Over the course of the next couple of days at my school we are requiring that all students in the 1:1 laptop program permanently change their computer settings.  As a school we are going to require that each and every student in the 7th and 8th grade have their Remote Login and Remote Management boxes checked under their system preferences on their computers.

This will enable us as a school to better monitor student activity and help guide appropriate student behavior while the students are on campus through Apple Remote Desktop.  They have been informed: If a student changes their settings it will be considered a discipline issue.

You see, we gave our students administrative rights to their machines.  With administrative rights, the students can install programs they may need, update their software on their own (so very important), and really make this dynamic learning tool their own.

We are in our second month of our 1:1 laptop program and it’s going very well.  Teachers are modifying the way they teach and following many of the recommendations they received during their Out in Shanghai days training.   And as Jason Ohler found in his most recent research, the student engagement in educational activities is through the roof.  Quite frankly, students don’t have time to get into trouble with their computers while in the classrooms.

So why are we as a school doing this?  I am still trying to come up to the answer to this question and I’ll diligently gather my research over the coming months.  The jury is still out for me though.  I don’t want this to be a “gotcha” program because I think that without student input it could erode the positive culture and relationship that currently exists between teachers and students.  However, I am not ignorant and I know that there is always one… one student that cyber-bullies another without an adult knowing about it… one student that secretly chats with a friend back home on Facebook while she should be working on her talking worksheet in science class… one student that skips lunch to play Halo on a regular basis, avoiding conversation with friends and exercise for the soul.

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My school has just wrapped up what I call Phase 1 of our Mac rollout to students and teachers.  Rolling out nearly 1300 student Mac laptops in grades 7-10 and 400+ staff laptops pk-12 has been exhilarating and exhausting at the same time.  We have been preparing for this rollout for three years… actually probably longer but the preparations really took on some structure three years ago when we moved to a tech integration model.  Everything became a reality when we brought the computer companies in to present to the school and our community.

The biggest fear any school should have about 1:1 laptop programs is this:  What if that shiny new computer purchased for the students stays shiny and new… is never taken out of the box…. is not used in the classrooms… does not end up being the tool that transforms learning?  I think if we left it up to the majority of students, they would use computers in every class all of the time.  I think if we left it up to many of the teachers, it could go either way.  Some teachers are tech-savy and embrace learning through and with technology while others are down-right fearful.

For the students who need direction on how to use technology, for the teacher who loves technology and wants to learn more, for the teacher who is intimidated and overwhelmed by the prospect of using computers in the classroom, the school MUST focus on a solid professional development experience for their staff before, during, and after the initial rollout.

Professional development before the rollout was day in and day out all last school year because we moved to a technology integration model instead of pullout tech classes.  In my division we had access to macbook laptop carts and I defined my job around integrating technology into the classrooms.  I would always team teach with classroom teachers.  Sometimes teachers came to me with ideas around integrating technology but most of the time I went to them with integration ideas.  While our technology program has grown in leaps in bounds using this approach, I still did not get to work with EVERY teacher.  If teachers don’t want to use technology and they are not mandated to do so, they get very good at hiding from the likes of your friendly tech integrationist.

At the beginning of this school year, the school (upper admin) mandated each and every teacher in a 1:1 grade level participate in a two day technology retreat we called Out in Shanghai Days.  We rolled out Macs one grade level at a time, starting with 10th grade.  Teachers of 10th graders participated in the retreat on the Thursday and Friday right before the students received their laptop which ended up creating a tremendous amount of momentum and positive energy around the rollout for students.

Our Out in Shanghai Days were centered around support, support, support.  At each OSD event (we had four of them because the rollout spanned four grade levels) every k-12 technology integrationist and secondary librarian was there to assist the 60+ teachers in attendance.  We took the teachers off-site for the two day event to a local hotel so that they could focus on the Challenge Based Learning task in front of them.  When the teachers placed themselves in groups, a technology specialist joined their group offering support.  Every teacher walked away from the two day training/retreat/event feeling not only more comfortable with the technology but also excited to have their students receive their machines the following week.

Momentum was the key to Phase 1 of our 1:1 rollout.  We created fanfare with the teachers and fanfare with the students because attitude is everything when it comes to learning.  Of course the focus is always the potential of the tool in the student learning process, but the blitz, the fanfare, the going out of your way to make each and every teacher feel valued and appreciated can go a long, long way.  It’s helps to create the momentum that you need.  Think of the possibilities…

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As we move into full swing for our 1:1 planning at my school, we find ourselves in the position of celebrating and over-communicating about what we’ve been able to achieve with a laptop cart program. I decided to use prezi as it’s like a Keynote, but it’s much more dynamic to share those big picture ideas.

The big picture about our cart laptop program is that we’ve been able to achieve a lot of in a short amount of time across all disciplines in the middle school… must be the great software and the great technology integrationist!

This prezi presentation has given parents, board members, our superintendent, teachers and our students the knowledge that we use tech everyday across the board… at least that’s the feedback I’ve received so far. Just imagine what we’ll be able to do when every child has a laptop in every class!

I think that’s another prezi!

To view the entire presentation, click here!

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This will be the first of what I hope is a few posts just so that I can reflect on the process of rolling out a 1:1 Program at my school next year.  I am so excitied about this and really wnt it to go well. We’ve had many, many meetings with many, many stakeholders.  Last month our school board “officially” gave us the go ahead.  Parents will find otu “officially” this Friday when an article goes out in our school magazine.  I thought it only fair that the teachers find out before the parents!  At today’s staff meeting I walked them through the following Keynote – everyone seems excited!

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