Selling the Dream of 1:1 Computing

Say the following…

Our costs should go down with the elimination of maintenance and IT personnel as these responsibilities are shifted to each student, and in the case of repairs, the vendor.

We have spent too much money creating computer labs where too few students have too little access to the resources they need. Our failure to inspire teachers to use computers across the curriculum is a result of such scarcity.

Excellent low-cost insurance and warranties exist for student laptops.

The purchase of laptops represents an investment in much needed research and development.

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Students will learn from a variety of sources and develop critical literacy skills by considering multiple perspectives, bias and evidence. In addition to the laptops, teachers will be encouraged to use other primary source materials in the curriculum.

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The laptops offer the potential today for students to engage in the real work of mathematicians, scientists, composers, filmmakers, authors and engineers.

We have an obligation to build upon the technological fluency the students bring to us.

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Too many of our students “check out” for some or all of their education. We must stem the tide of the growing epidemic of learning disability and students dropping out.

A computationally-rich learning environment can provide all students unprecedented opportunities to demonstrate their intellectual competence and creativity. This will place fewer students “at-risk” and make them more productive members of the learning community.

Students will also get to apprentice with teachers who too are learning in new ways.

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Computers are integral to the world of our students and it is incumbent upon us to build upon the skills, attitudes and interests they bring to us.

Every child in our district should be taught to program computers and understand the critical role computer science is playing across nearly every other discipline.

Computer use must be appropriate, transparent and ubiquitous across the curriculum and computer science must be offered to all students interested in more specialized knowledge.

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Computer fluent students shift from being mere consumers to producers of knowledge and other forms of creative expression. They can contribute ideas and artifacts to the digital world that will be admired and useful.

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It is inexcusable to run out of basic supplies and we will work harder to ensure that it does not occur.

Roof repair does not come out of the instructional budget and if it did, repairing roofs would do nothing to help us reinvent education for the 21st Century.

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The entire nature of schooling will and must change. If we do not respond to the promise of emerging technology and the threats posed by social forces, we will not remain viable.

The laptops provide a platform for beginning the reinvention of curriculum, teaching, assessment and school structures. Just as many parents are telecommuting or working from home, some of our students may as well.

We need to have serious discussions about how to spend the precious time we are all together (students and educators) in one physical space and maximize that time. What can be done better or more efficiently online?

We complain about student attention spans and yet ring a bell every 37 minutes and interrupt their thinking. Laptop schools have demonstrated routinely that the work students produce on their own time with the laptop often exceeds our wildest expectations of our students’ abilities.

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All students are expected to construct, communicate and defend original thoughts to a community of experts and laypeople.

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Students feel respected when they are trusted with such important devices and have exceeded our expectations all over the world for the past 15 years. Students are competent and worthy of our trust.

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Young children will still be taught to write by hand since they desire to do so, but a much lower emphasis will be placed upon penmanship and a greater emphasis on expressing oneself via the keyboard. Research suggests that the keyboard is actually more compatible with young motor skill development than handwriting.

This shift will have the benefit of creating fewer learning disabilities among students who confuse “writing” (penmanship) with “real writing” (the ability to express oneself). The district will save large sums of money by not purchasing handwriting curricula materials.

Calligraphy will be addressed in art classes rather than as an obstacle to the writing process.

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The quantity and quality of student writing will increase dramatically. Peer-editing will become commonplace and students will be responsible for creating several publications each year worthy of public distribution via print, video, audio or the World Wide Web.

Writing will be less an exercise and more a way of sharing knowledge and telling stories to different audiences.

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The personal computer has revolutionized every other aspect of society and one expects that the same should be true for education now that laptops are more affordable, durable and portable.

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So is our football program. Besides, schools routinely spend more money on the real estate, furniture and wiring for computer labs than it would cost to provide a computer per student.

Instead of building television studios to be used by a handful of students, every student will have a studio in their backpack.

We won’t need computer teachers when every teacher teaches with computers.

We can’t afford any more precious classroom space being used up as computer labs.

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Some probably will and they will be disciplined in the same manner as if they brought a copy of Playboy to school. We will not overreact just because a computer was involved since the laptop is an integral part of the learning process.

Most students will use their laptops responsibly. A highly qualified teacher or parent nearby is the best filter and our emphasis on using computers will not be idle web surfing.

You do children no favor by insulating them from some of life’s less desirable elements, especially since they already spend so much time using computers. You teach children how to respond to inappropriate images or solicitation, just as you teach them not to get in a car with strangers.

Students will use the computers in purposeful ways in the creation of meaningful projects they care about.

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1:1 computing reduces all of the excuses for a lack of computer use and sends a definitive message that computers in education are not a fad.

Some teachers may need to rethink their career options.

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As the primary intellectual instrument of our time, all students will need to use a laptop in order to be a successful participant in our learning community. We do not allow parents to exclude their student from the use of books.

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Since the laptops represent a deliberate effort to expand learning beyond the boundaries and schedule of school, it is critical that they be used at home. This also helps us extend the formal learning community to include parents, siblings and other people important in the lives of each student.

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Schools have had 1:1 computing for more than 15 years. Microcomputers have been in schools for 25 years. We owe it to our students to close the digital divide immediately and offer expanded learning opportunities. We cannot afford to sacrifice another generation of students.

PC means personal computer. The personal nature of the laptop supports and amplifies the personal nature of learning

Besides, the opposition to 10 laptops is the same as the opposition to 10,000 laptops. We need to have the courage to lead on behalf of the children we care about.