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.
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2 comments:
Hi, Mark,
This is an interesting post. I like to hear what is happening in education in other states and sections of the country. It sounds like Iowans are supportive of education. The high graduation rate and number of students going on to college is very encouraging.
I also think that just the fact that one-to-one computing is being discussed is certainly a good beginning. This type of initiative will take a significant investment in time, planning, and resources.
I am curious about the laptops "as needed" program that you mentioned. What exactly does that mean, and how is the "need" determined? A case could certainly be made that all students "need" one, while I suppose some people might say that nobody needs one. Anyway, I'd like to hear more about that.
It will be interesting to keep up with one-to-one computing initiatives around the country and see what develops over the next several years.
Lenrose
I agree with Lenrose that it is interesting to hear how others are progressing with technology around the country. I find it interesting that such a strong agriculturally-based area would have so many students attending college. We need to find out what they are doing that we aren't here! High School graduation is a problem in our county.
I was also intrigued by the "as needed". Does this mean that students checked them out as they needed to complete assignments? I think that could be a good way to compromise if funding does not permit all student to have one all the time. Did you see anything about what they do if the computer gets stolen while in their possession? I just don't know how some of our kids could replace them if this should happen to them, and I would bet many don't have home insurance that would cover it either.
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