There’s a recent article from The Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment – get it from the link in my bookmarks.
Here, the authors state that in the ” prevailing paradigm efforts at improvement, as promising as they may appear, too often are co-opted, diluted, or diminished to generate any widespread effect on teaching or learning.”
Wondering why the critics single out 1:1 laptop programs for special attention, the authors suggest that “ a 1:1 laptop computer initiative is such a visible, expensive, and labor intensive effort that stands out in a forest of reforms.”
They go on to suggest 6 steps that should be followed in order to implement a successful 1:1 program. They highlight the need to reform curriculums so that cognitive skills are emphasised rather than the tools that can be used to facilitate such a change.
The six steps are logical and reasonable and could be undertaken by any school that’s serious about education reform rather than technology window dressing.
This document needs to be put in front of the decision makers in our institutions, but would they take any notice?
