1:1 with netbooks

We are going 1:1 with netbooks next year for grades 6, 7, 8. I saw the discussion about tablets but I am wondering about others experience with netbooks and other 1:1 initiatives that do not use tablets.

We actually will have a few different computer styles on campus to accommodate our community and those that have laptops already.

So I need ideas, help and support for our teachers. What have you learned? How did it change teaching/learning...How do we need to revamp our planning? of course we have some ideas but I would love to hear from those of you with experience.

We are very excited and actually have a five year plan to get laptops in the hands of every student K to 8.

Tags: 1:1, netbook

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Barbara on July 2, 2009 at 6:16pm

Hi Tami
Will check out the diigo etc...I started a diigo too for textbook free but maybe we should combine them because my has barely started.

Talk to you soon

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by monika hardy on July 2, 2009 at 6:07pm

highly recommend clay christensen's disrupting class - how laptops can revolutionize - rather than just be a fun tool.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Barbara on July 2, 2009 at 6:17pm

Yes Scot Mcleod did a sesion on his book at NECC and I am looking for a link to it because I was in another session at that time.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ed Allen on October 7, 2009 at 4:18pm

Barbara, just popped back in to this thread. How is the 1 to 1 going? We are planning on starting next year with this year being a big PD year.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tami Brass on October 10, 2009 at 6:44pm

I'd like to know as well. We just implemented the ClassmatePC Convertibles in 7th and 6th grades this fall. So far, I'm seeing few differences in classroom use from prior years, but students seem more excited than in the past. Perhaps it's because the hardware is so unique, the machines are designed for classroom use, etc. Planning a survey shortly.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Barbara on October 10, 2009 at 8:23pm

Hi all
I have been planning an upodate but the road has been rocky and has taken 100% of my attention.
First of all to catch you up on the start of our year you might be interested in this link: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13209541 and the follow up story http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13302819..

The kids definitely are the winners but it has taken an incredible amount of time,energy and people hours to get everything back on track. The donated computers lacked wifi cards and all the computers netbooks and donated laptops had to be upgraded and imaged. This last Thursday we finally were able to distribute the netbooks and hold our parent meetings.

Only time will tell for sure but in someways the delay has been a blessing in disguise. The teachers have spent the time discussing and fine tuning plans, establishing class scribes and getting their class blogs and websites up and running. and ensuring that the parents have established emails for their students We also have begun our in-services on the dyknow software that will be our class management software and at least in part our classroom delivery system.

So far I have seen real buy in and understanding on the part of the teachers as to how radically different this will be. Even though the dyknow software is somewhat pricey I think that it is a critical piece of the transition. It provides a platform which includes some very nice ways to embedd lesson, provide flexible real time groupings within the classroom and get instant feed back much like the popular clicker software. Plus each student will ahve acess to the classwork when they do home stored in their dyknow notebooks including teacher slides, demonstrations and embedded web pages.

I will have much more to say in another few weeks... I am also sure there will be glitches but we are ready and willing!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Geoff Allemand on February 26, 2010 at 3:49am

I really appreciate this site. Great reading. Can anyone help with a proposal I am putting forward to my bosses at GOTAFE to purchase a set of netbooks for a class of young people who have been disengaged with learning. I have 16 students 90% of the time during a 5 day week. I am using a personalised approach based on Big Picture principles. www.bigpicture.org and www.bigpicture.org.au Any advice or help would be much appreciated.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on February 26, 2010 at 9:43pm

I recently heard Jim Klein speak about how 1:1 netbooks (used with free Ubuntu software) increased his students' writing scores 20 percent. I wrote an extensive blog post about it, if you're interested: http://digitaldollar.edublogs.org/2010/02/07/one-laptop-for-every-s...

Good luck!