Technology Gives Birth to New Movement. How Will Your Students be Raised?
http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/819493/Your-kid-s-first-computer-What-to-look-for
Welcome.
Welcome to the ongoing debate of whether the one-to-one movement is something worth considering for districts, schools, and individual classrooms. In today’s society technology is prevalent in people’s life from laptops, to iPads, to smartphones used daily. It is very common that a child has at least one of the mentioned resources available to them. So, why not integrate these into the classroom? One-to-one classrooms do just this by assuring that each student has their own device, typically a laptop or iPad. In this feature article we will dive deep down into the depths of the idea of one-to-one classrooms as well as supporting or related questions including: What do one-to-one teachers think of being one to one? What are the proper ways to implement technology into the classroom? How much money and paper do we save? Is there research to back up this movement? What does the opposition argue?
New experiences
Upon entering my third grade classroom placement this year I was startled by one thing: each student had their very own iPad. My host teacher explained that this was a new addition to their school, and that she could not be happier with it. Ever since then I have wondered endlessly about this one-to-one movement and if all teachers and students share that same appreciation for it. The essential question was how do one-to-one classrooms work and how it can support my students learning while also acting as a productive aid. After extensive research and interviews I have come to realize that while there are always two sides to a story, it is important to explore the potential value in all situations especially when there is so much good to come of it. As a pre service teacher myself, I have learned about ‘digital natives’ aka my future students. My teachers have explicated that our future students are the natives to a digital world filled with technology, and we are just living in it. Therefore, when walking into the first day of my field experience and seeing my digital natives with iPad’s in their eager hands I knew that I needed to understand how to properly teach them with what they already know: technology.
http://discoversem.org/semblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/WyoSem_One-to-OneProject_11.jpg
What do one-to-one teachers think of being one to one? Out of curiosity once my first day in my classroom was done I interviewed my cooperating host teacher for her thoughts on her one-to-one classroom. Smiling, she explained that she loved it for the sake of herself as well as her students. She could check on their iPads to check how they were doing in their educational games. This way she could monitor progression. She also loved that her students who worked quickly now knew to quietly turn on their iPads and continue to progress through their educational games when they are done. This is fabulous because it allows them to work while also allowing for her students who need more time to work to do so. She described how excited her students are about the iPads as well. Her students were so motivated to learn to use the devices, and to show all that they can do with them. While this may just be one opinion, she had
all positive comments and seemed both enthusiastic and passionate about this trait of her classroom.
Recipe for Success
http://eatingrecipe.com/cute-recipe-cards-printable/
What are the proper ways to implement technology into the classroom? One to one technology integration varies by districts, schools, and classrooms. One district that has been widely recognized for its great efforts in creating a structured and successful one to one transition is the Richland Two district. It recently won the 2014 Sylvia Charp Award for District Implementation. This is for their success in working on “Redefining” how their school operates in executing, “…district-wide implementation, ensuring equity and appropriate technology use for all students in the district; and innovation which helps foster progress and new ideas in education” (Thomson, 2014). What students used to do with books, paper and pencil can now be done using just a computer, given that proper implementation occurs. The district explains that students, using their technology, are strategically placed into cluster groupings and work collaboratively on projects and on enhancing their understanding of how to use their technology.
So, what made this smooth transition possible for all 39 schools in the district? Professional Development. Students were not alone in the transition, teachers were trained to help them develop their skills and use their resources for program enrichment. This way, everyone worked together to make the movement reality for their school.
Cost of Living
Are the costs for one-to-one schools manageable and appropriate? A major concern when thinking about one-to-one is cost, especially for areas that are considered to have a low socioeconomic status. However, a study conducted by the Laptops for Learning Task Force which has been publicized by the Educational Technology Clearinghouse concludes that, “Education technology professionals believe that it would be possible to negotiate a statewide purchase of laptops for somewhat less than half the retail price, so a reasonable estimate of cost per unit would be just under $500. Even with the optimal replacement cycle of three years, the cost per full-featured laptop computer per student per school day would be under one dollar” (Costs). This statement sheds hope that perhaps the cost for implementation of a one-to-one system in schools, when buying in bulk, is not only affordable, but even cheap! This amazing website also opens our eyes to all of the resources available to those who possess the technology to have access. When glancing down the blue ‘cost’ section, it is remarkable to see that many of the applications that may come with having these devices is free…that’s right, free! Free applications available as well as the possibility of the cost of laptops being a dollar per student per school day sounds pretty darn good.
http://etc.usf.edu/l4l/costs.html
Who Can Support This
Is there research to back up this movement? The Speak Up National Research Project Fall 2011 found that students want technology available to them in their classrooms. They claim that the future of personalized education directly correlates with technology usage. Julie Evans is the CEO of Project Tomorrow and head researcher for the Speak Up National Research Project. She illuminates that, “We had 416,758 online surveys submitted. From the data, we gathered that students are functioning as a ‘Digital Advance Team’” (Evans, 2013). She explains this by saying that they are technology trendsetters in how they want more technology in their school experience. Remember how I brought up digital natives in the beginning? This data explicitly shows that these digitals want their technology and want it now.
One useful instrument technology brings is to a classroom with diverse learners who may or may not have a disability is differentiation. Both Evans and her colleague Tim Hudson, Director of Curriculum Design, use their data to explore how technology is useful in differentiation. Data collected from elementary students publicized that they use technology in schools for researching, playing educational games, and taking online tests (Evans, 2013). In this way, each student’s educational experience becomes personalized or differentiated because they have the freedom to research as they need, play games and take tests at their own pace. In fact, “When we asked how teachers would use games, most elementary instructors said they would use games as motivational and engagement tools, as well as for learning differentiation. Forty-seven percent of teachers who currently use learning games said they value the assessment data the games provide” (Evans, 2013). These game apps or websites save where the student is at, and teachers can then see how fast or slow they are moving, where they are getting stuck, etc. This way, the game is differentiated to students because they are allowed to work at their own pace while still learning and/or practicing their skills.
http://blog.laptop.org/tag/charlotte/#.VGEhKPnF-So
Not jumping on the train?
What does the opposition argue? While there are many pro’s to one-to-one, there is always backlash. A news report in THE Journal says, “More than 77 percent of respondents representing districts with low or no 1-to-1 implementation cited cost as one of the biggest hurdles, and 50 percent identified a lack of infrastructure for mobile technology support. Other barriers to mobile deployment cited include difficulty of device management (37.5 percent), difficulty of integration with instruction, and security concerns (both at 25 percent)” (THE Journal, 2014). This report began by giving detailed statistics of how district technology leaders want one-to-one schools, but ends with the above quote. I believe this about sums up all of the fears that comes with stepping out and giving this a try. There’s no “right way” but there is also no harm in trying out something new.
Resources:
· Costs. Educational Technology Clearinghouse. http://etc.usf.edu/l4l/costs.html
· Report Finds Many District Tech Leaders Want More 1-to-1. (2014). THE Journal. 40(8), 4.
· Evans, J. The Future of Personalized Learning in Elementary Schools. (2013). District Administration, 49(1), 14–15.
· Thomson, G. (2014). 1-TO-1 +BYOD + PD = SUCCESS. (Cover story). THE Journal, 41(8), 13–19.
· Mrs. Melwid. Marlin Elementary School.
