I am excited about the 1-to-1 Technology Initiative that we have been implementing at Muir Lake School. We are in year one of our three year plan to see all of our students in Learning Communities 4-9 to have access to a personal laptop in every class to be utilized whenever it is the best tool for the learning activity.
Let me be clear. Just adding access to technology for our students is not the goal. We don’t want $500 notebooks sitting on every child’s desk functioning as expensive pen and paper. Our focus is learning first. We want our students to be able to collaborate and extend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom. We want our students to think critically and problem solve. We want our students to increase information fluency and literacies (National Council of Teachers of English Definition of 21st Century Literacies and My Kids Are Illiterate. Most Likely Yours Are Too). We want our students to be prepared for their future, opening a world of opportunities to them. We want them to be able to solve problems that we don’t know are problems yet, and make careers in jobs that currently do not exist. We want them to be creative, innovative, motivated and engaged in their learning. We want students to choose and explore different ways to demonstrate their learning. We want every student to succeed to the best of their ability. Utilizing 1-to-1 learning environments effectively accomplishes this.
Our classrooms should no longer look like they did in the past. As technology evolves, so must our classrooms and the tools that we use. 1-to-1 learning environments are the future of education. Truthfully, to say it is the future and leave it at that is doing our students a disservice. The future is now. The challenge is creating these environments now, making them a reality of the present in every class, in every school.
For those interested in seeing in more detail the work we have been doing regarding our 1-to-1 Technology Initiative, here are some linked resources. Feel free to use, modify and adapt anything that will help you in your school. Contact me if you have any questions and I would love for you to share any resources or work that you have been doing in your school in regards to implementing a 1-to-1 technology in the classroom.
1-to-1 Technology Documents & Resources
1-to-1 Learning Communities Presentation
1-to-1 Technology Initiative Overview
1-to-1 Technology Initiative Implementation Plan
1-to- 1 Technology Initiative Parent Frequently Asked Questions
1-to-1 Parent Introduction Letter: Planning Team Invitation
1-to-1 Technology Initiative General Introduction Letter
1-to-1 Student Survey
1-to-1 Parent Survey
1-to-1 Letter of Intent to Purchase
1-to-1 Blog Post Summary of Parent Information Session
Technology Innovation Plan Letter to Parents
Technology Acceptable User Agreement