1:1 Initiative

As I was reading today’s articles, and focusing on the question ‘what can we learn from the failures of others as we implement 1:1 and BYOD initiative in our own schools,’ a statement by Alan November really resonated with me.  He says that administrators need to “ensure that technology is seen not as another initiative, but as integral to curriculum.”  And, herein, lies the problem.  Many of the tech tools that are purchased for our students use, are bought for the wrong reasons.  Districts are spending money, which they sometimes do not even have, to “buy high-tech devices because they want to be seen as technologically innovative and ahead of other districts and garner public support because they are being competitive” (Cuban).  

In order for these initiatives to be successful, the mindset of educators must change, and November states that the one way to do that is to change the name from 1:1 initiative to 1:world initiative.  Doing so will change the focus of technology use from making sure that each child has a computer to how can we change the way we teach and learn.  More importantly, administrators need to be given the proper training, such as we are getting, on how to use tech tools, be able to model the use for their staff and then give them the freedom to take risks and make mistakes, from which they can learn.

The two schools discussed in A Culture of Innovation, Baltimore County’s Halstead Academy and Chase Elementary School, are being successful at the 1:1 computing initiative for some of the very reasons that I describe in the previous paragraph.  In addition to that, the leaders of both schools understand “the importance of bringing their communities together around a clear vision, based on prior change efforts” (Pautz). (NETS-A 1a)  They want to promote a culture of learning for staff and students, so encourage professional learning communities so teachers can work collaboratively, professional development opportunities whenever possible and even suspend staff meetings so that staff can spend time learning new ways to implement the technology more effectively into their lessons and curriculum, all to ensure the success of students.

As a future leader, I want to be able to use many of the ideas shared in today’s readings.  Of course, the most important factor is for me to focus on learning how to use the tools myself, with confidence, so that I can model their use more effectively.  I also like the idea of having teachers share practices that work and collaborate to create more effective tools during staff meetings, whenever information can be given on the school blog, which is an important way to model how information can be disseminated. (NETS-A 1b)  I still have a lot to learn about technology implementation, but I am on my way. (NETS-A 1c)