Mia Kate West, a first grader at South Butler Primary School, works in the new iPad lab at South Butler Primary School on Thursday. The lab has 25 iPads and been in use since mid-January. It replaces a lab that had desktop computers.

JEFFERSON TWP — A room full of first grade students is rarely quiet enough to hear a pin drop, but that's exactly what teachers at the South Butler Primary School are experiencing with the addition of an iPad lab.

The lab has been in use since mid-January, and the school staff is pleased with how well the students have taken to the new technology, according to Kaitlin Remensky, assistant principal.

“Every time I walk by (the iPad lab), there are kids in there,” she said. “The teachers really seem to be taking to it as well.”

The 25 iPads cost roughly $18,000 and were funded by the district, the PTO and the Knoch Knights Legacies Foundation.

They replaced a lab of desktop computers, an adjustment that administrators were confident of since the primary school's library has had 10 iPads for a few years, according to Jessica Kane-McMurray, librarian.

Remensky said the iPads are great for younger children since there isn't a need for a mouse, keyboard and screen. Instead, the iPads are much more “kid-friendly” and the students have an “intuitive” sense of how to use them.

Teachers can request applications for the school to download, and the students can work on activities from handwriting to math to vocabulary, according to Brenda Brucker, a first-grade teacher. The apps also can vary in difficulty and adjust to an age group so students from kindergarten to third grade can benefit.

The apps include those like math-based app Sushi Monster, BrainPOP Jr. and Cimo Spelling. While BrainPOP Jr. requires a subscription, the district gives parents the login information so students can access it at the home if they have an iPad.

In addition, certain apps can help teachers track students' progress and help tailor lessons and activities to each individual, Brucker said.

“In a classroom, we sometimes teach all on one level,” she said, explaining that a lesson often teaches to the middle level of learners. With an app, each student can work on developing areas that may be more difficult for that student.

“This is a tool to make the differentiation level (of learning) more accessible,” Remensky said.

Kane-McMurray also loves how the iPads can help “even the playing field” for students who may be of lower socio-economic statuses. Even if some students do not grow up in homes with access to the latest technology, they still need to be well-versed in how to use different systems, she said.

This iPad lab allows those students access to more current technology and can increase their learning experiences.

Kane-McMurray said that the iPads, both in the library and in the new lab, have made the phrase “I don't like to read” less common in the school.

“It is just a thing of beauty to see them get so excited,” she said.

In the library, Kane-McMurray uses the iPads to plan lessons specific to events such as the Chinese New Year. Recently, she had the students use an educational app to learn about the culture and food of China while pretending to make sushi.

“I can already see that the possibilities are going to be endless,” she said.

The iPad lab is complemented with two other computer labs in the school, but Remensky said that funding is the biggest issue preventing the district from upgrading all of its labs.

“The funding is the biggest stumbling block,” she said. “We would love to have these for everyone.”

First-grader Carter Beres likes the transition from the desktop computers to the iPads.

“They definitely work better than the computers,” Carter said, adding that the iPad lab is his second favorite part of school, behind recess.