Local Experiences with One-to-One Computing
We had a great discussion at our regional Tech Forum yesterday on the topic of one-to-one computing. We had a panel representing three nearby districts that are in various stages of implementation. Jim Golubich and David Watson came from Shoreline, which has introduced a middle-school program this year with all students receiving iBooks; Dennis McClellan shared a program from Kent with a 100 student school-within-a-school using HP Tablets, also just starting this year; and John Newsom from the Lakeside school, a private 5-12 school with all students using PC laptops, which has been ongoing for two years.
I didn’t moblog the discussion (I was facilitating, and I’m not that capable), but out of an hour and a quarter, here were the things that I was most intrigued with:
- Contrary to what I’ve read in other sources, they have a lot of problems with damage to the computers. There have been few (if any) instances of theft, but the computers are constantly in need of repair. Some kids broke their loaners before they could get their original computer back from repair.
- Because of the issue above, they all recommend that you pay for whatever service contract the vendor offers that covers accidental damage. It will quickly pay for itself.
- Teachers are catching on fairly quickly on how to take advantage of the equipment.
- Battery life is reduced (and hard drive lifespan as well) if students use their computers as MP3 players. That keeps the hard drives going constantly.
- Dennis felt that the Tablet PC interface and the use of OneNote were very compelling in a classroom setting. Some students are using the recording function to do things like submit recordings of musical instrument practice or foreign language exercises.
- John found that screen breakage was much less of an issue after switching to 12-inch screens. The torque on larger screens is just too high for the kind of use that teenagers put them through.
- The theoretical possibility of replacing textbooks with digital media has not yet taken place. The price of digital equivalents (if available) is still quite high, and curriculum departments are not quite ready to make that transition.
There was consensus that the one-to-one programs were appearing to have a significant positive impact on the learning environments at each school. There was also consensus that the programs are very expensive, and that none of the laptops being used at any of the schools were truly ready for the kind of use and abuse that students will put them through. In the long term, the value of these programs will be in helping to prepare for more widespread implementation when we have access to portable technologies that are robust enough to withstand the school environment and inexpensive enough to be widely adopted.
Thanks Jim, David, Dennis and John for a great discussion!
On a related note, ASCD Smartbrief today pointed to an article on the
Jenny Fergusson, the director of the Macquarie ICT Innovations Centre, puts it like this: “Textbooks are the one-way transmission of a uniform version of knowledge. Digital learning is the construction of knowledge from multiple sources.
“Culturally, this is a very confronting idea. With textbooks you had a manageable version of reality and a sense that you could understand the world. Now the overwhelming volume of information is a problem.”
Overwhelming for everyone - and if it’s overwhelming for the adults in the system, how do we help the kids?