Mercy 2.0 Will Put iPads Front and Center

With Apple's announcement yesterday of new iPad education initiatives, in Farmington Hills appears to be on the cutting edge of technological revolution. 

The private Catholic school's Mercy 2.0 tech plan will put the iPad front and center with students and staff, starting in the fall of 2012. The school currently uses HP tablets, but beginning in 2016, all students will be required to purchase a pre-formatted iPad. 

Students and staff will also be moving from Microsoft Office to Google Apps, and move to Gmail.

“The widespread adoption of the Apple iPad by thousands of schools across the country and the relative maturity of the device along with its platform and decrease in price were key factors in the decision to transition to theiPad,” said school president Cheryl Delaney Kreger, Ed.D.

Mercy's administrative team deveoped the Mercy 2.0 tech plan after months of surveys, focus groups, research and reflection, noting a changing trend away from the standard laptop to even more mobile devices and cloud storage and computing power.

Jacqueline LaPres, who will be a senior this fall, said she will be sticking with her HP tablet "mainly because of financial reasons, although I would love to switch to the iPad. I think it is a lot easier to carry around and more user friendly."

"I love the apps available on the iPad," she added. "They are great to use in class and on homework, especially in AP Chemistry when I have to visualize molecules. I have found nothing that compares to the educational tools available on the iPad."

Senior Sarah Philo, who has used an HP tablet during her time at Mercy, believes the iPads will also be more appealing to students. 

"One benefit I can see coming out of the new Mercy 2.0 technology plan is, because iPads are less likely to malfunction and obtain viruses, students will be more willing to use them," she said.

Philo tested an iPad for the school and found it much easier to log into and remain in the school's network. "I also think that they will be a much better study tool as many apps available on the iPad are extremely integrated with each other and easy to use," she said. "Also, there are many apps available specific for school use that I think will be essential to the students."

Apps will focus on textbooks for iPad

On Thursday, Apple announced two new applications that will "revolutionize the way textbooks are created and consumed," Huffington Post reported. iBook Author is designed to make iPad-friendly textbooks easier to create, and improvements to the existing iBooks app provides new study and note-taking features. 

A Mercy High press release indicated that students who own an HP Tablet will have the choice to continue to use it or to purchase an iPad. Students with HP laptops will also be offered a buy-back discount toward the purchase of an iPad.

Mercy will support a “mixed environment” of iPads and HP tablets for at least three academic years.

Mercy Administrator Associate Principal of Operations Larry Baker, one of the key players in implementing the plan, has heard only positive reactions to the change.

"We are giving our staff an amazing toolkit that can be customized for their courses," he said. "We will reduce the weight of our girls' book bags with a device whose battery charge will outlast a full academic day. In addition, we are placing a very versatile and powerful tool in our students' hands at a greatly reduced cost relative to the laptop computer we have used in the past."

School officials believe the cost of a Mercy education should be "measurably reduced for incoming students" by with the iPad, which will cost approximately $500-$600, before accessories.

“We are very excited about all of these changes and even the challenges they bring," Kreger said. "Many of the details are still in process, but we expect our reboot to benefit all students regardless of device."

“Mercy 2.0 is designed to keep us on the cutting edge of innovation and to position us optimally in a rapidly changing environment," she added.