Mobile Devices

What’s all the fuss about 1-to-1 (one-to-one learning)?

Why are schools going to lengths to purchase individual devices for students? How can a 1-to-1 learning program benefit schools? Is it worth the cost or how can the cost be avoided? These are some important questions when considering a 1-to-1 learning program for your school.

1-to-1 represents a 21st century classroom. 1-to-1 is about personalized learning. It’s about convenience, communication, and control. For digital natives, it’s about meeting the needs and expectations of a generation who take technology for granted. When students have their own devices, they can more easily use technology for research, communication, data collection, content production, productivity, and entertainment – everything that most adults use in their daily professional and personal lives – and that many students are accustomed to outside of school.Read more...

I recently had the opportunity to provide feedback and suggest revisions to a draft report about a yearlong pilot of Android tablet devices in a 5th grade classroom. The lessons learned, obstacles avoided and learning opportunities revealed reaffirmed two things for me:

1. teaching is always unpredictable and rewarding all that the same time; and,
2. that mobile technology enriches and empowers the learner.

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An educational trend that is gaining momentum among school districts across the United States is BYOT: Bring Your Own Technology. This type of program allows students to bring their own mobile devices to school- everything from iPads to iPhones. Instead of confiscating prohibited electronics, like the Nintendo 3DS, teachers are embracing the potential that these devices hold for students’ learning.Read more...