Many schools are 1:1 or are on their way. A pioneer in Thailand with this type of program was the New International School of Thailand (NIST) with its tablet program. However, is 1:1 enough?
Maybe 3:1 is the way we should be thinking!!
What is a 3:1 program? It would look, as Paul White puts it, with “students having multiple devices (iphone, ipad, and netbook, depending on the task)”
Frasier Speir states the following:
I can tell you some long-term big trends that I’ll bet on right now:
- Pupils and teachers will never wish they had fewer computers.
- Pupils and teachers will never wish their devices had shorter battery life than the iPad.
- Pupils and teachers will never wish that they had to queue up to get access to computers.
- Pupils and teachers will never wish that their internet access was slower.
- Pupils and teachers will never want a device that’s harder to use than the iPad.
- Teachers will never want to have to go to a special classroom to use The Computers.
- Nobody will want a device that’s more expensive and less capable than the iPad.
- Nobody will want to carry around a device that’s significantly heavier than the iPad all day.
- Pupils will not want to use a special “education device” when the market is going elsewhere.
- Schools will not want to deploy a device that requires more tech support than an iPad.
Everyone is mentioning the iPad as the possible way to go or the industry standard with regards to initiating a 1:1 or 3:1 program these days, but what other options are presently available out there:
Is your school up to speed? Will your students be able to compete with so many others?
Educators in this video are saying,
“1:1 is no longer an option. It is a necessity.”
In order to do it, “Go all at once. Communicate about what is happening with teachers, parents and students.”
Why not, “enable learning to happen anywhere at any time”?
As educators, “it will force you to rethink the learning space and the learning time”
“Skills-based learning, for example Microsoft Word, without real-world application is frustrating” A 1:1 program means that students are using the tools as they need them.
“1:1 allows students to use technology in all areas of the curriculum.”
“New conversations are developed that are not focused on technology,because technology is the source and the resource used for active planning.”
In order for a 1:1 program to take place, the school needs to consider the infrastructure it has in place. It needs, “good wifi, good technical support” and also proper power sources for students to replenish and power-up their devices.
It doesn’t take much. It could start with the school asking for students to have a computer or pad with certain requirements. From there the school can grow and modify as it sees fit. One of the last speakers in the video also mentioned that it is, “important for staff to have continuous professional development” with regards to technology.
I couldn’t agree more.
education | technology | design 