Monday, July 9, 2007
Does 1 To One Computing Pay?
It would cost millions of dollars to furnish every student in NYC with personal laptops. Would the end justify the means? On eSchool News , they have a News and Analysis section, where Bill Gates is quoted from the NY Times. He feels that it will really be cell phones, rather than laptops that will be the channel for most people to have Internet access. When not everyone can afford laptops, but many do have cell phones, they can get to the web. Is it a worthwhile venture to invest so much time, training and money in all of these new computers? What happens when the computers become outdated in a short time?
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4 comments:
1to1 computing is expensive but I do think its agood investment. I dont think the government should be the sole provider , but parents should be pulled into the investment because it is their children.
It is asd to see how my students treat the few computers that we have available for them to use , because they know that no money came from their pockets to pay for them or to get them fixed.
There is a big difference in the way they take care of their cell phones because they paid for it.
I would therefore agree with Gates to let them get their phones and use them!
It will be interesting to see a technology lab filled with cell phones instead of computers.
I also read on that eSchool News site that in June of 2006 Maine is renewing there 1:1 program for 4 more years. Granted the entire state of Maine has as many students as in our very own NYCDOE but I would love to know how they are making this program not only work but have room for growth and expansion.
Gloria, I agree completely about how people treat things (whether they own them or not). If they had to pay for school, they may have different views/attitudes.
Robin, You paint quite a picture...cellphones everywhere! That would be so relevant for students, wouldn't it? Also, I wonder what we'll learn from Maine, having invested in 1:1 computing all the way.
Hi Stacy,
I, too, think 1 to 1 computing is a valuable tool even if it is expensive. In my school, we used to run a 5th grade laptop class. The parents had to purchase the laptops through the school and at the end of the year the students would take the laptop on the middle school. We ran the program for about 4 years. It was a good program, except with the change in curriculum and computer illiterate teachers it fell by the waste side.
I think that the idea of using cell phones to utilize the web has become very popular. My only gripe is that the kids have found other ways they can use cell phones in school that would not be to their benefit. Hey, but that's what technology is all about!
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