Episode 7: Getting One to One
In this episode we explore the issues that arise when a school starts thinking about moving to a one-to-one computing model using laptop computers, an area in which Australia has been somewhat of a pioneer. We talk with Paul McMahon, an Australian educator living in Hong Kong, about the sorts of planning and background issues involved in transitioning a school from a fairly traditional learning environment to one in which students are given laptops as learning tools.
- All Saints’ College Perth
- Learning Solutions, Hong Kong
- Computelec
- The One Laptop Per Child Project
Have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year!
December 25th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
GREAT podcast! Interesting that some of the same issues that have been faced in Hong Kong and Australia were faced by my own school here in Montréal Canada as we went one-to-one this year.
Critical mass is so important. Sadly, I have not seen the same level of commitment on the part of the teachers in my situation - and it can make so much of the difference. How to attain that critical mass of belief that a laptop for every student is not just a good idea, but a *necessity* for creating a student equipped for life in the 21st century, is quite an achievement, and I would like to hear more about how Paul’s school was able to attain this.
I particularly appreciated Paul’s idea about the laptop as an amplification tool - seen it played out every day in my school. And while the argument about increased engagement is certainly a good one and valid on its own, I truly believe that ultimately the laptop does enhance the learning capabilities of a student beyond just the engagement. It is also such a great visual tool for organization of ideas, as well as files.
With the growing amount of open-source software and applications, and the decreasing cost of hardware, the ability to provide a one-to-one tool to put into the hands of *every* student is becoming more and more a potential reality for the next generation of knowledge workers.
Great job, Chris! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Cheers, Sharon