06a+Managing+the+Pros+and+Cons

Principal Authors: Mr. Colin B. James & Miss Cindy Edwards **__06: One to One learning __** One to one computing is ‘an environment in which students or teachers use computing devices such as wireless laptops, personal digital assistants (PDA) or mobile phones in order to learn anytime anywhere,’( Evertson et. al, 2006). Terms such as ‘ ubiquitous computing ’ or ‘ pervasive computing ’ have been used to describe the one to one computing. According to Weiser (1995) cited in Evertson et al (2006), this new trend of computing is considered the most recent stage in the evolution of technology emerging from the era of mainframe computers and desktops. The decreasing costs, combined with the lighter weight of laptops and increasing availability of wireless connectivity, are all making such initiative more feasible to implement on a broad scale.
 * What is “One to One Computing/ Learning?” **

One to one computing (one student one computer) provides an equal opportunity for each student to learn with assistance of a computer at home or at school. This emerging trend is indicative of the attempts to bridge the digital divide between those who are in a position to afford and those who can't. According to Penuel (2006) widespread access to computers is making it possible for students and teachers to make the transition from occasional, supplemental use of computers for instruction to more frequent, integral use of technology across a multitude of settings. Students can now access a wider array of resources to support their learning, to communicate with peers and their teachers, to become fluent in their use of the technological tools of the 21st century workplace.
 * Why 1:1 Computing: **

Students are powerful users of technology but with our guidance as teachers they can become more powerful, being able to leverage technology for learning and productivity. Giles (2007) argues that the emphasis should shift from technology to pedagogical approaches which support the tools.

In the following video, teachers share their views on 1:1 Computing and its relevance to 21st century learning.

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Livingston (2007) cited in Huseh (2008) listed three advantages accrued from one to one technology environment to enhance learning:


 * Self -Directed Learning: focuses on the process whereby one takes control of their own learning, in particular how they set their own goals, locate appropriate resources, decide on which learning methods to use and evaluate their progress during learning (Hovegna & Mantas 2004). With the appropriate use of technology and the coaching by teachers students can become self-directed learners. Livingston (2007) claims that they would think and solve problems faster as well as easily write, edit, revise, rewrite and then submit their assignment from home.


 * Higher Order Thinking: The process of acquiring and manipulating information and ideas to construct knowledge is shortened whenever student has a digital assistant. This means that analysis and higher order thinking can happen more readily.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">More On Time Task: Having a digital assistant in any form to take from school to home will mean better work in terms of research, writing and presentation Livingston (2007).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">Key implementation factors:


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Roll out teachers laptops in advance of the students’ so as to give teachers time to become familiar with the technology.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Implement change management leadership by the principal. This is viewed by many as the second most important element in guaranteeing a successful 1:1 programme.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Integrate technology into the core curriculum on a weekly basis.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Practicing daily online collaboration by students.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Using search engine by students daily.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Performing online formative assessments at least weekly.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Taking frequent virtual field trips.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Training Principals in teacher buy-in, best practice and technology transformed learning.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">It is a wonder that more technology isn't used in schools, especially considering that most people and businesses cannot function without the use of a computer. Having more computers in schools could improve the level of instruction and address many of the problems in schools. The real pros and cons of using technology in the classroom create a stalemate that can prevent technology from being used more widely in the classroom.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">One to one learning with the use of Technology in the Classroom: Pros and Cons **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">·1. Exploration <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Pros: Computers allow students to learn through exploring the internet and doing research. The act of looking up information and researching papers with such an extensive resource can keep students engaged in a project and learning far longer than they would with a set of encyclopedias. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Cons: Some students will explore beyond the bounds and parameters of the project and become distracted by other activities that they find on the internet. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">2. Lesson Integration <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Pros: By incorporating technology into lessons, students will become more engaged in and excited about the subject at hand. Lessons that would normally be tedious for many, such as social studies, can be much more engaging with virtual field trips and streaming video. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Cons: Finding the right materials online to integrate into a lesson is not always easy. This means teachers may spend a lot more time planning lessons and become overwhelmed and frustrated.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Pros: In special needs classrooms, each student is able to go at his or her own pace with the help of technology. This allows the students get individual instruction directly from the computer, which allows the teacher to accomplish more while feeling less stretched. Special needs students who are handicapped can also make use of assistive technology, which can allow them to communicate better. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Cons: Special needs technology can be very expensive and take an inordinate amount of money to acquire and operate.The task of finding the right program for special needs students can become challenging ,where you may find an interactive program but it may not lend itself to the particular class needs.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">3 **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">. Special Needs

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Pros: Schools can secure grants to help pay for for technology in the classroom. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Cons: Technology in general is expensive. Schools with minimal technology resources can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Classroom technology, especially laptops for individual student use, must be replaced every two to three years. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Tech staff is required for a school with technology in the classroom. The more computers the school uses, the more people will be needed to keep the technology running.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">4 **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">. Costs

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">5. Training <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Pros: Training required for teachers and students using technology in the classroom will keep the user’s computer literate and allow both teachers and students to use their training in part-time jobs and future careers. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Cons: Training to use computers in the classroom can be costly and time-consuming. Many teachers are unwilling to participate in the extra training. many teachers may also be unable to link the training they receive to the actual practical work classroom use.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Pros: Technology in the classroom is not just for students. Teachers can use the technology to keep student records, plan lessons and communicate with parents.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">6. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">Teacher Tools


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">7. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">Broadens learning beyond the classroom
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pros: Time and distance no longer create barriers when student can access the world around them in an instant. Students can see news unfold on their laptops. Students can also see locations around the world on a webcam and get real-time data.


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">Pitfalls to avoid when implementing a One to One Computing Programme: __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">1. **Insufficient budgetary planning**: There’s a lot of ways for this to go wrong - no planning for support or upgrade costs, not enough budget to provide enough training, etc. It is better to overestimate than under-estimate. If something ultimately has to be slashed at budget approval time in order to keep the project moving forward, very careful thought has to be given to what you can give up without introducing a high element of risk to your project.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">2. **Failing to secure senior administrator/executive-level buy in and sponsorship:** In order for the technology imperative to succeed, the school’s top administrators or cabinet level managers must buy into the idea. Support and sponsorship from at least one upper level administrator can help ensure sufficient resources, and establish the project as a priority. Without it, that’s an important support missing from your project’s foundation.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">3. **Limited training**: Another common implementation hurdle is planning to provide the training needed to really get users comfortable with the new or updated technology. Often there is some provision for training, but it simply isn’t enough. If the technology project is to succeed, sufficient training has to be provided along with hand-holding to make users productive with it. This training should be part of the programme from the start and it should be on going.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">4. **Inadequate technical testing/validation**: This seems like such a no-brainer, yet it is not unheard of for a tech implementation to struggle or fail because of some undetected incompatibility, or other untested assumption. The technology that is to be used must be tested in real-world conditions. The more reflective the testing is of the ways in with the technology will be used when it is in production, the better will be the chances of uncovering potential issues and addressing them (or at least being aware of them before you “throw the switch”). Surveys should also be carried out among staffing at schools to find out if implementing a given program is feasible or not.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">5. **Failure to involve teachers from the onset**: If technology is going to be used by teachers, then they must be involved up front, and not just be brought in after the project has moved through initial stages. This often makes the difference between teachers feeling they are being told what to do, and having them on board and sharing ownership and the desire for success. Moreover, well-chosen members of staff can provide valuable insights into potential challenges, or angles to technology uses that others simply wouldn’t think of. Even if a technology is indirectly related to staff (new tools for students, or parent portals, for example), you would be wise to seek staff members perspective early and often.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">6. **Not understanding the student’s perspective**. This is similar to the issue above, and the same basic approach can help to circumvent related issues, but I want to mention another aspect of this that is germane to the educational environment. Often a technology may be focused on one audience, like staff, but have an impact on the students. Maybe a new attendance taking or grade management tool is being implemented. The student may never see or use the tools themselves, but their academic lives may very well be impacted by the technology (if either of the aforementioned types of systems result in improper information being stored this would surely impact students!). Make sure to take some time to consider this important angle.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">7. **Insufficient support**: Once the technology is in place, users have to have a functional method for getting questions answered, and resolving issues. Users need to know who to contact and how to contact them, and they need to be able get their problems addressed in a timely manner. If there is no workable solution for this, it is highly likely that users are not going embrace this new or enhanced technology, and the project is going to head in the wrong direction.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">8. **Failure to incorporate training into on-boarding for new users:** This could easily fall under the category of “limited training” above, but it is really a long term consideration and it often seems to get overlooked. A ton of resources may be put into training during the initial roll out of a new technology, and it may get up and running right on target, but if a plan is not in place for how new users are going to get up to speed with the tools in the months and years that follow, there are going to be unhappy new users and the short term success can be tainted over the long haul.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">9. **No/limited risk assessment**: One of the elements of project management that is often overlooked is consideration of assumptions being made and the risks that come from those assumptions not holding true. At a minimum, there is often an unspoken assumption that many things simply will not change. Can’t you just hear it now? “Well, we assumed that …”. It’s really not that hard to consider and document assumptions on which the success of your project is based (things like having adequate bandwidth, users liking the solution and feeling they have a need for it, related/dependent technologies being available, and so on). Once documented, circulate the list to stakeholders who can provide perspective on the possibility of any of these assumptions being mistaken or misinformed, then listen to what they have to say and put some thought into what to do if those concerns come to pass. This doesn’t have to be a major effort – just take a little time to consider the possibilities so you aren’t blindsided if something doesn’t work out as intended.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">10. **Poor (or absent) long term planning**: Okay, the technology is up and running, and has worked reasonably well for a year or so now. Time to re-up for support and maintenance, or pay the next licensing installment. What’s that, you forgot to budget for contract renewal? Uh-oh. Or maybe the technology is so popular and well received that more users than originally intended vie for licensing, or the use of technology consumes more resources (like network storage or Internet bandwidth) than you planned for. Try to make sure that a little of the project is devoted to planning to considering the long term possibilities (this ties into the risk assessment element above).


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19.3333px;">Useful tips on Classroom Management for teachers in 1 to 1 learning environment: __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">One of the essential skills of an effective class teacher is that of good classroom management. Classroom management is imperative if children are going to learn and must be built from the ground up so that most problems do not occur. The following is a list of classroom management strategies that are considered essential to 1 to 1 learning environment.


 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Establish expectations ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">: Good pedagogy requires that we tell students what is expected of them whether or not laptops are involved. It would also be useful to develop a set of classroom rules specific to laptop use such as no idle surfing, no Instant Messaging and so on and so forth. Be consistent in the application of these rules.


 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Seating arrangement: ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> This is perhaps the simplest method for managing your classroom. Experiment with different seating arrangement for group work and testing. It is essential that you are able to view the laptop screen and can walk around the class.


 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Lesson development ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">: A good lesson plan that keeps the children involved will reduce classroom problems whether you are using laptops or not. In your lesson plans, spell out exactly what you expect children to do with their laptops. Make sure any use of the laptop in the class is appropriate, and not its own distraction. Teachers are to make sure interactive learning programs and games actually capture students attention and interest so much so. Students will be active learners and be willing to participate rather than do as the teacher say.


 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Manage by walking around (MWA): ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Walk around the class in ways that allow you to see the most in one view. Watch for certain telltale signs, such as when pupils have their eyes fixated on the screen, or they are typing faster than normal, or their heads remain in a downward position longer than necessary. These are sign that pupils may be off track. Get them to refocus in the least intrusive manner.


 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Model use, be a steward of technology ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">: Modeling is one of the basic techniques which can effectively impact a student. As educators we are supposed to be agents of change so let change begin with us. If we are going to ensure the adoption of proper netiquette by our students, then we need to display these actions for them.


 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Plan for the unexpected ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">: Always think ahead and have a contingency plan for unexpected events that might occur in the classroom.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">References __

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Dede, C. & Richards, J. (2012). //Digital Platforms Customizing Classroom Learning for Each// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Student. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;"> Teacher College Press.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Everston, C.M & Weinstein, C.S. (2006). //Handbook of Classroom Management Research,// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Practice and Contemporary Issues //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">. Routledge.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Penuel, W.R. (2006). //Implementation and Effect of One to One Computer Initiatives: A// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Research Synthesis, Journal of Research on Technology in Education. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;"> (Retrieved, 20th September, 2012)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Perera, P. G. (2008). //How Computer Related Technology is Incorporated into Instructional// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Methods. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;"> ProQuest

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Pullen, M. (2012). //Pros & Cons: Is Elementary too Early for 1:1 Technology?// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">(Retrieved, 25th September, 2012)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Hsueh Su-Ling (2008). //An Investigation of the Technological, Pedagogical and Content// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Knowledge Framework in Successful Chinese Language Classroom. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;"> ProQuest

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Livingston, P. (2006). //One to One Learning Laptop Programmes that Work.// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education)