DAYTON — Idaho State Superintendent Tom Luna visited Beutler Middle School on Thursday to see how the state's new one-to-one technology implementation pilot program is developing.

Beutler, in Dayton, is one of the 11 schools in the state to receive part of a $3 million grant to purchase computing devices for students in the school.

“We're spending time here to see how the implementation is going, to hear from the students about what their feelings are and the impact it's having on student achievement,” Luna said while visiting the West Side School District.

Beutler purchased 150 iPads for its students and faculty to use in the classrooms. Other schools have purchased laptops and iPods for their technological implementation.

“We were looking for a diverse pilot so we could see how things work in different grades,” Luna said. “What we're confirming is what we've heard from others who have done this before — that in the younger grades up through middle school, the tablet is an adequate-type device, but when you get into parts of middle school and definitely into high school, a full-functioning laptop is more appropriate.”

Luna and other administrators sat in on classes where students used iPads to take quizzes, watch videos and share information with each other. In a history class, students used iPads in conjunction with a Smart Board to display different news articles they had read in order to discuss current events.

“Everywhere I go, the students are fully engaged, and they're excited about the learning that is happening in their classrooms — I don't see that when I go to other schools in other districts,” Luna said. “I'm convinced we live in a society where with children, technology is a very intuitive thing for them. Giving them the opportunity to use those devices in the schools makes education more exciting, relevant and rigorous, and they're responding positively to it.”

Even though the students have been using iPads since classes started, they have not had a chance to take them home yet due to concerns about Internet use. While on school grounds, the school's network filters out content deemed inappropriate, but that becomes more difficult once the iPads venture off campus.

Spencer Barzee, the superintendent of West Side School District, has said that while there has been a learning curve to implementing iPads into the classroom, the overall transition has been smooth and well received.

“We're really excited about this year, and we're also excited for the upcoming years now that we've got it figured out and when the iPads go home,” Barzee said. “We feel strongly that technology can expedite student learning so we've felt fortunate to receive the grant.”