I don’t know why there is a fear of laptops but it is there. I recently went to Minnetonka to observe a school that is very technology oriented. When I talked with teachers and administrators about there school and they asked what technology we had they were taken back that we had laptops for every student. You should have seen there eyes when I explained that there are teachers that are against the 1 to 1 initiative. They could not comprehend how a teacher would not want computers for each student. So I thought about why teachers don’t want to have computers.

Here is what I thought of
• Time
o Yes it does take time to use computers, but how much time do they save by instant access to information and not moving down to the computer labs when you need computers.
• Classroom Management
o This is a big problem with the computers and one I struggled with in the first part of the year. Then I found out this amazing thing it was spectacular when I figured this out. It is my classroom, I could control when the students are on the computers, I can control what programs they are in with a program called synchroneyes. What was most incredible was when I asked them to close their computers they did. The problem with classroom management is that it is difficult and requires different techniques to manage the students and remember that the teacher is in control.
• Games and information
o The answer to this question is a bit harder and I won’t claim to have all of the answers but when the majority of our students have computers and internet access at home and I would be will to be that most of the students have some sort of gaming counsel as well. These problems run much deeper than the 1 to 1 program but it is something that we have to work on and why we have programs like lightspeed and synchroneyes. This is one of the things that we as educators need to help with and I also wonder where the parents fall into this issue.
o I also feel like since this is a problem that he have responsibility to fix the issue because we are educators and we need to educate the students.
• Cost
o Computers are a major investment and not all of the cost of the computers goes into hardware some of it goes into software and insurance on the computers. I also feel however the state gets money for programs is a good thing. I knew the pay when I choice this field and it is not good, but teacher pay is a separate issue and as a teacher I feel the most important thing is what is best for the student and computers are what is best for our students.

So to answer why 1 to 1 because it is what is best for the students.

Yes we have things to learn. And no the system is not perfect yet. But the 1 to 1 is what you make of it and just like we tell our students you have a choice to make will you move forward embrace a program that literally puts the world at you and your students finger tips or go back to the way teachers have taught since before the car, the computer, or the internet.

No doubt the use of computers and laptops is essential and has become infused in virtually every part of society.

Some staff members wanted a cart of computers in every classroom at the beginning of this project. Their concerns and suggestions were ignored. I just walked through the lunchroom this morning and observed 18 computers. I observed 12 games being played, 5 in email and one student using their computer for academic purpose. I don’t like the culture that is being set at the school byt the laptops.

Students need to have fun, but the atmosphere of the school should be one of learning. How is Kung-Fu Jesus beating up an angel an appropriate academic setting.

I believe that the following could be achieved without laptops 24/7:
• Spend more time involved in collaborative work
• Participate more in project-based learning
• Produce writing of higher quality and greater length
• Gain increased access to information
• Improve research analysis skills
• Direct their own learning
• Readily engage in problem solving and critical thinking
• Consistently show deeper and more flexible uses of technology

We seem to have experienced every problem that the Liverpool has experienced.

I am very concerned with the achievment gap that laptops have contributed rather than solved. Most students handle the laptops fine, but many of lowest performing students don’t have the maturtiy to handle all of the distractions by the laptop.

Sorry to sound negative but I am very displeased with the adminstration of the laptops for some very fundamental reasons.
1. Why do students need to check their email every 90 minutes? Why are we giving up class time to check their email unless it is part of the class?
2. Why do students get their laptops 3 weeks before school starts? They develop bad habits before they even walk through our classroom door. They shouldn’t get their computers until they have been drilled about the appropriate and educational purposes of the laptop.
3. Why isn’t their background pasted with “Property of Watertown School District.” Some students have the view that the computer is their property not that this is a tool for educational purposes. If one teacher or adminstrator spends time with one student because of an inappropriate background this is one too many.

Now that I have said all of the negatives, I would be the first to object to removing the laptops from the classroom. I have spent too much time developing the course to use the computers to get rid of them.

I believe that when we work together to help one another gain comfort with this machince, the better we will be. I also believe that the machine is only a tool that not everyone should be forced to use if it is not appropriate for their field. However, in every field, there are some ways you can utilize a computer and I believe that is what should be asked of our faculty.