One to One Initiative

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ariel Conlon on April 20, 2013 at 8:00am

Thank you so much for the links!  I think a handful of iPads would be fine to start with.  I'd like to use them for small group work or 1 to 1 intervention.  We want to write a grant but are having trouble deciding what one to apply for.  We are not a Title 1 school, which makes it difficult.  I will look into the fundraising sites, but I'm not sure we are allowed to use them.  I'm pretty sure that one of our faculty members tried to do that last year and was told no.  This summer I am determined to find a grant that we can apply for.  I think parents want to see more technology too.  The problem is, since I'm elementary, the referendum money usually runs out by the time they get to us.  They start at high schools and work their way down.

Permalink Reply by Meghan Woodin on April 18, 2013 at 6:38pm

 

I would love to see a 1-to-1 program at my school.  I feel that this opportunity would open the doors for teachers to enhance their lessons and teaching to meet the demands of today's educational expectations.  I think that in a lot of schools we are trying to prepare our students for the real world however we are limited by the availability of technology within classrooms on a daily basis.  Right now I do not believe my school could afford to begin this type of program as I teach in a high needs area which is lacking funding in areas which would be filled way before a technology need.  If my school could find funding, I believe that tablets would be most beneficial for my school.  Tablets allow for flexibility of use.  I think tablets allow for a more interactive experience for students allowing them to strengthen a variety of skills that can be limited with a laptop or smartphone.  Due to the cost, I think that the program would need to be implemented in phases  This would allow for a gradual use of funding, implementation of professional development to prepare teachers, and the opportunity to experience and troubleshoot issues which will inevitably arise when the program is implemented. 

I do not think that BYOT is an option for my school right now.  Many of the families in my district use prepaid phones therefore the availability of those smartphones is very unreliable for the students.  I think that if a school allowed this, we would also need to have devices available for the students who did not have access to their own device.  Although it seems that in today's world every person and child is walking around with technology in their hands, the reality is that many still do not have access or have inconsistent access.

I think most teachers would be open to and excited about a 1-to-1 program, however I also think that many veteran teachers may feel overwhelmed with the idea of learning the new technology and how to utilize it in their classroom.  Change is always exciting but can also be scary for those who have been teaching using traditional methods for an extensive amount of years.  With a program such as this there would need to be extensive professional development that was differentiated for the needs of the teachers receiving the technology in their classrooms.  Dropping off a box of tablets in a room will not make for high quality teaching.  Teachers need to know how to use the technology to extend their instruction and deepen their students understanding beyond the normal classroom lessons.

I would love to use tablets in my classroom on a daily basis.  The math program that I currently use is available digitally.  I would like to see my students access their books online and be able to use the curriculum resources available to them more efficiently this way.  I would also love to be able to use the tablets to implement more game based learning with my lessons to help engage my students and strengthen their understanding of concepts taught in the classroom.  Finally providing each student with their own device would open the doors to more consistent online collaboration projects.  My daily instruction and activities would be easier to differentiate if each student had access to their own device.

Permalink Reply by Christina Taylor on April 18, 2013 at 6:43pm

I would love to implement a one-to-one program in our school. However it would have to be a long time down the road before it could be implemented in our school. We are struggling with being able to use the technology we do have within the classroom, as it seems like every week they are being used for testing, or implementation of other programs in other subject areas. In our school, they seem to want to advance in some technology (smartboards, response systems, etc) but drag their feet in other areas, (it took quite a while before the technology department created wi-fi networks in the schools). We did, however, get a grant that allowed for us to get a few iPads for teacher use this year. I would love to be able to have these tools available for student use and I know that eventually more will be coming, however, not enough for one on one. I think that the iPads and similar tablets would be the most beneficial for implementing a one-on-one program. There are so many apps that are available, and the libraries for these apps are constantly growing as more are being developed regularly. These apps allow for individualizing the tasks, and some provide instant feedback to the students and teacher. This would be perfect for differentiating instruction and would provide more data on student progress.

I do not think that the BYOT initiative would be implemented in my school anytime soon. We even had administration tell us that they do not want students to bring in Kindles, and other e-readers to read from. The fear of students using unprotected connections (3G/4G instead of the controlled district network), as well as the fear of dealing with theft, adds more worry to the adminstration. I think that this would be a great way to solve this technology availability issue if handled and monitored appropriately, However, I do not feel that adminstrations trusts us and the students enough to use and monitor it responsibly in the classroom.

I think if given the opportunity, teachers would love the one-on-one instruction through technology in my school. Our staff is a fairly young staff and seem to embrace the technology in the classroom. However, I do feel that like adminstration, some staff would not want to deal with the issues that could arise with the BYOT initiative.

Permalink Reply by Carly Shields on April 19, 2013 at 9:40am

YES! We have laptops available to our students, but they are not one-to-one.  We have 2 classroom sets that can be shared among the entire school.  They are always being used for PLC or Compass Learning in set time and are typically unavailable to teachers for their own use.  Other times, other schools are borrowing the laptops for DCAS or other testing and they aren't even here at all.  We do have an ELMO in each classroom, which is way better then our old overhead machine, but SMARTboards would be incredible.  As far as ONE-TO-ONE is concerned, iPads would be our best bet, but I don't see how the funding would be available any time soon.

Permalink Reply by Gregory Reynolds on April 21, 2013 at 11:04am

I agree Carly! Our school has a very similar system implemented and while it is sufficient for now, there is definitely room for improvement. I also think that iPads would be ideal for incorporating a one on one atmosphere with our students. Maybe one day we will have the financial support to get there! 

Permalink Reply by Meghan Woodin on April 21, 2013 at 10:56am

I have found that the laptop carts in my school are also constantly being pulled from teachers for rounds of DCAS, SMI and SRI testing.  Although we as a school have acquired several carts over the last few years I have not seen an increase in the use of the laptops in the classroom due to computer based testing demands.  I agree that a tablet 1-to-1 program would be ideal for my school but financially impossible at this point.  My administration seems to be along the same mindset as yours in regards to not permitting students to bring their personal devices into school in fear of theft and or inappropriate use.  I am wondering though if a contract would help that situation.  If all students and parents signed a form at the beginning of the year that stated students were allowed to bring their own devices at their own risk but were also only allowed to access the school's network during school hours this could allow for students to be held accountable for their actions if they choose to misuse their device and the school would not be held accountable for a device that goes missing.  I think we have a long way to go before schools can successfully implement the BYOT program but from a financial standpoint, it is much more attainable then a 1-to-1 program.

Permalink Reply by Christina Taylor on April 21, 2013 at 7:00pm

I think that a BYOT program is definitely something that would have to be well defined with exact procedures on how to handle the issues that would arise. I think a contract would be a great start. 

Permalink Reply by Kelly Rawley Evans on April 21, 2013 at 8:58pm

Hi Meghan!

I totally agree that the BYOT program would be more attainable than the 1-to-1 program.  I just wish that school leaders would be more willing to allow students to use their own devices.  It definitely would be more cost effective.  There are even websites, such as www.classpager.com, that allow students to use their cell phones as response clickers.  If students are going to use their devices 24/7, why not show then how to use it for academic purposes to prepare them for college and the real world, where they will be using it. 

Permalink Reply by Carly Shields on April 18, 2013 at 6:52pm

       I am a first grade teacher in a district with limited access to technology.  I would LOVE for a one-to-one program to be initiated in my district because I strongly feel it would increase student motivation as well as test scores for the district.  In a perfect world, this would be entirely possible.  We wouldn’t have to worry about funding, troubleshooting, or student capabilities for using the technology! However, I do not believe that initiating a one to one program is a reasonable expectation at this time.  I say this because my district is already having funding issues and can barely afford to pay teacher salaries, order textbooks, and basic student supplies-let alone provide each student with their own technological device to transport to and from school.  Due to the population of my students, I do not feel that BYOT is an option, but ideally, my first grade students would greatly benefit from a one-to-one initiative in the classroom.  More specifically, I think my students would benefit from the use of iPads in the classroom.  They are so simple to use and most of my students already know how to download apps and troubleshoot technological issues!

         I believe that teachers in the upper grades would be much more open minded to the idea of a one-to-one initiative.  This is simply because students in the upper grades are much more capable of working independently and troubleshooting, which I think would maximize student learning as less time would be spent fixing problems or explaining how to use the technology.  Teachers of students in the younger grades would most likely need to spend a lot of time early on in the school year teaching how to use the devices! Additionally, teachers who already know a lot about technology and are comfortable with it are going to be more open minded about the one-to-one initiative. 

         In my classroom, I would use one-to-one devices to differentiate instruction.  I would prefer the use of iPads.  I would download specific apps that would benefit each student as an individual.  I would use these iPads to incorporate game based learning in the classroom on a daily basis! Student interest and motivation would be through the roof and possibilities for differentiated instruction would be limitless! 

Permalink Reply by Kelly Rawley Evans on April 21, 2013 at 8:48pm

Hi Carly!

I definitely agree with you that students would be interested and motivated to use the iPads.  I attended a webinar in the archives of Classroom 2.0 called, "Using iPads in a Grade One Classroom" by Karen Lireman, a first grade teacher in Canada, which was very interesting.  She started with one iPad and shared it among her students, as many as 6 at a time.  With her class, she was able to Skype with a class in Hong Kong, Quadblog with 3 other first grade classes around the world and other things.  She said that she did not worry about what technology she didn't have, but used the technology that she had and that technology does not replace good teaching.  This was similar to what Matt Hardy, co-founder of Kidblog, Inc. said.  He suggested taking your class to the computer lab for at least one to two times a week, if you do not have a class set of laptops or iPads.

Permalink Reply by Kelly Rawley Evans on April 18, 2013 at 9:59pm

I believe initiating a one-to-one iPad program at my school is very reasonable.  In fact, there is an exciting "buzz" in my school of having iPads for next year as our director is looking into purchasing them.  I believe the iPad one-to-one program would be ideal for my school.  BYOT is not currently an option at this time, although some of the older students bring their tablets to read, at their own risk.  I have tested out classpager.com (really neat!) on my own, where students are able to use their own cell phones as response clickers.  However, students are not permitted to use phones at our school.  The feedback I anticipate from teachers with the incorporation of technology/iPads would be  exciting for some and uncertain for others, but given the proper technology training, teachers would be able to select the technology that is most comfortable for them that applies to their lesson.  I am reminded of Week 4 discussion post of how technology alone does not engage students, but good teaching does.  Since I do not have a classroom, I would be able to work with teachers to help them implement various iPad apps for education, Gamification, Educreations, Flipped Classroom, Befunky, Memorize.com, etc.

Permalink Reply by Gregory Reynolds on April 21, 2013 at 11:06am

Kelly, 

How exciting that you could have iPads at your school! I would love to have iPads as well but unfortunately, it doesn't look like thats happening any time soon. I also like how you brought the week 4 discussion back, it truly isn't just the technology that engages students. However, it is an important cog in that machine of student engagement. Great ideas! 

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