A successful pilot program with Apple Inc. at Charlotte Catholic High School has inspired local Catholic schools to adopt similar 21st-century techniques in the classroom.

During the second semester last year, Apple worked with Charlotte Catholic to create a program that could be used as an example for other districts nationwide.

Two junior U.S. history classes, taught by Shawn Panther and Dana Zimmer, and one senior discrete math class began testing some of Apple's best-selling products to see which was the most effective teaching tool.

Funding came from the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools Education Foundation, which is made up of Catholic schools, parents, friends and alumni who donate money to projects that advance education missions in Catholic schools.

The school purchased 50 iPads, which start at $499 each, and 75 MacBooks starting at $999 - the whole lot worth about $100,000.The goal was not to change what students learn but how they learn it.

Last year, Zimmer saw a significant increase in student engagement. Sample assignments were to produce videos of President Calvin Coolidge's life and to create 1920s magazines.

Panther's students didn't touch a textbook all semester; they used computers exclusively.

Math and history students used the MacBooks and iPads for research, podcasts, PowerPoint presentations and spreadsheets.

The experiment was wildly popular.

"The next step is getting them in the hands of the middle school and elementary school (students)," said Zimmer.

An essential part of the program was to gauge which type of computer was most effective, so the school asked students for feedback.

Panther and Zimmer found the MacBook was most effective because students had trouble creating, saving and organizing files with the iPad. Simple things such as pasting images in PowerPoint, copying URLs and changing font sizes, are easier with a laptop, he said.

Surprisingly, the touch screen (without physical keyboard) ranked low as a concern for the students.

Panther said one of his students told him: "we don't mind typing on that. Mr. Panther, I've typed an entire paper on my BlackBerry before."

Panther and Zimmer decided the iPad would be more suitable for elementary students who aren't dealing with a lot of files. The iPad offers educational applications and review games, and the touch screen makes exercises easy for young learners.

St. Gabriel's Catholic School, for grades kindergarten through five, purchased iPads for teachers and bought a couple of classroom sets that teachers can check out for a few hours at a time.

Panther and Zimmer met with the principal of Holy Trinity Middle School, located off Park Road, to discuss how the middle school teachers and students could take advantage of the new technology.

The new Christ the King Catholic High School, which opened this month in Mooresville, is also keeping tabs on the Charlotte Catholic program.

Though only a handful of Charlotte Catholic classes have fully incorporated the MacBooks in their curriculum, the school's teachers all got Apple computers this year so they can get better acquainted with the devices.

Going forward, the plan is to expand the number of classrooms and grades involved, based on the funding available for equipment and professional training.

Zimmer and Panther applied for a grant to purchase two 27-inch Apple desktop computers for their classrooms that students could sync their laptops to.

"Before, we had to go to a different computer lab," said Zimmer.

Charlotte Catholic students couldn't take the computers home last year due to the limited supply, but the goal is for all the students to have them in some capacity.

The teachers in each department will meet to plan lessons that use the technology.

It's a trend many schools across the country are giving a shot, and Charlotte Catholic wants to be at the forefront, Panther said.

"We see it coming," he said. "It's not a question of if it's going to happen, it's a matter of when it's going to happen."