bookmarking pages, making flashcards, taking notes and more on their electronic Ave Maria Press textbook that’s loaded in their iPads. The school bought a site license to download the book in PDF format.

“We’re trying to make this a tool for the girls to really enhance their faith, not just use it as a secular device,” Maria Steen, religion department chair and campus minister, said. “We are using the iPad as a way to foster faith. It’s a new way to evangelize.”

Steen became aware of e-textbooks at an Ave Maria religion conference where she spoke. Archbishop Chapelle was about to launch the e-book format with students using their former laptops when the archdiocese decided to incorporate iPads in the classroom. That changed everything.

Over the summer, Chapelle teachers researched adaptable iPad applications for various classes. Students and parents previewed the development and were handed iPads shortly before school opened.

“The girls are picking it up quickly,” Steen said. “Their use of technology is amazing. They are teaching us. Every day, we are coming up with new ways to use the iPads in the classroom. It’s proving to be so effective.

“My favorite thing is a pop-up note where students can take notes in the text. It’s making us think in a totally different way about teaching.”

How they use it

During the first few days of school, freshman religion teacher Megan Caire, a 2003 Chapelle graduate, was demonstrating to her class how to use the GoodReader app to make the book interactive. In teams, girls practiced how to  squiggly underline, highlight, strikeout, use text mark and replacement marks.

Victoria Boudreaux, who also has an iPhone, explored these new uses of the book with Parys Bourgeois.

“It will help you study because you can highlight lines and it will stand out more,” Boudreaux said. “It was pretty easy to learn. It’s definitely lighter than a textbook and it’s easier. You can just open it up and take notes. You have your religion book and your notebook all in one.”

Teacher Nancy Larousse, assistant campus minister, retreat coordinator and religion teacher for sophomores, juniors and seniors, is amazed at the cooperative learning the iPads have ignited. The iPad accepts handwritten notes, which sometimes need to look a little more professional. When Larousse wrote in the number “1,” a student showed her how to easily find a digital version of the number.

“It’s a fascinating tool,” Larousse said.

iPad’s convenience touted

Senior World Religion teacher Aline Harbison’s class was buzzing with activity as her students divided into groups to research periods in Jewish history on the iPad2. Topics such as “The Real World of the Modern Period” and “Keeping Up with the Rabbinic Period” were twists on “Reality TV” shows they could relate to.

 Harbison, a 20-year teacher, said she does a lot of group activities to keep it interesting and thinks the iPad will help her students more quickly achieve higher-level thinking.

“Now, they have the tools they need right way at their desk,” Harbison said. “This is world religion, and having the resources with the Internet makes research more efficient. I no longer have to provide buckets on each table with resources to find answers to such questions as ‘How many Hindus are there?’ I feel like it’s going to be a real time saver.”

Senior Sarah Broekhoven finds taking notes in her religion book in the iPad a lot easier and more convenient than a notebook.

“I always have this with me, so it’s easier, and everything is in one place,” she said. “You can research the book.”

Its effectiveness

Steen thinks students are developing a better relationship with the e-book using the iPad as opposed to hardbound copies they might have scanned for quick answers and never reopened.

 “The girls are learning how to use a textbook more effectively,” she said. “They are forced into the textbook because this is where the notes are taken.

“I am always looking for a more global approach to the way students are learning. They are going to appreciate the whole concept instead of a specific detail.”

Learning to use technology responsibly in the classroom is another aim.

“If we do not convince the girls that technology can be good and lead them to use it properly, we are not doing our jobs,” she said.

Archbishop Chapelle plans to implement the school prayer book in the iPad and create a eucharistic adoration application that’s being developed with students. Hopefully, eighth graders will move from the traditional hard copy book to the electronic version.

“You have many saying students will be distracted by the iPad,” Steen said. “I liken it to my grandmother opening her prayer book and prayer cards falling out. Our students now will have all their prayers in one place. If the iPad had been around when Jesus lived, I guarantee he would have used it. Jesus did all the things that would bring people together. If the pope can tweet, we can iPad! It’s so exciting. It opens such a world for us.”

            Christine Bordelon can be reached at cbordelon@clarionherald.org.