The End of the Computer Lab

The days of the Computer Lab in schools are over. For years, our schools have supported rooms full of desktop computers that teachers can reserve for small periods of time for their classes. Typical use of these computers labs is

• short-term, due to the shared nature of the room and school bell schedules;
• outside of the standard classroom setting, disrupting any continuation of learning;
• individual, usually with computers in rows on tables;
• often disconnected to other coursework in the class, due to the need to schedule computer time weeks in advance.

Every single one of these characteristics is exactly opposite of what we know about effective use of instructional technology. There is good research that shows that for educational technology to really be valuable in improving students' learning, it should be

• used regularly over a long period of time;
• embedded into students' regular class settings;
• part of students collaborating and working with each other;
• and integrated into the immediate context of the lesson or project.

For these reasons, among others, computer labs are going the way of the ditto machine and the chalk board. A much better model for integrating technology into instruction is a 1:1 or 2:1 adoption, with devices in student hands during most of the class day. Some districts are accomplishing this by purchasing devices for all students; others, including our district, have chosen the BYOD path, supplemented by Chromebooks. In either case, use of information technology should be embedded into every class period, instead of relegated to "special" days when we "go to the computer lab."

Project Tomorrow Report from 2012 Survey

Last month, Project Tomorrow released their report from the nationwide Speak Up Survey of educators and parents.  Titled "From Chalkboard to Tablets: The Digital Conversion of the K-12 Classroom", the report is available for download from the Project Tomorrow website.  The report is only 17 pages long and well worth reading in its entirety, but I want to highlight a few points that jumped out at me.

The report lists five "transformative factors" that are increasing the demand for digital tools and resources within classroom instruction:

1. The influence of the Common Core State Standards movement;
2. Increasing use of mobile technologies by teachers, administrators, and parents;
3. Stagnation in ed-tech funding is leading to a search for innovative, low-cost strategies;
4. Digital tools and resources are becoming more common outside of the classroom;
5. Pressure from employers for better skilled employees.

I found the third of these factors confounding, initially.  Why would continued stagnation in ed-tech funding lead to increased demand for digital tools and resources?  Their explanation is that many districts have abandoned plans that were developed in the days of more abundant funding and held on to in the hopes that budgets would increase soon.  Recognition that technology funding is still insufficient and will be for quite some time is causing districts to re-think old plans and search for new ones.  The example they give is administrators' attitudes toward bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies.

"When asked in 2010 if they would allow their students to use their own devices at school for academic purposes, only 22 percent of principals said that was likely, 63 percent said it was unlikely for their school. In 2012, we see proof of this mobile device style digital conversion happening right from the principal’s office. Today, over a third of principals (36 percent) say that a new Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to school policy for students is likely. The opposing view has now dropped to 41 percent. At the district level, an even more dramatic shift has taken place in the views of administrators on these BYOD policies. In 2011, 52 percent of district administrators said that they did not allow students to use their own mobile devices at school. This year, only 35 percent are still holding on to that district wide policy statement, with 32 percent saying that the use of student owned devices should be at the discretion of the classroom teacher." (Page 8)

The 2012 survey also asked about teachers' use of digital content in their classrooms.  One interesting result is that middle- and high-school math and science teachers have a much greater use of items such as online curricula, animations, digital textbooks, videos, virtual labs, and simulations.  While there are many reasons for this difference, it parallels a greater adoptions of "flipped" learning strategies among that same group of teachers.  The report calls middle- and high-school math and science teachers "the new pace cars" for the adoption of digital content.

Finally, a chart that needs almost no explanation:

Speak Up Survey 2012 - Districtwide Summary of Results

I've spent some time analyzing and summarizing the districtwide results from the Speak Up Survey that our students (and parents and staff) took in the fall.  Here is a prezi that highlights some of the significant findings and implications as I see them.

Prezi recently added audio options, so be sure to turn on your speakers or headphones, so you can hear my mellifluous voice commenting on each slide.

Linkapalooza

Links I've recently gathered, many of them from CUE 2013:

• Why BYOD is a Good Idea (Innovation Excellence)
• Take the Hassle Out of Students Turning in Assignments (Alice Keeler)
• MobyGratis.com - music free for use in non-profit film projects (Moby)
• EdWeb.net - professional networking for educators
• AppsInClass (Palm Springs Unified teachers)
• Advanced Google Hints and Tips (Diane Main)
• Free Tools and Resources (NextVista.org, Rushton Hurley)

Notes from CUE 2013, Friday 15 March

Keynote: Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken gave a very entertaining talk, reiterating much of what had been previously expressed by Catlin Tucker.  What I thought was salient about his keynote was his reminder to focus on preparing students for an unknown future. We don't know what the social, economic, or technological circumstances will be when our students are adults; the best thing we can do is to prepare them with skills to adjust to change.

After the keynote, I spent some time in the exhibit hall; I'll write about that in the next post.

Edtech Costs

Andrew Schwab has been both an IT director and a classroom teacher, so his presentation on "hidden" educational technology costs included both perspectives.  He examined not only the up-front costs of desktops, laptops, netbooks, and tablets, but also the ongoing costs of support and maintenance.

Is BYOD a good idea for my school?

This was the best session I attended on Friday.  As we begin to think about expanding Bring-Your-Own-Device in our district, I was looking for sessions about implementing BYOD.  Dennis Grice teaches at a private school that requires students to bring an internet-enabled device.  He went through several conditions that he thought necessary for a successful BYOD, including cloud-based tools; solid wireless connections; training for teachers, students, and parents; and clearly stated technical requirements for student devices.  We are well situated for all of those; not everything is complete, but we're working on all of them.  Dennis's presentation is available online here.