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Thoughts on 1:1

By Jason Bedell, on February 8th, 2011

I just read a post by Patrick Larkin on his school’s journey to becoming a 1:1 school. In this particular instance, his school will be utilizing iPads; every teacher and student will have one.

Ira Socol, as he is so skilled in doing, points out in the comments one of the inherent flaws in the 1:1 system. While I have recognized the limitations of 1:1 programs, I have generally (and still do) regarded them as positive, assuming of course that there is the proper IT infrastructure, support, and pedagogical adaptations. Ira’s main point is that school’s involved in 1:1 programs like this implicitly assume that all students are the same; that one device will meet the needs of everyone.

Before I delve into my thoughts on a different direction for 1:1, which was prompted by Ira’s comment, I would like to preface this with a few thoughts.

  • First, this is not a slight at Patrick or BHS. I know Patrick personally and it would have been an honor to work with him had I moved to Burlington like I had planned. I believe BHS moving towards giving every student an iPad is an overall net good. It will help the teachers to move towards a more student-centered pedagogy; it will give students more access without depending on the whim of a teacher; it will help both teachers and students to view and use technology as a tool that can promote learning. Having been following the blogs of Patrick and other BHS staff, I feel that they are moving wisely, involving many stakeholders in the process and having classes test drive class sets of iPads for shorter periods.
  • Second, I recognize that many programs are using the 1:1 technology to personalize instruction and help meet the individual needs of their students.
  • Third, I recognize that many districts, not just 1:1 districts, are locked into restrictive contracts with a specific vendor, but I am not a fan of these contracts and find they usually benefit the vendor more than the district.
  • Fourth, the ultimate goal of 1:1, which for me is helping students to become independent, life-long learners, is unchanged.
  • Fifth, bring your own technology is an important movement and technology will only become more ubiquitous. Until every student has a device, though, I like the idea of the school system providing devices, whether for all or for those that do not have access.

I really take Ira’s point to heart because I feel that the choice of device is a very personal decision. I love my Droid X, but it would not work nearly as well for my wife, who prefers the iPhone. What I would like to see a school district do is to bring in many devices in the price range that they are willing to accommodate and have a day where students can try them and learn about the advantages and disadvantages of each. Then, allow the students to choose what will work best for them once they have tried them and have all the information.

Some possibilities:

  • Traditional tablet computers:  laptops that also have a touchscreen have many benefits when they are well designed.
  • Laptops: Mac, Windows, and Linux all have distinct strengths. Give students a choice.
  • Smart phones: there is a lot to be said for a computer that you can take anywhere. There is a precedent for schools buying smartphones for students with data plans so that students can have universal access from everywhere.
  • Netbooks: while I am not a fan of netbooks generally, the form factor does make them appealing to some.
  • Tablets: I love tablet computing, but it is not for everyone. Some do not like the soft keyboards, some prefer to have a lot of applications open at once, etc… The new crop of Android tablets, running 3.0, and the iPad both are good examples of powerful tablets.

I know that finding insurance and vendor contracts may be difficult. I think, though, that the main concern for many will be teacher apprehension at dealing with divergent platforms. At one point, this would be a greater concern for me than it is today.

  • First, a 1:1 environment really needs to be student-centered in order to be successful (so do normal schools, but it is even more apparent when students have a potential “distraction” on their desks or in their pockets). This is taking it just a little further in that direction.
  • Second, this usually comes from teachers wanting everyone to be able to do the same thing, on the same platform. It is convenient, but it is not necessarily the best. I prefer, once students are trained on how to utilize their technology, to give them a problem and allow them to solve it and present it however they deem fit. Not everyone needs to send in their essay in .doc format, for example.
  • Third, as HTML5 progresses, we can accomplish nearly everything that was traditionally done on the desktop in the web browser, which is nearly universally available from major devices now.

Lastly, this scenario scares a lot of IT directors and facilitators. Unfortunately, especially as smartphones become more ubiquitous, you will lose control of your network as they either use their own cellular networks or get around it. It is better to train them on how to responsibly use technology than to try to limit their access beyond what is required by federal, state, and local requirements

What do you think? Is this a viable idea?

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  • http://speedchange.blogspot.com/ Ira Socol

    One of the things I just said to Patrick on Twitter is that I think schools need to stop thinking “now” and think about the future. If I am planning on changing my school’s technology infrastructure, or student usage in 2011, I need to be considering 2023 (when this year’s kindergärtners will graduate) far more than I am thinking “the best technology of 2009.”

    What are we planning for? What are we building for?

    This needs to be asked now, and in every school buying technology. We cannot ever accept one vendor’s vision, just as we should never have accepted what textbook vendors were selling. Because, well, maybe The Simpsons (as usual for schools) said it best http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEMkjCAegLs today’s “best” is tomorrow’s outdated trash.

    I do think we must move to individually owned devices and to “tool cribs” in our schools, where students pick the technologies they need for the mix of (a) their abilities, (b) the task, and (c) the environment http://speedchange.blogspot.com/2011/01/toolbelt-theory-test-and-rti.html

    And we must learn that most of these devices – minus the controlling software we always apply – are pretty much self-supporting these days. I watch thousands of kids each day using hundreds of different devices with nary a tech support team in sight.

    As you say, none of this is meant as criticism of efforts. Rather, the goal is to provoke doubt and inquiry, and to move the conversation beyond one dominated by vendors and current products, toward ideas and goals.

    - Ira Socol
    Ira Socol´s last [type] ..Instructional Tolerance and Universal Design

  • http://jasontbedell.com Jason Bedell

    It’s interesting that it is almost never the students who need tech support. Smartphones and tablets update themselves, are fairly secure, and are simple enough to generally not need tech support. Although, the potential to hack them to do more things is always there for the enterprising (I root every Android device and jailbreak every iOS device I get).
    I like the idea of differentiating devices by task and environment. We need to give students the tools they need to complete anything that they may need to do.

  • http://@diemerpatrick Patrick Diemer

    In reply to Jason Bedell, we have a 1:1 program and the high school kids need tons of tech support for both school issued laptop and some ask me about their home products as well. Our most recent purchase of netbooks was almost a waste because they are not capable of running more than 1 application at a time without having to wait forever.

  • http://jasontbedell.com Jason Bedell

    Patrick,
    That is my concern with netbooks as well. We had 14 carts at a previous school, but they were so slow and took so long to turn on, they actually got in the way sometimes.
    In reference to students not needing tech support, I was referring mostly to smartphones and tablets where the OS mostly maintains itself. I’ve had to fix a ton of student laptops as well (mostly when they got viruses), but I have noticed students, in the right environment, to try to problem-solve or find another way to do something. I think a lot of that has to do with atmosphere in specific classrooms. Is it ok to explore and do things differently or do we all have to follow the same steps? In the case of the latter, support is needed more often in my experience.

  • http://speedchange.blogspot.com/ Ira Socol

    Patrick, Jason:

    I have mixed feelings about Netbooks. They are great solutions for many school-type tasks, and minus school security systems, most run 3 to 4 apps at a time without issue – Open Office plus Firefox plus Audacity plus GIMP for example. With school network interfence, this often drops to 1 or 2. Also, schools often choose expensive, resource intensive anti-viral software which lets viruses through, rather than the lighter, more effective, much less expensive solutions such as Avast and AVG (which are free for home use). And then, many schools prevent student trouble-shooting and self-repair by locking down systems. This, in my experience managing networks in schools ranging from 1600 to 20,000 students, creates more pressure on the tech staff, and contributes nothing.

    However, Netbooks are a far better solution for any state-mandated mass testing, and for writing, reading, than they are for creation and complex uses. This doesn’t mean we should not have them or use them, it just means that like iPads, they have significant limits. (flip side, they’re cheap)

    One more note on “waiting.” Not only do we use Netbooks pretty successfully without student complaint, but we also use the much slower USB-drive systems of our “Freedom Sticks” http://mits.cenmi.org/Resources/MITSFreedomStick.aspx and we find that when learning or creation is not a mass activity, students are fine with waiting. It is when the teacher is waiting that activity and brains stop. When students wait, they look out the window. No harm in that.

    - Ira Socol
    Ira Socol´s last [type] ..Instructional Tolerance and Universal Design

  • http://fluidconversationscharrod.edublogs.org/ Cary Harrod

    This conversation is timely and relevant to me as we just embarked on a BYOL pilot program with all of our 7th grade students. (http://fhsdppl.wetpaint.com) After several years of presenting possible 1:1 initiatives to our school board, we finally recognized that we would never be able to afford or sustain such an endeavor. All of this led us to explore the possibilities of a BYOL program and I am so excited by the direction we have taken. To be sure, it has been a steep learning curve for staff, students and parents but there is no doubt in my mind that we are on the right track.

    For the pilot project, we did limit the type of device to a laptop, tablet pc or netbook. (iPads were allowed but not recommended due to them being so new to the educational arena.) We decided we would be happy if we had 200 of our 567 seventh graders bring in a device; my most recent count has us at about 358 students bringing in their own device. Needless to say, we were thrilled. Honestly, though, we wouldn’t have seen that level of participation if it wasn’t for the extensive work we did during the 8 months prior to project launch.

    Easily, the most compelling and yes, challenging, aspect of our project is the fact that students have a wide variety of devices with them when they walk through the door. In a 1:1 environment, where everyone has the same device, it is much easier for the teacher to plan a lesson where everyone uses the same software, websites and resources. That’s the problem though; if we truly want to personalize learning for our students…if we want to prepare our students to be flexible thinkers, able to work on all sorts of devices, shouldn’t that be reflected in the tools they use and the ways in which they access, manage and create content? Isn’t that one of the most important skills we can teach them?

    As I said, there have been and continue to be challenges to moving to a BYOL program. We have around 150 district owned devices available to those students who do not bring in a device but that still allows for a gap between those who have 24/7 access to technology and those who don’t. Part of the work we will do as part of this pilot project is to look at possible ways to put devices into the hands of those students who can’t afford to purchase a device. As I am frequently heard saying to people, we find ways to send kids to camp and participate in band when they can’t afford it; I am confident we can solve this particular issue.

    Shifting pedagogy to allow for personalized learning and different devices will continue to be one of our most formidable challenges. I can not emphasize enough the importance of professional development for staff. Getting past the ooohhh and ahhhh of the tools to a focus on pedagogy will continue to be one of our greatest priorities, as will helping the students take greater ownership of their learning. Do we have all of the answers? Absolutely not but I suspect we may be on the right path.

    Thanks for this discussion. I look forward to more!
    Cary Harrod´s last [type] ..Easy Isn’t Always Better

  • http://noeltigers.com wmchamberlain

    I can only see students having the ability to choose what tool they use if they are allowed to bring whatever they want. (Even then the choice will more likely be dictated by what the students have versus what they would prefer/be most successful with. There is absolutely no evidence to show that schools would in any way consider this type of personalization for student learning. Especially now that prescribed learning seems to be the flavor of the month.

    Ira, you already know how hard it is to get schools (teachers, admins, and parents) to see that non technology choices which have zero expense are what is best for students. Add the amount of money it would take to implement student technology choice, the chances of that happening are negligible. I do believe that you are right though.

    It is very frustrating when you see the problem, identify a workable solution, and then watch nothing happen to solve that problem.
    wmchamberlain´s last [type] ..What is Going on in Egypt

  • http://skipvia.com Skip Via

    Excellent question and discussion. What intrigues me most about letting (encouraging) students to bring their own devices to class is the potential presence of 3G access on some of those devices. Institutions can block and filter over Wi-Fi, but not over 3G. How are schools going to deal with this? What sort of new digital divide will this create?

    I blogged about this back in March: http://www.skipvia.com/blog/?p=185.

  • http://jasontbedell.com Jason Bedell

    Skip,

    I can’t remember where, but I read a few months ago about a school giving every student a Motorola Droid with Verizon 3G. Technically, from my understanding of CIPA, schools are required to minimally filter pornographic and illegal content on their own networks. So, open school wifi networks need to have some kind of filter. Even if schools are paying for the 3G or 4G subscriptions, they are not on the school’s network; they are on the cellular carriers network. It is a technicality, but I don’t think schools would be required to filter them. This is a good thing as it forces institutions to teach about how to use instead of restricting use.

  • http://jasontbedell.com Jason Bedell

    Will,
    You’re right, of course. Most schools are only superficially interested in personalization of learning, in large part because scripted “learning” is cheaper and prepares kids for scripted tests. However, I think some are moving towards this direction and can serve as models.
    Cary,
    I’ll be interested to hear how your program goes. I think you said it well. One device and one type of lesson is indeed much easier, but it is not the ideal solution when we want to individualize every class and lesson for every kid.

  • http://skipvia.com Skip Via

    Jason;
    Agreed. Of course, it’s one thing when a school supplies the 3G device and another when students bring their own. The latter situation would seem to me to involve parents to a much greater degree in what goes on in the classroom. Essentially, the decision about what a child could or could not access on a private 3G device would be a parental/family decision. Schools could (and should) set guidelines, but ultimately families would need to decide 1) if a child could have a 3G device and 2) what kind of access is acceptable. And that would be a whole new can of worms.

  • http://mrsbrophy.edublogs.org Cathy

    Personal Learning Devices and mobile technology-school owned vs. personally owned-is the elephant in the room. In my district, allowing personal devices to come into school-at least laptops, tablets, etc, would help level the playing field.Like Cary, we will never be able to afford to issue school owned devices of any kind to every student. If we allow students to bring their own personal learning tool,will that help level the playing field or create a wider digital divide? For rural areas with no Internet access, is 3G the solution? What about rural areas with little or no cell service? I am thinking, like Ira, about 10 years from now-and how can we create the systems and infrastructure to create individualized, personalized ,creative learning environments for EVERY student, regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location. I am thinking it really is not about the tool, and the filters, and the support, but about helping to create the world we would like to live in. My colleague said it best in response to issuing every student a “school owned’ device: “Everyone is different; if it were me, I would want to have my own laptop, with my own stuff on it, to use, all day, in all my classes, for whatever I need to use it for.”
    Cathy´s last [type] ..Are We There Yet Reflecting on EduCon 23

  • http://jasontbedell.com Jason Bedell

    Cathy,
    My problem with looking 10 years in the future is finding the right balance. While I recognize the need to plan long-term, what about my students right now? Both need attention and funds, even if politicians tend to favor funding short-term programs. How do you strike the right balance?

  • http://justincowen.posterous.com Justin Cowen

    Does anyone have a computer class where students bring in their own laptops? I have been pushing this idea for awhile now. The idea would be that everything taught would be open source or free on the web.

  • Dvora

    My first thought with this in a classroom was about making sure all students have the tools on their device to complete the task. When school owned, you do as a teacher know the tools available to all. But I see the point others have made of allowing students to use the tools they feel most comfortable. Tech support was often used for the laptops and students were not experts at organizing their files either, but again skills that can be taught. A couple of schools I have been at have allowed students to bring their own laptops (or I supposed other devices) to school and to be on the school network. One of the schools filtered youtube and twitter and Facebook, but then many students brought a 3G stick to access internet and did not have that “problem.” I think teaching students what is appropriate is a better way. Besides they won’t be filtered for life and better to learn now. Also if students are engaged in a lesson then they are less likely to be off task. When students bring, there is a divide on who has what and I think there should be a way to allow those who do not to have access to the same types of tools. Hmmmmm. It is a tricky problem.

  • http://ilearntechnology.com ktenkely

    Letting students choose their device is okay, as long as the devices have similar functionality. (thinking Kindle while useful not as useful as iPad for a variety of learning purposes). There has to be enough overlap of features that every students can work in a variety of ways. That being said, allowing students to use the device they are comfortable with is a good solution, chances are teachers have LESS to teach about the actual device because students have mastered the ins and outs on their own.
    ktenkely´s last [type] ..Planet Foss- Investigating Science by Taking Pictures

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