Comments on: Laptop project update

By: Teaching Generation Z » Blog Archive » Interactive Pedagogies

Teaching Generation Z » Blog Archive » Interactive Pedagogies — Tue, 29 May 2007 12:59:17 +0000

[...] One of the big criticisms about interactive whiteboards is that it looks too much like a traditional classroom tool and that if we are serious about making education relevant to today’s world, then digital reincarnations of yesterday’s tools aren’t going to cut it. Interestingly, the other alternative according to some advocates is 1:1 laptop computing which gets the technology into the hands of the student. Some recent reports out of the US are now reporting that concept hasn’t always paid off in the manner predicted and some critics are labelling 1:1 laptop initiatives a failure. So what does work? Like my UK colleague, Tom Barrett, I’m in charge of a school initiative to get a small scale wireless laptop program up and running. Like Tom, we’re not looking at every student with a laptop that travels between home and school but rather a flexible computing solution that doesn’t require a timetabled lab or computers tied to limited access points. In short, the goal is for kids to have the computing power come to them, at their desk, clustered in workgroups around the room without the constraint of cables and the time and momentum loss of shifting to a dedicated computing room. The laptop is not the focus of the classroom but a tool to be used when applicable. Same goes for our interactive whiteboards. [...]

By: dharter

dharter — Wed, 16 May 2007 00:15:02 +0000

Thanks for your comment on my post Tom. It is nice to know that they are like-minded educators out there. It is reassuring as I develop my own vision of education as I Think Aloud (Allowed) on the blog. It is commenters and readers who make it the powerful medium that it is.

Best of luck with implementation. I will be reading through your blog for Smart Board tips and suggestions.

(also my apologies on the link in my last comment…rushed the parentheses instead of the

By: dharter

dharter — Tue, 15 May 2007 01:46:59 +0000

The key component of a successful laptop program implementation will be the (a href = “http://dharter.edublogs.org/2007/05/10/my-turn/”>support you offer your teachers. They need to know how to teach, class manage, and plan for their students on laptops. When to use them, when not to. When to have students lower their screens, and when to have them working two to a machine.

Sometimes these skills seem obvious to those in Ed. Tech. They are not obvious to all teachers. Maintenance will be a factor, but only if laptop classroom management is not handled well. If you are not sending them home with the kids (we are the same at my school), then you have the opportunity to ensure that they are treated well, but teachers HAVE to take this responsibility.

As for wireless…you are going to need it to work reliably before you can really implement. Otherwise, it’s just frustration, and that will lead to failure.

Battery life was/is a factor for us, but now we deal directly with the manufacturer of our laptops and they build special batteries for us with longer life than typical. Look into this option…