STSD Curriculum & Technology Update

Regular updates and musings on curriculum and technology in the Salisbury Township School District in Allentown, PA.

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

Here’s an interesting experiment called the One Laptop Per Child initiative. It is what the title would indicate. The thing that I find most interesting is that its focus is on third-world countries. With all we’ve been hearing about in terms of a global society, how will the success (which is still in question) of this project impact the world, but more specifically our country. Will third-world use of the laptop as a conduit to information give them an advantage (and quite possibly a serious advantage) over our students? Are we Americans missing the boat which is about to set sail? My biggest question: What is being done to provide teachers and students in these countries with the know-how for utilizing these devices beyond what laptops tend to be used for in our country—expensive digital pencils. It all seems like a very cool experiment - so stay tuned!

“By focusing on tools of exploration and expression—rather than instruction—in an environment that emphasizes collaboration, sharing, and critique, we think the laptop will become the agency for engaging children in constructing knowledge—to ‘learn learning.’ ”

To learn more, watch this TED Talk video of OLPC founder (and MIT Media Lab Chairman) Nicholas Negroponte. “This is not a laptop project; it’s an education project,” he says. (If you are at all interested in technology in schools, you’ll want to watch this talk.)

With our Classrooms for the Future grant and several “smart” classrooms, you’ll be seeing more laptops in use by Salisbury students. If you could access laptops for your students, what kinds of learning would you imagine? We would like to hear!

If you’d like to join the conversation, fill in the form below.  Because of spam appearing on this blog, comments will be “moderated” but will be posted in their entirety.

Thanks for reading this week!

Comments

This sounds like a dream come true (for tech savvy teachers at least.) I can only begin to dream what students could do if they all had non-stop daily access.  Think about it.  Personal web/wiki reflection pages, connections with other specialists and other learners around the world, the diverse perspectives offered on a single concept, blogs, teacher/student IM, increase in student responsibility, changing roles of teachers and students, and so much more could evolve!

I totally agree with Lynn about the possibilities, and OLPC makes the dream a reality, for any teacher.  But, and the problem is access, you can already do all these things [we did] in a lab environment [and the library, using the skills of your library media specialist].  And that’s the catch, of course: computer lab access.  OLPC eliminates that issue.  What I am grappling with is the next step--what can we do beyond what is mentioned.  Agreed, that global communication with specialists creates authentic audiences, and efolio options showcase students’ year-long learning.  I am wondering about the “so much more that could evolve,” specifically coordinating Academic Literacy and Technology Integration.  How do we take OLPC farther than we’ve been?  What does that look like?

Great questions on merging the Academic Literacy initiative and technology integration. We need to begin that discussion! That will definitely be a topic for some week after the October 8 in-service. Let me know if you’d be interested in developing a post.

As for labs vs. laptops…
I think it’s a paradigm shift. Labs were sufficient when we viewed technology as, “a nice thing if you can get it.” We took everyone to the lab. Students worked in isolation and typically on the same assignment. Laptops open all that up. We can develop truly constructivist classrooms as technology becomes seamless. Learning becomes anytime/anywhere and the technology is viewed as necessary for that learning...not an option only if the computer lab is open.

I am extremely fascinated and challenged by the concept of having our biggest challenge be teaching students how to learn.  I believe the laptop and technology are a necessities if we are truly interested in creating learners.....because it won’t be only the students who are the learners.  I am becoming more and more convinced that teachers need to model learning by being learners in front of their students...it is the ONLY way our students will understand what their real job and focus should be.  It is NOT about memorizing content and giving it back!!!!  It is about creating, exploring, and inquiring.

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