Simple Questions, Difficult Answers.
By Trevor Shaw
MultiMedia & Internet@Schools; Jan/Feb2006, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p38-40, 3p

This article is related to my earlier post about One to One Wisdom. I still think the day will come when every student in my school is issued a tablet or iBook. It just makes sense to me – it solves issues of scheduling the lab and is a more efficient use of that valuable class time when the students don’t have to physically move to the lab. But more than that, the value comes in the fact that technology then becomes “a regular part of the day-to-day operation of the class” rather than an additional activity or something that happens outside of the classroom. Let’s be honest, most, if not all, of these students will be using technology on a daily basis, as part of their normal work routine in their careers, so why not prepare them for that in their education?

The article was written by Trevor Shaw who initiated the Learning Unleashed project of a one to one program at the Dwight Englewood School in Bergen Coutny, N.J. Here he shares his thoughts on the implementation and success of this program. One of the ideas he shared that I agreed with was that if teachers don’t have to sign up for the only projector in the building and then spend 20 minutes setting it up, they would be more likely to use it. I would love to see a projector in every classroom in the new school we are building, but at least there will be 10 to 12 which is much better than the 2 we currently have.

I also chuckled at the observation that the rules of the game in regards to reliability have changed. As we become more and more dependent on technology, even the briefest outages constitute major problems. We need the application during 5th period, so if it is down for even half of that class period, the lesson is blown. While 100 percent reliability isn’t possible, it seems to be desired by many.

I also could relate to the teacher concerns regarding web surfing, game playing and emailing during class. In the brief, informal conversations regarding a one to one computing program I have had with the teachers in my school, this always comes up. I am thankful that if we ever do go to such a design, there are others who have blazed the way, and we can learn from them (more helpful advice Shaw provides by the way).