Michigan and Indiana offer statewide one-to-one computing plans for school students, just like giving each student a pencil and a textbook, rather than requiring them to share these tools on a schedule.
Indiana is taking a “staged deployment” approach to its (one-to-one computer) initiative. “We do believe that the staged deployment–starting in English, moving to science, et cetera–is the best way to roll this plan out,” said (Mike Huffman, technology chief for the Indiana Department of Education). He said such an approach (1) allows for more time to make improvements to the infrastructure supporting the computers, such as electrical capacity and cabling; (2) provides greater flexibility as the program progresses, which will allow for more rapid changes; and (3) provides a collegial setting in terms of professional development, allowing English teachers to train with other English teachers, for example. The flexibility of such a deployment strategy leaves open the possibility for changing to a laptop program should the price of laptops come down after that, he said.
With due respect, these plans appear to assume budget increases (using an add-on strategy) rather than substitute computers for other expenses. Setting aside the politics of negotiating these budget changes with unions, an add-on strategy seems unnecessary and possibly detrimental to programn success. I’ll say more about budgeting another time.
In short, way to go, Educators. Keep up the good work and thinking. Now, just move to state of the art technology, such as a Tablet PC for each student. Why invest in old technology?