Our school district decided to go 1:1 starting this school year. We started with our junior high (825 students). I moved from my position as a classroom teacher for the last 18 years to one of the instructional technology facilitators placed at the junior high. We spent all last year preparing for our fall start! We have now been in school since August 16th and all I have to say is, "Wow!! What a whirlwind beginning!"
The week before school started we deployed the Macbooks to the kids and parents in several deployment meetings. I will have to say I was pleasingly shocked at our 87% attendance rate. Students and parents who did not attend, did not receive a laptop until the training session was completed. Now, on our 13th school day, we have all students with the exception of 3 (99.5%) who have Macbooks, and those three have extenuating circumstances which hinders the process.
I walk through the classrooms and see all the Macbooks open and teachers really embracing this new way of learning for all of us. It has been a hard year, filled with lots of changes for everyone, but I am so proud of our staff. They really came together and are giving this their all- even those who are out of their comfort zone. Our district has provided lots of professional development for the staff throughout last year and this summer, but we had no idea what to expect as started this journey. The first two weeks have been a blur with questions and details and things that we scratch our head about and say, "I can't believe we didn't think of that!"
We have a help desk area that is manned all day and the students and staff are really using this area and coming down for help with any and all questions and problems. Our next focus will be to evaluate our instruction by using the SAMR model for technology integration in the classroom developed by Reuben Puentedura.
My advice to any school district that is considering going 1:1 would be to start planning at least a year in advance. Get a committee together of administrators and teachers that meets regularly (we meet once a week) to organize and hash out ideas, and last but not least SUPPORT the STAFF. It's a new scary road for some teachers, especially the veteran teachers. Making them feel valued and supported will bring them along with you. It really does take a village!
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