The Apple Inc. industry is huge, with over 2.5 billion devices in use worldwide. The partnership that Mater Dei High School has with Apple helps both parties bring educational excellence to students. Because of this relationship and the use of iPads for all students, Mater Dei has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School since 2012. This distinction, more than a decade old, reflects the school’s commitment to continuous innovation through the 1:1 iPad initiative, which equips every student with technology to enhance creativity, collaboration, and personalized learning. 

By integrating digital tools into daily instruction, Mater Dei nurtures a modern academic environment that prepares students for the increasingly technology-driven world. Sophomore Jackson Mooney believes the Apple Distinguished program in education gives students an advantage over other schools that may use Chromebooks or other new devices instead of iPads. 

“I think Apple gives us an advantage over other schools due to its quality and consistent history of class production,” Mooney said. 

The use of the tablet is also a huge change from just over a decade ago, when students used simple pen and paper to take notes. Now, the iPad is a core part of a student’s daily note-taking. While some studies indicate that students who take notes with pen and paper can acquire a better understanding and retention of educational material than those who take notes on a computer, the iPad offers additional features and tools to help compile the course information. 

As with any tool, knowing its capabilities and maximizing its use are key to optimal performance. The main app that students at Mater Dei utilize on the iPad is Notability. This app allows students to take notes across different subjects using either the keyboard typing tool or handwriting with the Apple Pencil. The app also includes a recording feature that lets students record and save lectures, further aiding in cataloging course content for future study.

In addition, using an iPad helps the teachers tremendously. Honors and AP English Teacher Kate Aceves believes that the Apple program has improved efficiency and better supports different learning styles. 

“I don’t ‘use technology to teach,’ rather, I use technology to make my teaching more adaptable to different learning styles and support my teaching,” Aceves said.

Teachers today often rely on multiple devices to stay organized and meet different classroom needs. Each tool serves a different purpose depending on the task, from planning lessons to evaluating student work. Using an iPad vs a computer is much different. Aceves uses her computer and her iPad for different tasks when grading and assigning students’ work.

“If I am grading essays and want to write my comments on a student’s paper, I need to use my iPad and the Canvas app,” Aceves said. “If I want to create an assignment or something, I need to use my laptop and Canvas on a web browser. Similarly, Notability works best on the iPad.”

Mater Dei is different from many other schools because it has a publicly recognized partnership with Apple. It is currently one of only 1.1k+ schools spanning 41 countries to have the Apple Distinction honor. Samantha Kozak, Executive Director of Educational Technology and Online Learning, believes the distinction is important because it promotes networking opportunities among schools of the same caliber as Mater Dei.  

“We had some schools visiting us a few months ago to see how [Mater Dei] students are using the iPads,” Kozak said. “[Mater Dei] can [also go into other schools] and see what their teachers are doing, what programs they’re using and that might influence what we start using at Mater Dei.”

This partnership ultimately reflects how education is continuing to evolve alongside technology. Instead of replacing strong teaching methods, Apple devices at Mater Dei are being used as tools that expand how students learn, create, and stay organized. From recorded lectures to digital annotations and flexible assignment tools, the program shows how technology can support both efficiency and deeper understanding in the classroom.