INSIDE: Sweet Senior Night... Sports, A7
Record South Whidbey
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 84 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
iPADS FOR ALL
Price Johnson vs. Lauderdale
Langley students swipe their way into 21st century
Commissioner candidates provide study in policy contrasts BY JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
Whom to choose? Political newcomer Jeff Lauderdale or incumbent Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson couldn’t be more different in their views about how Island County government should be run. Lauderdale, a Republican, believes the board’s priorities are askew, that in a time when revenue is scarce, law and justice needs should be satisfied above all else. Price Johnson, a Democrat, argues a more balanced approach is needed, that departments such as public health, planning and public works also play vital roles and cannot be left to wither. The Coupeville Republican advocates for property rights and sniggers at notions of global warming and Helen Price sea level rise. The longtime Clinton Johnson Democrat defends the value of public beach access and has supported revenue generating environmental programs, such as the Clean Water Utility. He believes in limited government; she views it as an essential tool that can help those who cannot help themselves and foster a healthy economy. Lauderdale is a retired Navy officer who’s seen the world; Price Johnson is Jeff Lauderdale a small business owner who has lived a lifetime on Whidbey. Indeed, voters have a lot to consider between now and Nov. 6, when the Island County District 1 commissioner seat will be decided. But, like the battle for the District 2 position between Republican Jill Johnson and incumbent Democrat Angie Homola, the outcome will decide more than the results of a single race. Because Tea Party Republican Kelly Emerson is not up for election for another two years, the unseating of either incumbent would shift the balance of power from a board led by Democrats to one led by Republicans. In a big way, voters won’t be deciding on single races, but on Island County’s overall direction for years to come.
Cops or planners For Lauderdale, the choice is simple: programs and agencies that protect citizens should be funded first, namely the Sheriff’s Office and other law and justice departments. “The number one priority of Island County must be public safety,” said Lauderdale, in a recently published voter guide. That statement has become a mantra for Republican commissioner candidates, both in the primary and now general election, and the topic itself has largely become the See RACE, A9
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Langley Middle School student Bailey Todd shows off her creations in the Sock Puppets app for the iPad. Bailey and the other 111 seventh grade students will pilot the iPad program this year.
BY BEN WATANABE Staff reporter
Students tinker with iPads in Deann Ross’ class. Langley Middle School will integrate the tablets into its seventh grade curriculum.
T
he stack of iPads may as well have been candy. Deann Ross’ 30 Langley Middle School students fidgeted at their desks and on their chairs as she explained the rules. Do not get on the Internet. Make sure to return the iPad to the charging rack. Explore the apps and functions. As if the kids needed permission to follow that last rule. The kids grabbed the tablets, sat down and powered them on. They unlocked the screen with a swipe of the finger and accessed a world of technology that 10 years ago was unimaginable. Now, it’s in the hands of 112 seventh-grade students at the middle school. “I was in high school and VHS came out,” Ross said. “These kids have grown up with this technology.” Classes across the middle school were going through the same thing Thursday. After months of planning and preparation and years of accruing the almost $1 million to buy the equipment, the iPads were finally in the first stage of improving education and learning access for students. Ross and the mid-
dle school iPad teacher committee of Mary Bakeman, Rosemarie Donnelly, Kathy Gianni, Rocco Gianni, Rachel Keizer and Tom Sage - informally called the iTeam — had to delay rolling out the tablets a month. “Nobody had used an iPad before,” Ross said. “We worked out a lot of issues, which was good for them and for us.” While most students toyed with the Sock Puppets app, played chess and snapped pictures and distorted the images, a couple of intrepid learners were digging into the iPad’s abilities. One seventh grader in Ross’ class watched a TED Talk about the Internet and another looked at molecule
structures. With camera and video capability, Ross envisioned field research uses for the iPads. “We can use it as a tool and as intervention and enrichment,” she said. “We can go out into the field and they have an instant video and photo device with them.” Photography and videography was important to Bakeman, too. As a language arts/social studies teacher, Bakeman highlighted apps like HaikuDeck for poetry, maps and This Day in History to educate students. “We’re hoping that kids will be engaged. They’re already excited since See Ipads, A17