I’ll take easy over never every day of the week
Recently, Jon Corippo called me out on twitter for taking the easy route with chromebooks when it comes to getting devices into the hands of students. I respect Jon immensely as a visionary educational leader who consistently challenges me to think about what I am doing and why. In fact, Jon is the person who set me on the 1:1 path. Jon is constantly pushing the boundaries of conventional thinking. We need people like Jon to challenge us. People who live ten years in the future and inspire us to be better, to do better, to ensure the future they live in will come true one day. Without visionaries like Jon, we would still be writing in the dirt with sticks and wondering what the surface of the moon was really like.
But there is a difference between being a visionary living in the future and living in the present working to make the future a reality for everyone. The reality for many districts is one of underfunded technology, understaffed technical support, non-existent edtech departments and spotty infrastructure. For districts with limited resources, easy may mean the difference between a future with 1:1 access for students and good old textbooks. So yes, to make the future accessible for students today, I’ll take easy over never every day of the week.
What devices are you providing your students and why?
Arnie, and 
There is no box 
mvollmert 7:41 am on October 28, 2014 Permalink |
Netbooks running Ubermix, dude! Meets your cost and support parameters, and Corippo’s “get the kids a device with stuff” mantra.
Sisqitman 11:57 pm on November 14, 2014 Permalink |
We reclaimed 90 Dell Latitude 2110’s (basically a Netbook) this year with Ubermix to provide devices that are web-based and have Java…but Chromebooks are our mainstay – easy is part of the equation in that choice, price, meeting our district objectives, ease of use, ease of setup & maintenance, integration with the Haiku LMS and GAFE, etc. We also have at least one computer lab in each school with Dell desktops/laptops. I’m “the guy” for 600 students + staff in four rural schools, so support is a limiting factor. I agree with the mantra “get the kids a device” (-with stuff is optional). Honestly, the biggest challenge is not having the technology, but having teachers that are skilled in using it to move toward more student-centered learning approaches.
Arnie 8:23 pm on October 28, 2014 Permalink |
Not many devices, really. I just don’t see how 1:1 is attainable nor sustainable. Even if it were, we as teachers are completely on our own for lms, apps, resetting AP’s. I just don’t see this happening. The few wealthy districts will quickly pull away from the rest. Then, we will see if tech actually improves student outcomes.