SWWC's IT Department is deeply engaged in assisting our member school districts in 1 to 1 initiatives. We have put together the following resources and thoughts on 1 to 1 initiatives for your consideration. 

 

In the past, a high school history teacher, for example, might have had students conduct a semester-long research project. To help with their research, the teacher would schedule time in a computer lab, rotate groups of students on a few classroom computers, or simply expect students to use a home or library computer. Such irregular use of technology did not prove helpful for building students' technology skills or for successfully integrating technology into the classroom, however.

Students in one-to-one computing situations, on the other hand, have constant and immediate technological access to the world. Their teachers can address teachable moments immediately, break down classroom walls, and engage students in real-world learning. Students can take the technology with them throughout the day, continuing their school work at home, on a riverbank, in a waiting room, even at the mall.

 

 

 

1.     Engage: Bring together a cohort of teachers and administrators to meet regularly with your Technology and Curriculum Directors for the purposes of brainstorming and fact finding. This group will be instrumental and key in making a 1 to 1 initiative successful.

2.     Research: Investigate and identify the technology(ies) that best meet your needs in your 1 to 1 environment.  You may find that a variety of technology tools complement each other in your environment. Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb and try a device or concept that “everyone else” isn’t already doing. Innovation is the key, we want the students to be innovative, so an innovative approach to our 1 to 1 is completely acceptable and expected.

3.     Assessment: Get a picture of where your technology capacity and staffing is at, a Technology Audit will provide you with a good baseline and provide a starting point for your new Technology Plan that will incorporate your 1 to 1 Initiative. Your curriculum review team should also be involved in finding which areas of curriculum can be directly incorporated and planned into your 1 to 1 initiative.

4.     Planning: Put together a new Technology Plan that is built around your 1 to 1 Initiative and includes the professional development plans for all district staff, be careful not to exclude professional development plans for IT and other Administrative Staff members. Make sure your curriculum planning and mapping are consistently updated to incorporate room for the 1 to 1 initiative and future tools that will be incorporated into the classroom for instruction. How are you going to pay for the Initiative, how are you going to sustain it?

5.     Sell: Begin selling the initiative to your staff and start training staff on tools that can be integrated into your 1 to 1 initiative. This will help build buy-in and value in the project and staff will also be better prepared for the 1 to 1 devices when they get them, reducing the overall training burden that comes with the new devices.

6.     Implement: Plan on a year of chaos, but plan for the best. Your implementation won’t happen overnight, nor will all of the kinks be worked out in the first week or two of school like we are familiar with traditional technologies. Be sure to offer consistent and short trainings for staff to take part in, but don’t burn them out. Make it Exciting.

7.     Assess: During the first year, bring your engagement team together every other week to talk about the initiative and to share ideas. As you feel comfortable, back off on the frequency of the meetings, but make sure you continue to meet at least four times per school year in subsequent years.