Discussion

Please join in on our discussion of 1:1 Laptop initiatives in schools - we've added some answers to get you started. Feel free to post additional comments or questions at the bottom of this page.


 * Both Rockman's and Dunleavy's articles called for program guidelines to be put in place to help with some of the challenges of the 1:1 laptop programs. What guidelines do you think should be added to address the challenges that are evident in 1:1 laptop classrooms?**

There needs to be some prior guidelines surrounding curriculum and assessment before implementing 1:1 laptop classrooms. Will a separate curriculum address specific or general outcomes concerning laptop learning, or will all teachers be adding to their subject area teaching loads? If it is a new program, how will the program be monitored or studied for further development? Additionally, it would be beneficial if teachers and teacher-librarians were involved in the planning stages so that those most directly involved are clear on the goals and policies that are created - in fact, the educators involved should be the first to receive laptops. Also, will any of levels of government create programs to assist those who do not have Internet access in their home? Along the same lines, schools may find it necessary to give very clear information to parents about laptop use outside of educational institutions. - Chris

I agree Chris, that very clear and specific guidelines need to be put into place with regards to curriculum and assessment. Teachers need to also have readily available and easily accessed support when implementing 1:1 laptop programs. Government support to purchase laptops and obtain internet access would be a necessity for many students in my district. - Sheila

As important as clear guidelines are with regards to curriculum and assessment, I see the tech support necessary for teachers and students to be a significant challenge. I would agree that without government support many students in my district would not be able to purchase a laptop, and likely this is the case in many places in Canada. But I am wondering what happens when the laptops need to be upgraded? I could //possibly// see the government providing some financial support to families to make a one-time purchase, but I don't believe that continued support would be possible.- Jes

Jes, I hear you - both continued tech support and laptop maintenance/upgrades could prove costly and unfeasible. I believe that this will be an area where the idea of outside sponsorship may come around again, and the debates about corporate influence and the commercialization of education will loom large. - Chris The guidelines suggested in the Rockman article addressed the expectations for teachers’ use of laptops. I would think an effective 1:1 program would go beyond mere discussions and allow teachers plenty of firsthand opportunities to become familiar with the laptops (a la Will Richardson’s “play” philosophy and professional development workshops). The expectations should also ensure that the laptops are integrated into programs in such a way that technology is used authentically to encourage higher order thinking and new digital literacies, and that laptop usage is not reduced to the limiting nature of a typewriter -Joanie. 

Hi Joanie, I keep thinking the focus needs to be on first hand opportunities on integrating technology to enhance the learning environment rather than "first hand opportunities to become familiar with the laptops." I guess this is where the issue of the digital immigrants versus digital natives comes in. I wonder when we'll get to the place in education when the learning for teachers goes beyond learning how the computer works?-Danielle I found it interesting that Article #3 describing the comparison between laptop cart use and the 1:1 program in the upper elementary classroom didn't find classroom management as a significant barrier. Despite the difference in the motivation levels, I think the educators must have put some clear guidelines in place, and I'd like to know what they were. Also, I think that student ownership of the laptop is crucial - either in that they actually own it, or put down a deposit for it, or at least agree to pay for any damages incurred. (I'm thinking of the case where a student was observed deliberately removing keys) In time, one would assume that students would become better prepared and behaved using 1:1 laptops by high school instead of the other way around as demonstrated by the 3 scenarios presented. One thing that puzzled me is that the high school teachers listed the noise created by programs as a problem which could have been solved by inexpensive earbuds/headphones. - Rhonda 

Although I agree that we do need to have guidelines in place to address the challenges that 1:1 laptop programs present in our schools, I look forward to a time where we view the laptop as just another tool or resource in our classroom (and at home) - the same way we would have formerly used a pencil or a notebook or a print encyclopedia. As has already been addressed, curriculum, student outcomes and assessment need to be our prime focus - as well as professional learning opportunities for teachers to explore new ways of teaching and learning in implementing these programs. It would be very disheartening to put these programs into place only to witness, as Dunleavy et al report, students engaged in tasks "that could easily [have] been done with a textbook and notebook" - if these new tools and programs don't extend student learning or support individual learning styles, what's the point of the added expense?

I would also agree that students and parents retain the prime care and ownership of the laptop, whether that be by paying for it up front or accessing funds from a grant, as was the case in the third article. Ensuring that students and their families are financially implicated or committed by a formal agreement, would hopefully contribute to greater diligence in caring for the equipment - maybe similar to the contract issued when renting or purchasing -to-own a band instrument. In our division, we have one school piloting a 1:1 laptop program in a high needs community. Even though students use the laptops throughout the day, I don't believe they take them home at the end of the day... which obviously presents access concerns to the 24/7 learning advocated in the articles and the "day in the life of" video on Teacher Tube. At the same time, the students don't own these computers because the division puts this guideline in place - to avoid some of the challenges described in the articles such as students leaving laptops at home (just like gym clothes and band instruments) or neglecting to charge them overnight.

Like Rhonda, I would have thought the extra classroom noise reported by the classroom teachers would have been a quick fix by providing headphones. Most of our schools now have them on school supply lists in the fall and in areas where students need financial support, school funds are used to purchase class sets, so no one does without. -katkin

I'm in total agreement about the ownership of the laptops. I can't imagine students taking the keys off and stepping on laptops - it sounded to me like the students involved really didn't value the tools at all, but took them for granted. Carol **All three articles discuss technology immersion effects on students and teachers. What effects would you foresee in your school, if your classrooms were equipped with 1:1 laptops?**

Our school already has a 1:1 laptop ratio in our two grade seven classes. What I see happening is that the two teachers collaborate daily, share resources and new tools that they have discovered. Our district provides these teachers with monthly professional development in-service to continue building their comfort levels and skills with the laptops. If this initiative were to be implemented at the whole school level, I would expect to see less of a divide between our primary and intermediate teachers as far as technology awareness and more common goals. We currently boast an annual Fine Arts day at our school where students sign up for Fine Arts classes that they are interested in. I can imagine that our school could easily put together a technology day where children are free to explore the many web 2.0 tools with their peers.- April

The effects that I foresee are greater comfort levels with regards to using computer programs, increased student motivation and collaboration, more open communication between school and home, and greater opportunities for student-centered learning. This would assist in decreasing the "digital divide" as some of our students do not have access to a computer and/or the internet at home. Currently, the ratio of computers (both laptops and desktops) to students in my school is approximately 7 to 1, with one full computer lab, one partial computer lab, and one cart with 15 laptops. Access is always a concern and a major setback when attempting to implement technology within the curriculum. - Sheila

I agree that it would decrease the digital divide for students who do not have access to computers, and it might decrease the gender digital divide that Rhonda and Joanie presented. I could see this being a very stressful situation for several teachers who are not using technology for various reasons and for those who would need to revamp their lessons. We would need to somehow install wireless access in the school, and I wonder what this would mean for bandwidth, which is already a daily battle with only 3 computer labs. I definitely see students being more excited about their learning, but it would be necessary for teachers to re-evaluate their lessons to ensure that the laptaps are being used to enhance lessons and engage students in their learning. Otherwise the laptop could just become an expensive typewriter. - Jes Jes, I think you make an important point in that teachers would make changes in what they did in the classroom, and many would be worried/anxious/overwhelmed - whereas many students would approach laptops as opportunities for more "fun". - Chris

If our school students (all 2000 of them) were each equipped with a laptop, our wireless system would not be able to support this. We also have teachers who are still (hard to believe) dead set against computers and would insist the laptop computers be left in lockers during their instruction blocks. Before any 1:1 program would be introduced, a great deal of staff "preparation" would be needed. - Joanie

What difficulties do I foresee? - where do I start? First of all I agree with Joanie, our staff needs time to plan and discuss our vision of technology integration. We all agree that our students need more access, but vary greatly in how that is to be achieved. The secure wireless access point for students bringing their own laptops into the library was installed last week. Not all staff see this expenditure as the right place to start, but I'm happy about it! The principal wants to put in enough access points around the school so that it is available everywhere in the school. This approach seems right to me and very forward thinking. If some students are willing to bring their own laptops to school, then all we need to do is provide school desktops and laptops to those that don't have. - Rhonda

Hi April, Just a thought but what would be even cooler than a technology day, is a themed day that fits into the curriculum like a "cultural diversity day", where students travel from classroom to classroom and within each classroom students participate in a variety of stations, and one station or activity has to be based on a web 2.0 tool. Then they are exploring 2.0 tools in a meaningful and curriculum related way. I remember Richardson said in his blog that we need to move from learning about technology to the learning is technology. This has stayed with me and is perhaps part of my personal vision. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(62, 0, 128);"> -Danielle

Ahhh, yes. Thanks Danielle. I see the point of putting the focus on HOW we learn with the aid of technology as opposed to making the technology the focus. When I suggested Tech. day, I was thinking that it would help put the focus on the fact that we do have teachers and students in the district motivated and inspired by the tools supplied by technology. It is a common belief in our district that our "on-the-brink-of-being-closed-have-not" inner city school does not have the time, tools, or motivation to put together something so in-touch with the new vision of education. I was thinking that it would need to be a very obvious event to get the attention of district admin and local media. I much prefer the idea of providing a day with a meaningful theme and showing how seemlessly technology can be integrated to enhance student student's experience of content. -April <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">In our pilot school that is implementing the 1:1 student to laptop model, one of our instructional technology coordinators is assigned to the classrooms involved. Therefore, the classroom teachers have built in support on site, during the day. I think that the additional adult, and an expert at that, in the room, has really helped those classroom teachers overcome many of the challenges referred to in the articles. I would definitely foresee a prominent role for the teacher librarian in these classes, especially in terms of building a culture of inquiry - by supporting inquiry-based learning through our ICT continuum and providing students with new and exciting ways to present their learning to a wider audience. -katkin

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">I'm trying to imagine a future where every student has a laptop. . . will there ever come a time where sitting on the floor in a circle to tell stories without a screen will become a novelty? I'm not sure if Katkin is talking about my old school - they've recently had a grant to purchase laptops. I know two of the classroom teachers were sent to the States for a training workshop - and this was expected to be invaluable. One of the teachers found students changing their desktop pictures to be a nuissance and banned it (this was before the laptops). I wonder how she is doing this year with technology and if she has found her comfort zone. Carol <span style="color: rgb(7, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(38, 2, 2);"> **If you were told today that you were responsible for planning a 1:1 laptop program in your school, what would be your first steps? What kinds of things would make you excited the most, what kinds of things would you most be concerned about or anticipate challenges surrounding?**

<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">If I was responsible for planning a 1:1 laptop program in my school, I would be over-joyed! I would love to have a laptop for each student in my class. I would be eager to attend district and provincial technology in-services and professional development activities. I would also seek out other teachers in other schools who already have already been using laptops in their classroom. I would want to get the parents on board, with hopes of the laptops going home each night. In the study by Russell et al, the parents received grants so they could purchase a laptop for their child. Having each child and parent responsible for their own laptop would be important. I would also learn new classroom management strategies to ensure learning time is "on task time." I would also be quick to add 2.0 tools to my unit and lesson plans and be excited to watch the students be engaged with a variety of learning activities on the computer. It would be challenging to learn to balance technology activities to meet outcomes with a variety of other learning activities. I would also be aware of my own pedagogical beliefs and would enjoy developing my teaching further, as I would learn to teach more effectively with technology. -Danielle

<span style="color: rgb(34, 0, 255);">I would also be over-joyed, Danielle! My first step would be to bring together a team of enthusiastic teachers and administrators who are willing to collaborate on the development of the program. I would be most excited by the notion that all students would be able to participate fully in classroom activities that develop their information literacy skills. The greatest concerns that I have are the management and maintenance issues. - Sheila <span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">I would be excited and at the same time terrified! I would be excited by the possibilities that teachers and students could experience, and yet I would be terrified by the overwhelming feeling of lack of time and technical support. I would anticipate challenges around access to the internet as well as classroom management. I could foresee that facebook and myspace would be much more interesting than my poetry lesson for the day. - Jes

<span style="color: rgb(38, 2, 2);">If my principal informed me that I was responsible for planning this 1:1 program, I would feel quite overwhelmed by the prospect and my first step would be to weasel out of the situation. I don’t feel that my technology skill set is strong enough (definitely improving but not there yet) to be able to provide the necessary leadership for the success of this program. All the considerations in these articles point to a great deal of forethought and planning. However, I would be willing to contribute and help because the first hand experience of seeing such a class in action would provide me an opportunity for action-based research. The second reason I would decline this opportunity is that I am not yet sold on the idea of 1:1 laptop programs as the new future in schools. I would need to do more reading and reflecting on this issue before I can offer the full-out commitment of such a challenge. As I read the articles you have showcased, I noted the positive features and concerns. However, I did not see enough strongly presented evidence overwhelmingly supporting 1:1 laptops that would cause me to grasp this opportunity. The amazing initial cost of such technology, the maintenance, the upgrades,and professional development support would be significant. Many of the “advantages” attributed to the introduction of this technology could be achieved using other strategies or by increased access to the computer lab. I would probably be more supportive of the money being spent on several COWS (Class sets of Computers on Wheels) shared throughout the school and the balance on providing teacher professional development support in the area of technology - perhaps with a qualified technology teaching assistant to mentor teachers. Sorry to rain on your parade, but that's how I feel about this issue at present. - Joanie.

<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);">Thanks for the well-presented answer, Joanie - and you're not raining on the parade as as much as giving us a practical, critical response, which is great. I agree with many of your points, especially about the "amazing" costs associated with these kinds of programs. I also think that there are issues which were either underexplored or not explored at all in these articles. For example, the articles mentioned teachers with concerns, but did not focus on students who had difficulties with working with technology - that doesn't seem realistic to me. There are a number of stakeholders who believe that the evidence for 1:1 laptops is not strong enough at this point, but it may be that the research and student/teacher "guinea pigs" will lead to the right direction for tomorrow. - Chris <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128);"> <span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);">Hi Jes, After I read your response, I was reminded of the different grade levels that we all teach at. I am primary, so I wouldn't worry about facebook and myspace, but I would have to have a strict "no miniclips or pinball" during learning time rule, or my poetry lesson would be "out the window" as well! <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);"><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);">-Danielle <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Wow... that's a thought-provoking question! My initial response would be "Sure... sign me up!", but with such an undertaking, comes a great deal of expectation... especially if this was a pilot project scenario. It wouldn't be nearly as daunting, if others on staff had already been through the process. Our division employs several information technology coordinators to facilitate these kinds of projects, so the first thing I would do, would be to ally myself with one of them for guidance and support. I would also seek out the expertise of other colleagues in other schools and divisions for implementation ideas... what works well and what doesn't. If I was a classroom teacher, I would definitely want the teacher librarian implicated in the project, especially in regards to supporting inquiry and implementing those "big ideas" of our ICT continuum. I would be most excited about the opportunity to reach outside the classroom and outsource our inquires to real experts and primary sources to collect authentic data for our projects. As far as concerns... I guess my main concern would be the equipment itself... access to good quality computers, keeping the machines upgraded and working, acceptable Internet speed, navigating the filter... the old adage, "technology is great, as long as it's working." I would also want to ensure that the direction of the implementation was truly innovative and challenging in terms of promoting creative and critical thinking, rather than enabling the steno pool syndrome so prevalent in many of our computer labs. -katkin <span style="color: rgb(34, 0, 255);"> These are interesting views, and I especially appreciated Joanie's critical thoughts. It would be exciting, and if used to their fullest potential, probably worthwhile. But, in the back of my mind is the thought, "where is the money coming from?" Seriously. Are teacher librarian positions going to be reconsidered? Music and band? Field trips? What about teacher aides? We live in a "gotta have the latest, fastest, best. . . " society, and I struggle as a parent to teach our children that sometimes more isn't better. That our health is really what matters, and that we're together as a family. Carol =<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Additional questions and comments ?= Thank you for featuring research on 1:1 laptop programs at the different age level groups and under a variety of situations. It was very thought provoking and timely for me in my unique situation. I especially like to see the benefits derived by ecommunications and formative assessment at the high school level - both things I can talk about with my staff. The challenges noted by teachers are also illuminating and reflect the concerns at my school as we move towards offering wireless access for students with their own laptops. Extremely well organized and helpful presentation! - Rhonda

I'd also like to add my thanks for sharing this issue with us. Chris, I'm with you that the articles left out many aspects about the difficulties faced during this program by students and teachers. I find myself wondering when research glosses over these missing chunks. In one article it mentioned Dell computers being donated. Was this by Dell Corporation? I tend to suspect the validity of research findings which have been funded by business concerns because they have their own motives and financially-based agendas as well. Great presentation which has given me an overview of some of these programs. Joanie <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">I really appreciated the opportunity to read your thorough summaries of these timely studies. I don't know much about the 1:1 laptop program in my own division, but your research has certainly provided me with the background to many of the advantages and challenges that are associated with these programs. At our recent divisional budget meeting, we learned that four new school sites will receive the 1:1 laptop program beginning in the fall. I will be very interested to see what schools are selected for this next phase. I am definitely wondering how the effects of the program will unfold in different socio-economic areas of the division. -katkin Thanks for the thorough glimpse at these articles and issues surrounding 1:1 laptop use. I was curious if you came across anything about health issues for kids using laptops. I read a while ago that laptops are the worst type of computer ergonomically and that subjecting young children to repetitive stress problems may be a problem. I'm really not trying to be negative - I was rather surprised myself when I read it because I'd not thought of it before. Carol