Monday, July 23, 2007
Computing in El Paso
El Paso is experimenting with one to one computing. They are working with something called the Tip Program. They believe that they are doing well and benefiting from the latest technology. So far, it's been two years in the program, but they feel that they are "making great strides." They gave only positive feedback about the program.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Hi Stacy,
I liked that this article had a postive feeling about 1:1 computing. It was also interesting that the population in El Paso has similar demographics to my population in East Harlem. I thought this quote was great "These lucky students have a laptop with them at almost every hour of the day. They are immersed in technology!" It seems these students are motivated learners. I would like to know the training that happened with the staff before the rollout of the program. It would be interesting to know how the staff felt about 1:1 computing and their own technology skills before the program began and how they feel now.
Robin
Stacy,
I think that this article is seriously biased. It is great that they state in 2 years their students are really going places, however there must still be a few struggling students out there. 1:1 computing does seem fascinating in itself, but all students may not be able to learn that way for one reason or another. They have to be able to learn how to use the computer and then complete work on it which may be a very daunting task.
I agree with Robin, and I would like to know about the staff's computer literacy before the program was initiated. I know in my own school there are teacher who are still not comfortable with using computers.
Well Stacy,
I must say I love the idea of One- to- One computing but to conclude so soon that they are making great strides with computers could be ambiguous ! so I would ask " great strides in what respect ? the use of the internet ? I would yes but are they learning more because they all have computers now? Tell me the state exam results in the ELA this year , tell me the Math too and if that has improved over 50% I will try to get a job in EL Paso!
You see, I dont believe just having technology will automatically cause every child to learn more .Its all about how it is used which takes me to my next question : WHat is the curriculum like for these laptops ? How is technology integrated into the curriculum ?
Well we can tell MR. ElPaso he is not quite there yet!
I agree with all of you about the training. We all have people on staff who are fearful/reluctant to learn about new technology. There must have been extensive training, I'd imagine. It would be interesting to know how El Paso is doing a few years from now.
Post a Comment