Project Update

As I just posted on Lenrose's blog, I am now at a point where most of my lesson has been implemented and I'm ready to dive into making sure the documentation matches what I attempted in class. I have one more session down in the computer lab and then I'll be about finished (other than some of the follow up stuff back in the classroom). During this time, the students will be completing their Kid Pix artifact using one of the virtual rocks from the BBC SmartBoard lesson. With a real rock example in hand, students will "build" their structures, share with others, complete their rubrics, and reflect on the three lesson days in this project (hopefully these student-driven components will get be closer to the elusive LoTi Level 4a). As I've implemented the unit, several things have come up, though, and I need to address them on the webpage. I want this project to be something another teacher can pick up and immediately use. In fact, a few teachers have already successfully used portions of my lesson (the BBC site itself), so hopefully that is a good sign. Wish me luck as I attempt to finish things up this weekend and Monday morning in class!

How close is your school district to implementing 1-to-1 computing? What are the barriers in doing so?

For this post, I am focusing on the school system I grew up in, as well as the surrounding area and state as a whole. While I am currently teaching in Gwinnett County, I thought a look back at where the schools I grew up in are at with all of this would be more interesting.

I grew up in Ankeny, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. For those of you who don't know, Iowa is very much an agriculturally-based, working-class state. The schools are sound, but not flashy, graduation rates are high, and most students attend college after graduation. With that said, though, anytime I've looked into what was going on at home, to my dismay things seemed to be about the same as they are at the school where I currently teach. Traditional, standard-issue technologies (television, whiteboard, a computer or two per room, teacher laptop, etc.) always seemed locked into place. That is until I looked into this 1-to-1 initiative.

While I did not find evidence that Ankeny Public Schools was doing (or had publicly announced) anything of this sort, I did find that the state, through the Iowa Learning Technology Commission, was discussing 1-to-1 computing plans (or partial variations of them) at several local levels. A couple of those systems are near my hometown, so that is encouraging. In one, a grant focused on a 1-to-1 computer initiative for about half of the juniors in the system. This system also offered professional development and gave teachers new MacBook laptops. Another nearby school system also incorporated a modified, partial 1-to-1 system to provide laptops “as needed”. Whether this is technically 1-to-1 or not, it is still exciting news.

I will certainly keep checking back in to see how things are going back in Ankeny. Because of the progressive nature of the system, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they make a move to keep up with the local competition!

P.S. As far as obstacles to implementation, I am almost certain that the reason so many schools back home have not yet jumped on this initiative is due to the cost. Technology has always been embraced in Des Moines area schools, as the area is much more progressive than the rest of the state. Local communities would probably love the idea. Funding would be the major problem, though. If local boards could overcome this, I have no doubt 1-to-1 computing could thrive in the area.

Digital Citizenship Take-Aways

First of all, let me just say (and I know I'm in agreement with you all) that this was a great class! It felt like those two hours just flew by. It was definitely my favorite 7500 class so far, as I felt like I learned a lot about things I didn't know and a whole lot more about things I clearly didn't know enough about. I attended Lucas's Copyright Issues, Gretchen's Social Networking, and Erin and Katie's Cyberbullying presentations. All of them were excellent and very informative. Lucas did a great job opening all of our eyes to the extent and reach of existing copyright law. We all need to be more careful- that's for sure! Being that I grew up in the 80's and graduated high school in 1993, I didn't know much about cyberbullying and the ill-effects of its use. I have probably turned a blind eye to it as a teacher, as well, being that I teach 3rd grade. I now know that this is a problem for kids of all ages... beginning with children even younger than the ones I teach! That is very sad. Lastly, I felt I took a lot away from Gretchen's presentation. For someone who just set up a MySpace account a couple of years ago, is now doing their first blog, and has yet to join Facebook, I now realize the magnitude and reach of these sites. There are certainly some very exciting things on the horizon in education regarding Social Networking and its proper use!

I felt like Lenrose and I also learned a lot from the research involved in our presentation. I know I will never look at Internet filtering and blocking the same ever again. As I was telling Lisa in her blog, I think COPPA (and CIPA, in addition) needs to be made more apparent to teachers. These important pieces of legislation need to be in the forefront of our minds anytime our students are online.

I really enjoyed this class and the unique use of room to room movement in WebCT. I look forward to looking into the presentations I missed as well as looking deeper at the ones that I did. In addition to the Cool Tool Demos, this assignment was the most enjoyable of all we've done so far.

Have a great week!

Mark