Local Resident Donates Android Tablets to Hillcrest

Ellie McIntire’s son is a first-grader at Hillcrest Elementary School, and she decided to give them a different kind of holiday present a few weeks ago.

McIntire wound up donating 24 brand-new Android Tablets to the Hillcrest technology department, according a press release. 

She connected with Eric Sloan, the school’s technology integration teacher, who advised her on the tablets that could best help the Hillcrest program, and McIntire finished the job. 

“I wanted to give the students an opportunity to use even more updated technology,” McIntire said in a statement. “The younger they learn, the more advantages they will have in the future.”

McIntire is a Realtor who works with Keller Williams Realty Centre in Columbia, and Sloan said that her gift is something that’s going to help the school for awhile.

In fact, Sloan already downloaded math and phonics applications and came up with a shortcut to a student search-site on the desktop. 

He said he's very happy to have gotten the 24 new tablets.

“They are durable, very solid, perfect for the kids,” Sloan said. “The plan is to use them for offline apps that will deliver practice instruction in math and reading for the primary-grade levels, K-2.

"This will involve basic letter sounds, sight words, math practice with basic facts and number sense. With the intermediate students, grades 3-5, we feel the target use will be more towards research.”