This is the vision of Andrew Zucker, whose article on one-to-one computing is one of the resources listed on the Oberlin blog I mentioned yesterday.
How long will it take? People will say that it is ridiculous to give kids "free" laptops when they can't possibly take care of them. People will say there's no money. People will say we're stockpiling technology for technology's sake. Let's wait till there's more research. Zucker would respond with, "We should not expect more of research than is reasonable. In the context of one-to-one computing,
we should realize that many of the benefits are barely visible now, let alone well documented by high-quality research."
He also discusses the possibilities e-textbooks could offer,"Suppose, for example, textbooks stored on a disk or a USB drive could replace the contents of
students’ heavy, bulky backpacks. Students could mark up and interact with electronic texts without damaging them. And their backpacks would weigh far less." This is a huge consideration for the future. You could just purchase the "update" when the information became outdated as opposed to buying all new textbooks. Does anyone have any experience with these?
Zucker also points to the necessity of quality professional development if a 1:1 program is to be successful, "Critics also claim that many teachers are not yet ready to integrate computers into instruction, and it is true that one lesson learned about one-to-one computing is how important it is to prepare teachers and provide them
with high-quality resources and professional development. But the same is true of any serious instructional innovation." If the same is true for all instructional innovation, why does so much of the professional development out there barely scratch the surface?
He closes the article with the idea that we may not be able to predict what the technology will look like 5 or 10 years from now but that the ultimate question is, "Will be prepared to make good use of it?"
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Ann, I found an interesting news article I thought you might like: http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/arti
cles/2007/03/29/news/01lightspeed03
2907.txt.
It was interesting to note that this middle school hopes to gain a laptop for each student although right now the1y only have around 400 (only 400! I would love 20!). The principal, Linda Taggart, sees the "direct correlation between lackluster school performance and old-fashioned classrooms and teaching methods". Students are using computers to create podcasts, complete quizzes, and work on electronic portfolios. They even mention that "Kids would carry laptops instead of paper textbooks, which would be replaced by electronic texts cross-referenced with hyperlinks inviting students to delve deeper into interesting subjects." (I immediately thought of you when I read that.)
This article is evidence that many schools have wonderful goals for the 1:1 laptop iniitiative. I can't wait for it to start rolling out down where I live. (Guess I'm going to have to get the ball rolling, huh?)
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