On November 18th, I was invited to participate in discussions at Markville Secondary School around a new initiative they were planning to launch in the the 2013-2014 academic year. The discussion with the principal and the digital leadership team at the school was the first step towards making their vision of a 1:1 program a reality.
"At the moment we are calling it the Markville 1:1 program. It is a program that sees the students bringing their own technology to school with them. It can be a laptop, notebook, tablet, it is up to them. We want to find a way to integrate technology in to the classroom across platforms. That is the crucial piece. We want to break away from the proprietary approach to technology where we rely on programs and look at using the tech in a variety of ways.
We used the term,
"Taking the students from consumers of technology to creators with technology."
We are planning to introduce it to the incoming grade nine class to start. We recognize the need for PD for staff and we want to be sure that it is PD that is meaningful and supportive and targets the areas of need of our departments. "
~Rob Cotey, MSSI am soooo excited about being a part of this!
Our initial discussions were around the concept behind the initiative which really seems to be focusing on changing how we use technology in education. It was great to share with a group that also believes that education is at a tipping point that will see the very nature of education. It is no longer about sharing or conveying information.... students have the power to find that in the palms of their hands.... it is about helping students think critically about all the info they have access to and to create with it, communicate about it and collaborate on a global scale to produce a product greater than the sum of its parts. They have the tools available to them to demonstrates a true understanding on the concepts and to apply it to a context which is real and relevant to their own lives.
Discussions around some of the other considerations were also initiated including the type of devices they will expect students to have (primary vs. secondary devices), the critical need for supporting the professional development of the teachers to learn and work in this new paradigm, the considerations costs associated with enhancing infrastructure, equity of access and initial thoughts around deploying their vision to their stakeholder community.
Lots more to think about.... this is just the beginning of the journey!