Giving every kid a computer and a connection

When VIDA Middle School in Vista (CA) received a grant to hand every one of its 680 students an iPad with a free 4G connection, parents were excited. They were also a little nervous. "We have a large population of students who walk," says Principal Eric Chagala. "The fear was, you are putting a $700 or $800 device in my 11-year-old's hand, and they have to get home." VIDA, or the Vista Innovation & Design Academy, is a year-old magnet school that replaced the struggling Washington Middle School. Traditional classes here have been transformed by the technology.

"We now have students who look at historical dilemmas and be problem solvers," says William Olive, a history teacher with 27 years of experience. He no longer drills students on facts. He says his job now is to help students use the tech to explore and create. Many of his students didn't have that kind of access before at home or at school. One-third of the students in the upper grades at the school are homeless. "I teach a junior Model United Nations club, and 13 of the 19 students didn't have a computer or printer at home," Olive says. "For them to have access to an iPad is revolutionary." "It gives a more of a level playing field, it also helps their families," he says.