My presentation for ACEC this year is a close look at our journey so far toward a 1 to 1 laptop program. I want to share our successes and failures and how we plan to see this program improve our school as a whole. The presentation will look at three key elements….
Staff, Students and Community. These elements are key to making such a massive program work. Plenty of research done before us makes it clear that we just can’t throw laptops in the hands of these students. The students don’t understand what is possible, the staff get overwhelmed and the wider community will not support it.
Staff really must own the program and this has been a continuing process for us. The idea of just “making” staff do it will never work. Our staff should be treated as professionals who can make good decisions about teaching and leanring and therefore will embrace whole school decisions that will advance these key areas. In this section of the presentation I want to go through 6 key areas.
1) Who runs the show? When it comes to IT in schools often we forget who runs the organisation and who has the best interests at heart. Like everything our ICT programs must be lead by educational experts in the field. Education drives IT and yes education do make IT decisions. This is quite a big statement for many to get their head around, but one I will spend time explaining and going through how we managed to achieve good ICT decisions being made by good educational thought and philosophy.
2) Learn together as peers! It is vital that we do not learn in a vacuum and forget that there is a large base of expertise within our schools that can help and guide. It is not about learning the tool as much as it is about learning the way the tool could change teaching and learning for the better.
3) Learn together as a community! Involve the wider community in what you are doing. Get the expertise that is around your community to add to the program in a positive way. Past students, Parents, Industry etc.
4) More than one “teacher”! There is more than one expert on staff when it comes to IT. Those who embrace it early on become your “e-coaches” or mentors as the program develops.
5) Digitise with purpose! We must make sure that all ICT tools bring value and purpose. We must continue to ask the question… What value does this bring to the learning process? We have looked at technologies that will help enhance our vision for learning… amongst students, staff and the wider community (parents etc).
6) No on is a native – Just more experienced! I don’t buy into the digital native/immigrant discussion. Often this is used as an excuse by teachers. My experience is this does not do anything to create a positive culture. That is why we use the students they are not natives they are simply more experienced. We utilise their experience to help our staff and community.