Teacher Training, Netbooks or Cell Phones
June 10, 2009
I’m still not sure if the focus for Sabier should be machines or training. I’m beginning to think that the real issue will be in training. I think I first leaned to providing the hardware because I was oriented that way from my experience with the used telecom and computer equipment business.
Using the laptop cart the last month or so of the school year leads me to teacher training as Sabier’s niche. The cart fit into the room amazingly well. The cart with 30 MacBooks took up so much less space in the room than the 14 desktops that I’ve been using all year. My concern about not having enough power turned out to not be an issue. 30 computers logging on created quite a logjam which was frustrating to the kids and me. I think a set of Netbooks off the intranet would work much better. I also think that the machine specific filters would be better than the ones provided on the intranet. We could still use the intranet for web access so there would be two levels of filtering.
The logistics of instruction in the classroom is the main issue in the years ahead. Having one to one laptops available any time will be such a powerful tool. It would really transform the classroom. I think that behavior issues will be significantly changed in a 1:1 environment. Now, when we go to the lab the students are spontaneously quiet and engaged. Structuring the learning and sharing becomes the focus as it is any classroom; I think the laptops eliminate more problems than they create. Assessment is a whole new ballgame, too. Anyone with access to student files can see what we’re doing at any given time. Collaboration, differentiation, and individualization are enormous possibilities.
The next topic is to think about the feasibility of using cell phones in the classroom. What would be great is to have 30 phones share a few voice minutes with limitations on usage by each phone and then to have unlimited text plans for each phone. The recent announcement of the latest version of the iPhone promises that cell phones are sure to be a contender for the literacy tool of tomorrow.
