1-to-1 Computing: Turning Around School Technology - 6 views
-
Bridget Binstock on 07 Dec 11This article explains why the district chose laptops over tablet and how the community is helping to turn the schools around.
- ...1 more comment...
-
Allison Browne on 08 Dec 11This is a very throrough article.If replaceing computers every 4 years and maintaining them is only 4% of the budget, I wonder what all the resistence is to schools maintaining computers. Is 4% still too much? Is 4% specific to this Alabama district? Also, I felt individualized instruction for foreign language would be the best way to transition a school towards networked individualized learning in a school environment. It's silly that everyone in elementary schools has to take the same language simply because there is only one foreign language teacher. Instead of a Spanish teacher you would need to hire multi-lingual specialists who are able to monitor langauge acquisition. Cool future!
-
Kasthuri Gopalaratnam on 09 Dec 11"The teachers that were involved said that if every kid had their own computer, we could do amazing things". It would be interesting to know if the teachers presented some concrete ideas of 'amazing things'. It would also be interesting to know whether they have a bank of spare laptops to loan to the students while the defective ones are getting fixed. I have a feeling that in the not-so-distant future the choice between a tablet and a computer may become a moot point. The hardware that powers a MacBook Air and iPad is very similar. We have laptops that double as tablets and tablets that are paired with a keyboard to be used as a laptop. Eventually these two will merge.
-
Billie Fitzpatrick on 19 Dec 11Great overview of the issues -- I agree with Kasthuri -- I think the issue will become moot