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Everything in the school district has some technology component to it. That is the world we live in. Don’t confuse using technology with the job of the technology department. Just because something is done on a computer, doesn’t make it the responsibility of the technology department.

The technology department is there to provide support when things go wrong and to maintain systems to prevents things from going wrong. Very often I see a technology departments stretched thin because tasks are being offloaded to them.

• A principal doesn’t know how to send out an announcement. They send the content to the tech department and ask them to do it.

• A councilor doesn’t remember how to update a class in your student information system. They send the request to the technology department to complete.

• A teacher can’t remember how to close out their grade book. They ask the tech department to do it for them.

Some tasks are only done once a year. Staff aren’t able to learn or remember how to complete the task. Those tasks often get bumped to the technology department.

If the technology department and the staff do not have clear lines and boundaries, many of these tasks become part of their responsibility. “It’s easier for us to do it, than to keep teaching someone how to.” It’s a common refrain that can be disastrous for the department.

The technology department needs to know how to do everything and support everything that utilizes technology. The technology department cannot be responsible for doing everything that utilizes technology.

Everyone in the school district is going to be using technology. Remember, it’s A Utility now.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

This chapter is more of a rant from personal experience, but I’ve seen it repeated in many districts. You can debate if it’s good or bad that schools are becoming more computer dependent and centric, but it’s happening/happened. Not knowing or being uncomfortable on a computer is no longer an option.

Section: Choice

Tags: EdTech, Technology

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The quickest way to derail a 1:1 device program is by scaling up too quickly. Moving at an unsustainable pace, going from no devices to full 1:1 in grades K-12 overnight, will overwhelm your technology team, your curriculum department, your teachers, and your budget.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a 1:1 initiative is just a simple math problem:

Take the number of students in your district, multiply it by the cost of each device, write a check, and congratulations—you’re now a 1:1 school.

Many school districts approach it this way. The focus becomes raising the money, making the purchase, and achieving a milestone. From the outside, a fully 1:1 district looks impressive. But what happens after the initial rollout?

The Hidden Challenges of Scaling Too Fast

A rushed implementation leads to several problems:

• Technology Overload: IT teams are suddenly responsible for managing thousands of new devices, troubleshooting issues, and handling breakage. All with the same resources they had previously.

• Curriculum Misalignment: Teachers need time to integrate technology into instruction. Without proper planning, devices become expensive distractions instead of learning tools.

• Budget Shock: What happens when all these devices need to be replaced in four or five years? A massive initial purchase means an equally massive refresh cycle down the road.

A Smarter Approach to 1:1

Instead of going all in at once, districts should focus on a phased rollout. Start with pilot programs, invest in professional development, and ensure long-term sustainability. A successful 1:1 program isn’t just about buying devices—it’s about creating a system that supports students, teachers, and IT staff for years to come.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

I’ve been apart of district plans that have included both approaches. A slow phased approach and an all upfront approach. Building a 1:1 program needs to be slow and deliberate. You can’t add hundreds or thousands of devices and expect to be able to support them overnight.

What has your experience been in implementing a large scale technology program? Have you been part of an all at once approach?

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You need to be speaking the same language. School Districts are an amazing cross section of so many different people. The school community has members from age 5 to 80. All with different educational, social, and cultural backgrounds. It’s very difficult to get everyone on the same page.

To work together successfully, everyone needs to understand the same terms. Words like “online learning” or “distance learning” can mean different things to different people. For example, does “online learning” mean watching live lessons on video, or does it mean using extra learning materials on a website? Taking time to explain what these terms mean in your school helps avoid confusion and makes teamwork easier.

There are so many terms and acronyms in education. There has to be a concerted effort to develop common language, phrases, and terms for what you are trying to accomplish.

Getting everyone on the same page means talking to teachers, parents, students, and school staff. Each group has its own ideas and questions. By listening to these groups and explaining things clearly, you can make sure everyone is working toward the same goals. Clear communication builds trust and helps the program succeed.

When I was a just starting in educational technology, I learned how important it is to speak the same language. I was helping teachers set up a system so students could use learning materials at home. I explained it in a technical way. Where to click and how the parts of the system connected. But the teachers wanted to know how it would help their teaching. I learned a new word pedagogy.

We had the same goal, but were talking past each other. It was frustrating until I changed the way I learned to speak with them. We started talking about how the system could help with teaching strategies and fit into classroom goals. Once we did that, everything went much smoother, and we reached our goal together.

Tips for Clear Communication

1. Define Important Words: Work with others to decide what key terms mean and make sure everyone knows these definitions.

2. Speak to Your Audience: Adjust how you explain things based on who you’re talking to. Teachers might care about teaching methods, while parents want to know how easy it is to use.

3. Offer Training: Show people not just how to use the technology but also how it supports learning and teaching.

4. Ask for Feedback: Check in regularly with staff, students, and parents to make sure everyone understands and feels included.

By creating a common language, you can bring people together and help your 1:1 technology program succeed.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

This works both ways. I usually think of the technology side. What acronyms or words that I use in IT might teachers and students not know. But it goes the other way to. What terms do teachers use around education, that the IT Department might not understand.

What words or phrases have you used outside of your working peer group that someone made you explain? Or just look at you like you have three heads.

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Technology is now a utility. Technology should be seen by staff, administrators, school committees, the community and anyone else that has a say in public schools, as a utility. It's a necessity in schools now, not a nice to have.

It's not a should be funded. It's a must be funded. The same as electricity, heat, and water.

It needs to be something that the school is investing in each year. There is a minimum yearly budget for it, and a planned capital expenditure for upgraded to infrastructure.

The computers and technology in the classroom are only going to be as good as the infrastructure that supports it. A network is as fast as its slowest part. Make sure you keep the entire infrastructure up to date. Switches, fiber, servers, building wiring, and power.

It does the school no good to have a 10 Gigabit Fiber internet connection but the switches can only handle one Gigabit. Or a 10 Gigabit wired connection and access points that can only handle a 100 mb.

Maximize the technology by investing in it the same as you do the actually school building.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

If you’ve worked in IT long enough, you’ve seem one of these two situation happen.

1. The district realizes it can no longer run on the infrastructure it has and has complete sticker shock when they find out how much it will cost to do a full upgrade.

2. The district continues to spend money to expand and add to the technology platform, but never invest in the core infrastructure supporting the new technology. They get hit with constant bottlenecks.

The only way to avoid with of these situations is to have a constant and consistent investment in your infrastructure. What are your thoughts on technology being a utility in school districts?

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Learning with technology needs to be a habit in the district. Technology should not be sometimes used or every so often used for a specific project. Even if it’s only 10 minutes a day. Technology needs to become part of the school day.

Don’t do one big project a year that uses all the technology. Use a little (a or lot of) technology everyday in your teaching and learning.

Habits over tools. Make consistency the priority rather than finding the perfect tool or the new tool. Once you have consistency in using technology in the classroom, introducing new tools becomes easier and easier.

Getting the technology in the hands of the students in only the first part of a 1:1 program. Next is building the technology habit. This goes hand in hand with the previous chapter, Learning How To Learn.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

It takes months to build a habit and days to break a habit. When I first started as a Technology Director in a district, I wanted to get people used to using technology for more than just email and document creations. So I introduced chat to the district. It’s a very simple gateway use of technology. Everyone understands how to text on their phone and this is just an extension of a habit they already have.

I implemented a rule for myself and let others know. If you send me an email, it means you need an answer in 24 hours. If you send a chat, it means you need an answer in an hour. Soon, many others adopted this rule and chat became ubiquitous in the district.

Rather than hunting someone down, or scheduling a meeting, or sending an “URGENT” email, people could just chat. This habit eventually found its way to students and created an entirely new way for teachers to work with their students.

How do you use technology daily in your school district or classroom?

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A 1:1 program offers a unique opportunity to use technology for transformative educational experience for many students. Asynchronous communication is a major component of this transformation.

The time you are with your students is not enough time to teach them everything they need. If you are in the lower grades, teachers are fitting in textbook education (english, science, math, etc) in between all of the life, organization, emotional, and fun aspects of your classroom community. In the upper grades, teachers have at most a 45 minutes block to settles the kids down, teach their topic, assign the homework, and get them out the door. The context switching alone gives you at best 25-30 minutes (often much less) of new on-topic learning.

Learning how to communicate with your students and teach them outside of your short time with them is a huge advantage. On the flip side, the students need to learn they can communicate outside of seeing their teacher in-person.

Asynchronous communications provides an opportunity to connect with your students on their time. A time when they are ready to learn and pay attention. It provides an opportunity for more in depth, critical, and slow thinking around a topic.

Technology is a tool to allow grading on thoughtful not vocal. Instant in-person communication favors the vocal. Asynchronous communication favors the thoughtful.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

This chapter comes a lot from personal experience. Both as a student and a teacher. I was a student that found first hand the power of asynchronous communication. I distinctly remember a 1st period math class I had in high school. I had to start my day with this class and was never in the right mind for learning. I struggled. I struggled in a subject I never had issues in before.

Thankfully I had a teacher that recognized this. This teacher would let students email questions later in the day or after school hours (a big deal at the time). Even just being able to communicate during a study hall period later in the day made a load of difference in how I understood the materials.

As a teacher, I used a tool called Basecamp with my students. It allowed them to have a digital chat avenue to reach me. I held digital office hours outside of class time. A time students knew they could message me and I would respond. Or they could send a message earlier and I would respond during my office hours. I had several students that would say nothing in class, but were the most active in the chat. It let me see an understanding from the students I would have never seen in class.

How do you facilitate asynchronous communication in your classroom? School? District? Do you have any great success stories around the format?

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It’s a common criticism from teachers, parents, and the community. A fear that because a student is given a device for learning, it is the only way they will learn.

The argument for technology in the classroom is it being a tool that can do some things better, not everything better. Don’t feel forced to have students do everything on the computer.

Continue to do projects, social interactions, games that get the students moving around. A device is a learning tool, not “the” learning tool.

Start with what you are comfortable with. Don’t scan every one of your worksheets and lesson plans you’ve been using for years in an effort to go digital. This is will lead to frustration and burnout.

Start by looking at what you are currently doing, and what could be moved to digital. What makes sense to you? Start with a couple lessons. Or maybe just start with the class agenda and homework assignments being digital. Start small and let it grow. It will snowball once you get more comfortable.

A great way to start is with resource documents you give to students. Word banks, definitions, the little cheat sheets you give students are a great place to start and makes complete sense to be digital. A digital form of this won’t get lost, won’t get ruined in a backpack, and will stay with the student the entire school year (even their entire education). Digital versions are searchable and open to add an unlimited amount of notes. Digital versions will be easier for students to use and access.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

This has happened in every district I’ve implemented a 1:1 program, at least one teacher goes “all in” with digital tools. They attempt to scan all of their paper based handouts and email them students. This is not the way to go.

Don’t try to make all of your paper resources digital. Some will make sense, some will not. Most will need to be completely recreated for digital. This is why you can’t do it all at once. It's a gradual shift. Both for the teacher, and for the students moving from paper to digital.

If you are a teacher, or work with students, what tools do you use to make your lessons interactive and digital first?

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A 1:1 program is a significant investment for a school district. It’s not just a financial investment it’s a cultural investment. It’s a complete change to how things are done. A 1:1 program allows for a change in how learning is done in your district.

If you are scanning in old paper worksheets, making them to a PDF, and sending them to your students to fill out on their device. You have replaces a $0.25 paper and pen assignment with a $500 digital paper and pen assignment. Don’t put an expensive digital paint job on the old ways of teaching. It’s a waste.

Don’t be 1:1, but continue to print everything out. Don’t be 1:1 and continue to have a teacher centered learning experience.

1:1 computing allows you to break away from traditional centered learning. You can build a 1 on 1 learning environment. The technology allows teachers to form a connection with students individually and on their terms. Use technology as a step forward, not a replacement.

Think, and ask yourself;

• How can I make this less more interactive?

• How can I make this lesson digital first?

• If you had to teach this lesson for the first time today, with the tools you have now, would it look the same?

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

I’ve worked with several districts to implement a 1:1 program. Every single time there is a group of people that want to print their old word document lessons. Scan them as a PDF. Email them to students. And have the students try to “write” on the PDF with their 1:1 device.

Please don’t be the teacher that wants to use the 1:1 program as a way to just hand out the same worksheets that have always been used through email instead of paper.

If you are a teacher, or work with students, what tools do you use to make your lessons interactive and digital first?

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The internet isn’t always the solution. Working offline and taking away the inherent distraction on the computer is always an option. Can a student open a document offline and just write?

We live in a world where the internet is always on, but that doesn't mean it's always accessible.

Remote Learning during the pandemic amplified and exasperated any deficiency we had in infrastructure. Assumptions we made or ignored previously were all put to the test with technology.

How many students really have access to a computer at home? How many have access to the internet? How many are going to an environment where they can do school work outside of the classroom?

Keep this in mind when planning your 1:1 program and classroom technology to support it. How do you work around limited or no internet access? What can be done on the devices offline? How do you encourage and support your teachers and students in offline learning?

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

This chapter came to be after the forced remote learning period during the pandemic. Suddenly internet access was front and center for every district. Our reliance on the internet for classroom (and outside the classroom) technology became abundantly apparent.

What plans do you make for internet access outside of the classroom?

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We’ve heard it before from teachers, staff, parents, and anyone else with students, “they are using so much new technology it’s impossible to keep up.” 

This is usually followed by one of two emotions, wonder or frustration. Wonder at how these students can do so much with technology. They can learn and adapt to new devices and software seemingly instantly. Frustration at how much technology is being used that is unknown to the adults in the room. And it may not just be the technology, but the language used around the technology. There is frustration that the students want to use a new technology when the old one (that the adult knows how to use) does the same job.

When you have that frustration, take a step back, and remember how this situation came to be.

The technology the students are using is technology invented by the generation before them. The 7th graders using the latest social networking app were created by their parent’s generation.

Don’t shift blame to students for using technology that the previous generation gave them. They are inheriting the technology and pushing things forward for the next generation.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

I know this chapter doesn’t specifically have to do with building a 1:1 program in your school district, but it’s a sentiment I’ve seen come up a lot. Technology is constantly changing in our world and this change happens rapidly.

We can’t have frustration at this change, we just have to move with it. Focus on the fundamentals, not the technology as much as possible.

What is a piece of technology you relied on in school (or even several year ago) that isn’t used today?

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Money will forever be a limiting factor in education. Working within a budget is a common and constant constraint. For better or worse that is how it is. Education isn’t alone in this constraint. Let’s learn to work with the constraint, opposed to have it work against us.

There will always be a need and a want for more resources, more money, better systems, etc. Everyone wants the best for their students, their classrooms, themselves. To be successful in the long term you need to learn how to work within constraints.

Embrace the idea of resourcefulness over resources. This is a motto that needs to be engrained in the culture of your district, school, classroom, staff, and students. A focus on doing the best work with what is available and not what should could be available. Make it work with what is possible, rather than dreaming of what if.

You’ll be amazed what can be accomplished with what you already have, and how creative your staff, students, and community are. Shoestrings can hold up an incredible amount when everyone works together.

There is always the opportunity to go back when funding is available. Create better fixes or permanent solutions. But going through the shoestring and resourcefulness phase will give you a better understanding of what is truly needed and how your population uses it. Come to the budgeting table with a practical knowledge and be better off in the long run for it.

Know the real problem before throwing money and resources at it. Resourcefulness.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

When I first started publishing these chapters, I had an outline done. A structure to how and when I wanted to post things. I’ve stuck to that pretty well. This chapter was not in that outline.

Publishing these chapters has done the amazing act of getting them out of my head and into the public. New topics, questions, and ideas have come out of publishing so far, and it’s working to make the book better.

I still have a list of chapters from my outline that will be published, but now that the first real structure change has happened on my outline, I feel more will come.

This “editing on the go” wouldn’t happen without the community that has been reading, commenting, and providing feedback so far. Thank you so much for the support and input to make this writing even better. Please continue to share.

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Once a student is in high school, they have figured out their learning style. They know what works best for them. If you want technology to take off in your school you need to start young.

You don’t have to roll out a 1-1 program in grades PreK-5 first, but make sure these grades have access to technology. Students can’ have limited technology use in school, then be given a laptop when they get to high school and be expected to know what to do with it. They will treat it like they do a personal device, because that is all they have had. And oftentimes, they will prefer to use their personal device.

Students need to learn how to learn with technology in younger grades. This doesn’t need to be taken to an extreme. I’m not recommending out K-4th graders should be on computers all day, but they should know about computers and have experience using them as a educational tool. Not just for games and videos like they may do at home.

If your habit is to use technology as entertainment, you can’t expect a person to suddenly change to using it for education just because the school gave them the technology.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

In my original notes, this chapter was titled Learning How To Learn. I must have really liked that title because I already named a chapter Learning How To Learn.

It’s a really important part of education though. So much of education, standards, and curriculum is based around what to learn. The real goal is how to learn. Once a student understands how to learn something, they can learn anything.

Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for life.

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Digital Citizenship has been a curriculum topic for many years in school districts. It started as something just added on (if there is time). Maybe during library time or a once a week during class time. Students would get a few minutes of instruction about how to behave online. During my days as a K12 student this time was entirely focused on cyberbullying.

Next came the formal curriculum. States and federal agencies started to design and distribute a full digital citizenship curriculum. With standards, assessments, and guidance on how students should be prepared for the digital world. This prompted much more time spend in classroom around digital citizenship.

More time was being spent on this topic, but was still kept as a separate topic from the core curriculum. It was treated as something kids should know but only as time permits.

Digital citizenship is not something you just have class time about. It is something engrained in all learning. It’s just Citizenship at this point. How to behave and navigate in our society today. A society that revolves around and is ingrained with technology and the internet.

Technology and society go hand in hand. There is no longer a way to behave online, it's just how to behave.

There was a time when the digital and "real-world" self were two different things. Now, they are completely connected. The person you show online, is the person perceived in the "real-world."

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

If you've noticed the trend in the last few chapters, I have issue with the word digital being put before many words and trying to create something new.

Computers and the internet are here to stay, they aren't an optional part of the world anymore. Computers are the mainstream. Which sounds ridiculous to have to say in 2023, but here I am.

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Giving every student a device means they have access to the classroom wherever they are. Education and learning can happen outside the four walls of the classroom. This is an amazing achievement.

The downside is that education can happen everywhere. Districts fall into the trap of assuming students have full access to everything outside of the classroom. Or that time outside the classroom should be used for education.

Work/life balance is a constant topic in the corporate world. School/life balance needs to be talked about in education.

Don’t assume because the device goes home with students that the classroom goes with them.

• Not all students have internet at home.

• Not all parents want devices on at home.

• Not all students have an environment at home for education.

• Not all students are going to a home after school.

School work has the possibility to happen anywhere, don’t force it to happen everywhere.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

This is true beyond education. Technology has made it possible to blur the line of work and personal. You can access your work email from anywhere, so you should be able to work from anywhere. This quickly transforms to access your work email at all times.

Work/Life balance is having a big impact on our society right now. The same school/life balance is being impacted with our students.

Which tools or rules do you use to keep the balance between work and life?

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"The students are better with the technology than the teachers."

It's a common phrase in education. We assume the students growing up today are Digital Natives. They grew up with the technology, so they must be better with it.

Digital Native does not mean the student understands all technology. It doesn't even mean they know most the technology. Yet that is the assumption we often make.

Digital Natives have grown up or are growing up in a world where technology is always present. They are comfortable being around and using technology. That doesn't make them experts at it.

Previous generations grew up in an era of pen and paper, but not everyone is a master of calligraphy (most people aren't). Same goes for technology. Your students have better familiarity and willingness to use the technology, but not a better mastery.

Don't assume students "just know" how to use the technology. They have preferences and skills, just as everyone else with anything else. A Digital Native may be comfortable with Apple technology, or Google, or Microsoft, or Amazon. They have a platform they are most comfortable with. They are a native in MacOS, but as bad with Windows as someone using it for the first time.

The same goes for many of the teachers and administrators. People have their preferences and likes. Let them lean into that. Use the tools that most comfortable for you to complete the task.

You can write a paper on any device. It will be the same thing if you type it in Pages on iOS, Google Docs on Chrome OS, or LibreOffice on Ubuntu. Let people use the technology they are most comfortable with.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

Digital Natives is a term I’ve heard way too often in school districts. It seemed to be use as a catch all term when someone didn’t understand something or wanted to force a technology on a district.

It became one of those annoying buzz works in EdTech (at least in my world).

Thankfully, in the past year I’ve heard it used less and less, but the sentiment seemed to remain and needs to be addressed.

Do you consider yourself a Digital Native? Is this a term used in your school district often?

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In the previous chapter we learned that students are already entering the building with a technology bias. They already have a familiarity with technology when they walk through the door. So what does that mean for the classroom?

The Why over the How

Less and less class time (none?) needs to be spend showing kids the technology. Students don’t need a how to use technology lesson, they need a why to use technology lesson. The technology in their lives needs to take a new educational and learning role. How can I use this device to do something I’ve never done before.

This device in your hand is not just for entertainment. This distinction needs to be taught as early as possible in school.

Once a student is in high school, most have figured out their learning style. They know what works best for them. If you want technology for learning to take off in your school you need to start young.

This doesn’t mean your 1:1 program has to start in PreK, but make sure the younger grades (PreK-5) have access to technology. Students can’t have limited technology use in school, then handed a laptop in high school and be expected to understand what to do with it. They will treat it like they do a personal device, because that is all they have had. The 1:1 device is just another device, not an educational device.

Students need to learn how to learn with technology in younger grades. This doesn't’ need to be taken to an extreme. I’m not recommending our K-4th graders should be on computers all day, but they should have experience using them as a educational tool. Not just for games and videos like they may do at home.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

I went back and forth with two different titles for this chapter.

1. Learning How To Learn

2. Why Over How

I still might change my mind before publishing the final draft, but for now it stays.

Technology falls into habits, just like everything else in our life. If your habit when you have a screen in your hand is to watch a movie, what do you think you’ll do when your given a computer in school for the first time. It’s not an educational tool, it’s another screen to watch movies. You need to learn new habits and new possibilities with educational technology.

What was the first thing you learned how to do with technology? Was it entertainment or education?

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Getting devices in the hands of students as early as possible is important. A students' first exposure to technology is now at home. Parents have smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, game consoles, and computers at home. Some or all being used by their children.

Devices are used for everything in the home. Viewing entertainment, controlling the lights, or reading their favorite books.

Students are entering their schools with a premade bias towards technology. At home they are an Apple, Google, or Microsoft family.

This is a stark contract to how I grew up (and I suspect, many of the readers have). My first exposure to using a computer was in schools. I learned how to use a device for education before finding it an entertainment device.

A student's first exposure to technology is as an entertainment device. And this isn't he students fault, or the parents fault. Everything we do today revolves around a device/screen that can do it all. Kids don't have work today. So the device they have in their home is there for entertainment. There isn't anything else for the child to do.

This is why getting technology in student's hands early is important. A student needs to learn how to use a device for school work. For life outside of entertainment. Using technology for education is a habit. The longer a device is for entertainment only, the harder the habit is to change.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

Technology and the internet has becoming an all encompassing aspect of our lives. Through a screen, we can access the entire world. As parents, how can we not give out children access to this technology.

I am part of the same trend. My children had an iPad bias before stepping foot in a classroom. They knew how to use the device and access whatever they needed through that screen.

The school’s role has changed. We aren’t trying to introduce the students to technology, we are trying to teach them how to use the technology productively. How to be a digital citizen and understand what power they have with that screen.

What was your first use of a computer? Was it at home, at school, at work? Let us know in the comments.

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This post is part of an ongoing series of chapters from the book CHOICE. Please view this post for an introduction and table of contents. To keep up with each new chapter published, please subscribe.

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Students make up 85% of your district's population. Ignore such a large part of your user base at your own peril.

Students need to be included in the process. Their feedback and perspective is incredibly powerful. Talk with them, send out surveys, observe how they use the technology, and ask them what they would want to use.

In an earlier section, we talked about 1:1 is for everyone. That goes beyond just the device. You work with teachers and administrators to get them the tools they needs. The hardware they are comfortable with, and the software that helps them get the job done. The same needs to be done for students. Don’t use the assumption, “we know what's best for the students.”

It can be as simple as sending out a survey. Get a better understanding of what the students' perspective on technology and and how they will use it. Know how the students already use technology in their lives.

Some example survey questions:

• Do you have a computer in your home? What type?

• Do you have a smartphone? iOS or Android?

• Do you have internet access at home?

• What app do you use the most for school work?

• What can't you do with a school computer now that you want to?

• What software or app do you want to use in school but can't?

You'll get some requests for games and inappropriate websites, but you'll also get a lot of honest feedback.

My experience is, most of the changes I have made to systems, policies, and purchasing have been from student led requests. They are using this technology every day for the purpose we want it used for. We'd be crazy not to listen to 85% of our user base.

In any other scenario, ignoring 85% of your user base would be a recipe for failure. But in education, it can often be the case.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

When I first started writing this book, I saw the chapters separated into 4 clear sections: Technology, Students, Teachers, Administrator. As I’ve written more, I don’t think these categories will hold true. More may be added or they might just be removed entirely.

The previous chapters have all been about the technology. This is the first chapter entering the student side of a 1:1 program.

What are some good ideas students have given you? I am curious to hear any student led initiatives you’ve seen having success in schools. Let me know in the comments.

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This post is part of an ongoing series of chapters from the book CHOICE. Please view this post for an introduction and table of contents. To keep up with each new chapter published, please subscribe.

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No school district operates in a vacuum. It takes a lot of outside vendor and third party support to make things happen. With purchasing, support, consulting, and every other logistical thing that comes with getting devices into the school district.

Find vendors that actually want to work with you. Find vendors that actually pick up the phone when you call and answers email in a timely fashion.

In my own experience, don’t work directly with big manufacturers (HP, Dell, Acer, and the like). You are in for a lot of difficulty with these large organizations. Find someone local, find someone on your side, and find someone that’s consistent.

Don't use a vendor that sends you through a support tree when you need help. Don't use a vendor just because your school has done work with them in the past. Don't use a vendor just because. Always get multiple quotes and opinions.

Building a lists of stable and reliable vendors and third parties to work with can be invaluable when things get busy, or supply chains get squeezed, or issues you never thought of come up.

Build a network to support your district.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

I know this chapter is short. I know this chapter may not seem important. For people dealing with the logistics of devices on a daily basis, this is very important.

Build a network of outside help. You won’t need it all the time, or even every year, but when you do need help, you really need help.

Have an experience working with a great vendor, or a horror story of working with the wrong vendor? Let us know in the comments.

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This post is part of an ongoing series of chapters from the book CHOICE. Please view this post for an introduction and table of contents. To keep up with each new chapter published, please subscribe.

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1:1 technology programs are nothing new in education. Since computers first became personal/portable, the idea of giving every student a computer has been a topic in every district. Before computers it was giving every student a textbook. It's a very appealing idea. Giving every student access to the same technology and resources. Every student is on the same level when it comes to educational tools. Students can learn on and use the same tools used in the "real world."

Planning how the 1:1 program will actually work in the classroom and administratively is a very different task. The systems you have in place are more important than the technology you are using. The right systems will allow the 1:1 program to be plug and play with any technology.

The technology always changes (laptops, netbooks, iPads, kindles, etc.). Most recently, Google's Chromebook has been at the forefront of this discussion. It's a great device and very affordable. The point of this chapter is not to dismiss the technology but to understand it's not the most important part of the 1:1 program.

The system to support the technology program is often lost to people not working directly with the set up. A good support system involves everyone; technology staff, administrators, teachers, and students. It is a school culture aspect.

What are some of the components to a great system and culture?

• Inventory - Very basic, but you need to know who has what. Everyone needs a shared responsibility with inventory. It can't just be one person or department trying to track down ever piece of technology in the district.

• Professional Developments - There needs to be ongoing training and education around the technology. Not just a one day PD session. There needs to be ongoing learning and resources for how the technology impacts learning.

• Support - A helpdesk for the school community to ask questions when help is needed. Also a self help portal to find answers when needed.

• Full District Involvement - Everyone in the district has an opinion and preference. They need a voice and a say in how the program is run. It's can't just be a top down decision making process.

• Full District Responsibility - A successful program requires the entire district to have responsibility for the technology, It isn't for a few members of the technology department to maintain. Everyone has ownership of the program.

If the system is well planned, well built, and well implemented it should be almost invisible to the users of the technology.

Too many times well funded project fail because the focus was just on putting new technology in the classroom. It needs to be about how the technology will impact learning.

More technology is not the solution, and is unfortunately a mindset used a lot in business and education. Throwing technology at a problem won't make it go away.

Need your employees to be more productive? Give them a smartphone so they can work on the go. Want your students to all have access to the same information? Give every student a computer. It's the wrong mindset to have. Systems over technology.

Technology hardware without a system and culture to support it is just another weight for students to carry in their overloaded backpacks.

Author Comments

Providing a peak behind the curtain of the thought and writing process.

If the length of this chapter doesn't make it obvious, this is a topic that is very important to any technology project. Systems over technology is a topic an entire book could be written on. Technology does nothing for a school without a system to support it.

This was one of the more difficult chapters to write. There is a lot going on here. I feel like I'm repeating myself over and over again, but the point needs to be made.

Invest in the systems first. Otherwise the technology purchased will just be another failed project, and money lost.

What are the components of a system you have seen be a success? What went into making the program a success? Let the community know in the comments.

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