K-12 Computing Blueprint News - August 2008

Welcome to the August issue of the K-12 Computing Blueprint newsletter. This newsletter and the K-12 Computing Blueprint site  are brought to you by Intel and Tech & Learning. If, for any reason, you do not want to receive this monthly eNewsletter, please visit your custom subscription management page (the link is at the bottom of this email), and feel free to unsubscribe to this mailing.

At this time of year newspapers are filled with “back to school” stories about changes of all sorts taking place in classrooms, schools and districts around the country. Will your students be returning to new school buildings? A reconfigured district? Some brand new programs?

As you'll see from this month's headlines, a number of the news stories these days focus on one-to-one programs that are gaining momentum. Raymond, WA,  Bryan, TX, and Dorchester, MA, are just three examples of communities that are expanding their laptop programs for the coming school year, while Henrico, VA, reports on new signs of success and Pennsylvania's Classrooms of the Future project expands to 152 more districts.

Of course, the news is not exclusively positive. Henrico is puzzling over a few test scores that are lagging, for example, and a number of local and state programs struggle to find the funding to continue their programs. But in the vast majority of one-to-one settings the determination is there to find a way to continue – to build upon a successful pilot or launch and extend the benefits of one-to-one computing to a growing number of students.  Who knows, maybe we're not that far from a day when a newsletter about “one-to-one computing” will be as nonsensical as a newsletter about one-to-one pencil or chair access.

Judy Salpeter, Editor

The Results: Do Cell Phones Belong in the Classroom?

Here's what you, our community members, had to say:

• 2/3 of the respondents told us, “Cell phones have no place in the classroom except for emergencies.”
• 1/3 of you disagreed, saying, “Cell phones are powerful, readily-available tools and we should be using them as part of our educational program.”

Some of your comments:

Cell phones can be used for text messaging, replying to emails, learning to upload & edit photos, and many now have video cameras. The possibilities are endless... Students must constantly be supervised, as they should be for everything they do. I know my students have more advanced, and better cell phones than I do; we could all learn from these new tools of the 21st century
-- Denise

I think the power of the cell-phone's cameras alone make them a useful tool for the classroom. It is time we let students use all accessible tools to create projects.
-- Beth

The pro-cell comments sound very progressive, but the reality is that we have to use classroom management systems in computer labs to monitor our students' computer use as is. There are those that abuse the privilege. I train teachers who check their email (one was doing a search for a new sofa) so I turn off the Internet. It's just too tempting.
-- TS

Even if you want to use them as tools in the classroom, teachers should avoid using them because of difference in individual phones' abilities (usually based on phone cost which could be a social stigma) and services plans that students have. You must also account for students who do not have that resource without singling them out as being under-privileged or from a family who does not allow them that luxury.
-- B Savant

With the introduction of smartphones, cell phones will eliminate the issue of one-to-one computers for students and districts having to fund them. Students will be able to bring them in themselves and the cost will be very minimal
-- T Curley

I have seen texting of test questions, text messaging has interfered with other electronics in the classroom(wireless printers) and just plain talking to others somewhere else while in class. These are not good things, nor a good educational practice.
-- Bernard

The paradigm needs to shift. The newer generation of cell phones are, in fact, minaturized computers. Do we ban computers from the classroom or use them to enhance the learning experience for students?
-- Liz

This Month's Question: Are Students Getting Better at Multitasking?

"How can they concentrate?" we ask, as we watch today's teens working on homework assignments while talking on the phone, "facebooking" peers, listening to music and watching TV. Contradictory opinions abound when it comes to young people and their ability to multitask. What do you think?  

Are today's students really better at multitasking than we are – or than we were at their age? Have they developed new skills that allow them to learn better with multiple simultaneous input sources? Or are we just kidding ourselves?  Weigh in on this question today .

Headlines

Henrico County Documents Laptop Success
A recent evaluation report shows improvement in many test scores as well as an increase in student motivation and school morale as a result of the 1:1 program.

Advancing One-to-One in Raymond, WA
After seeing student work, reviewing the results of a student survey and hearing the comments of teachers involved in the program, the school board has decided to pursue a second year of their one-to-one program.

Pennsylvania's Classrooms for the Future Progressing
Pennsylvania has added 152 school districts to the state's Classrooms for the Future, a program that provides laptops to high schools.

Bryan One-to-One Program Now Expanding to Third Middle School
A successful laptop program at two middle schools in Bryan, TX, has earned the district the chance to extend the program to a third school.

Students Get Their Apple Each Day
Students at the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in the Boston area are issued laptops at the start of each day

Don't Miss

A Laptop Especially for Schools : In our latest eBook, we introduce you to eight classrooms that have piloted Intel-powered classmate PCs for one-to-one computing with elementary grade students.

One-to-one Profiles including Intel white papers, feature articles from Tech & Learning magazine, and a growing collection of case studies created especially for K-12 Computing Blueprint.

Information on Intels' Schools of Distinction Program – including past winners, current winners and how to apply.

Downloadable Blueprint Publications outlining the components of a blueprint for successful one-to-one computing.

A variety of other resources including podcasts from Intel conferences, information on a variety of partner sites , and links to the web sites of a number of districts and schools that are involved in one-to-one learning.

Become Part of the K-12 Computing Blueprint Community

Complete the Blueprint Questionnaire to tell us about your experiences with one-to-one computing. We will be selecting responses to share online at the K-12 Computing Blueprint site in the coming months as part of a new "Tips from the Field" feature.

Become Part of the K-12 Computing Blueprint Community

Complete the Blueprint Questionnaire to tell us about your experiences with one-to-one computing. We will be selecting responses to share online at the K-12 Computing Blueprint site in the coming months as part of a new "Tips from the Field" feature.

Email us today if you have suggestions, feedback, ideas or an interest in blogging for us.

About K-12 Computing Blueprint
K-12 Computing Blueprint, brought to you by Intel and Technology & Learning, is your resource for one-to-one computing. Whether you're already involved with one-to-one computing, considering moving in that direction, or simply interested in the impact of widespread technology use on students and classrooms, Intel's K-12 Computing Blueprint site offers a variety of valuable resources. Visit us to read case studies, learn about research reports, and keep up on recent news about laptop learning, other forms of ubiquitous computing, and K-12 ed tech issues including funding, curriculum, leadership and professional development.

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