One to One

Our second class was interesting because we got to use Inspiration to brainstorm ideas. I was not able to get my program to work, although I had used it successfully in the past. After the Inspiration activity, we watched a series of videos about the Denali Borough School District. The district has implemented a "One to One" computer learning program in the high school. There students are each issued a laptop at the beginning of the year. Each student is expected to care for and use this laptop for completion of all assignments during the school year. All assignments are turned in to the teacher by email and the teacher comments on and returns said assignments to students by email.
All appearances are that the program has been successful. The students were able to transition from textbooks to computers easily. The teachers involved in the program report that it is successful; that the students are productive and make good use of their time while in class.
After we watched the video we were asked to write a blog about our hopes and concerns if we were to be teaching in a "One to One" computer teaching program.

Here are my impressions about the idea:


Concerns

1. I would be concerned that, at first, the kids would have trouble paying attention to me, instead would be surfing all over the internet.

2. I am concerned that the server would not be able to handle all the students trying to save their work at one time. Valuable time would be lost redoing work lost when the server crashed.

3. I am concerned that the students will not all have the same computer skills and some will need more instruction time to be brought 'up to' the level of those with better skills.

4. I am concerned that I will not have the skills needed to teach my students to use the computer and the applications installed on it.

5. I am concerned that I will not be able to accurately assess each student’s progress because of the lack of one-to-one contact.

6. If the server crashes all work will be lost. How will students save their work when this happens?

Hopes

1. I hope that the students will learn to collaborate with each other to effectively use classroom time.

2. I hope that the students will learn to find and identify the most up to date information available.

3. I hope that the students will learn to use the computer and will challenge themselves to learn applications other than those used everyday.

4. I hope that the students will be prepared better for the future.

5. I hope that my students will not be limited by information available locally and will consider all information available.

6. I hope that students will continue to read books, both for information and pleasure.


As I said, the Denali Borough School District implemented a "One to One" computer learning program in the high school. All appearances are that the program has been successful. Their first concern was that the students would not pay attention to the teachers, because they would be so curious about all that the computer had to offer. After a few days of allowing the kids to explore for a little bit longer than they would normally do, the students were compliant in the request to focus on their work and the instruction time. The teachers solved the problem of computers being a distraction by asking students to close their laptops when they were giving instructions and when they were not needed. A few times of having disciplinary action taken against those students not on task was enough to compel them to try to stay focused on the assigned work. The students were able to transition from textbooks to computers quite easily. The teachers involved in the program report that it is successful; that the students are productive and make good use of their time while in class. Another one of my concerns was that the students would not make good use of the time they have while in class. Not only were the students in the Denali Borough School on task, they were identifying problems, solutions, and goals, without input from the instructor, who was being interviewed by a camera crew at the time. Students were actively collaborating to ask and answer questions, based on the assignment given by the teacher. Although students are asked to do research on line, students report that they do still enjoy reading for pleasure. They find that the internet offers the most up to date information, and that it is easier to get to on- line resources. Those resources offer real-time answers to the assignment, and enable self guided team work. In order to help students find reputable information the teachers offer students a list of sources, which helps students narrow search options and provides examples of credible sources.
Teachers reported that the Denali Borough School District put a lot of thought and planning into the program before they implemented it. A server that could handle the expected volume was installed. There are tech people on sight and any problems with the server and the computers are handled quickly and on-sight. If a student forgets their laptop, or their machine is not functioning they can still do their work, because all work is saved to the server on a daily basis. They are given a "loaner" laptop, so that they do not have any non productive down time. The comment from teachers was that all students seemed to be comfortable with their laptops and knew how to use them. If any student was not able to do so, the teacher was able to teach them. Teachers had received enough prior instruction, because the laptops the students use are the same as the laptops the teachers already used. Students are encouraged to explore technology interests outside of the classroom and tech support and instruction is offered for those interests as well, whenever possible. It is encouraging that students are trained by the district to trouble shoot and repair the laptops in the school. These students are required to earn a "Apple Certified " tech certificate in order to do this, which is a valuable set of skills to have. It is also a valuable asset to the school to have students who can teach other students.
As a teacher, one of my concerns is that I will not be able to accurately access a student's progress because much of the work that students do is solitary. This fear was addressed by the Denali Borough teachers. Each student has an IEP, in order to focus on their learning/performance goals for the year. They felt that, by keeping in contact electronically with each student, that goals could be focused on and addressed continuously. Teachers said that the laptops changed the way that they taught; that they were forced to become more creative. They felt that they could focus in on each student and concentrate on each individual learning style.
Parents had a positive reaction to the laptops, overall. Once they were shown that their student was working and making progress, that the computer was adding to the quality of the education that their student
was receiving, parents were very positive. Parents reported that their students were able to teach them about computer use, and they felt that school use helped strengthen existing skills.
Watching the Denali Borough School District implement this "One on One " program and structure it to be successful is inspiring. I think it could be done in other Districts, and as long as they spent the time structuring it beforehand, it could be just as successful. Future - here we come-and we are eager to learn!