Introduction
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.
A 1:1 program is easy...
It is essentially a math problem. Take the number of students you have in your school, multiply it by the cost of each device, then write a check. Your school is now 1:1. A device for every student.
If this was all it took, the book would be over right here...
Building a technology program that has an impact on learning, culture, and student success is much more difficult, and has little to do with the actual device you choose to use.
One of my favorite quotes about education, and one I routinely use when giving presentations is:
"The challenge becomes, not finding that scarce plant growing in the desert, but finding a specific plant growing in a jungle."
Neil Gaiman
This is going on in schools today. Students are given an overwhelming amount of resources and information. It’s the educators responsibility to teach them how to use this information and learn with it. We learn with what is available. And what is available today is an overabundance of information.
This is fundamentally different from when I (and many educators) were in school. I was taught, here is the question, now find the correct answer. I would look in the encyclopedia and maybe one other resource.
Students today are given a question, search for the answer on the internet, and given 1000 possible answers and explanations. Students learn how to filter the overabundance of information, not search for the little bit of information accessible. They need to take 100’s of plausible answers and find the right one.
Just giving the student another device to use doesn’t solve this problem. It will only make things worse. Students need to be given technology with an understanding of how to use it, and how to use it effectively. How to learn with technology.
A good 1:1 program or any technology implementation requires a change in thinking and a change in culture to be successful and impactful. Otherwise you are giving kids a really expensive notebook that will just be added to their already overfilled backpacks.
Let’s change how we view, implement, and teach with technology and make a meaningful impact on students and their future success.
In this book I'm going to propose that choice in the way to achieve this. Choice by the students and choice by the teachers. Choice and flexibility in a technology implementation will help ensure its success.