1:1--A Semester In

Back in September, I wrote a blog post about my students' initial impressions of their 1:1 experience with the Chromebooks.  At the end of the semester, I asked them to consider how beneficial the Chromebook has been.  The views are very much the same as they were at Day 10.  Some specific comments:

     Writing papers on the chrome book is awesome because I can have my teacher comment on it. Also, I like being able to make a copy and annotate all over it.

     I have used my chromebook in this class every single day and I have been able to take notes and participate very well by using it.

I think it's hard for everyone to pay attention in a class when we are on our laptops. However, I do think it's easier to share ideas and do interesting projects with this kind of access to technology.

These three comments mirror my own experience of working with students. For most of them, it has become second nature to take out their Chromebooks once they are in their desks. Typically, by the time I have the weekly schedule projected onto the screen, most students have already logged onto it via Google Drive. The same goes for any docs I have shared in the Drive folder. Most often I try to have docs hyperlinked on the daily schedule; however, sometimes I forget. However, if they see the name of a doc listed on the schedule, they will go find it in our shared English folder. It's always a bit surprising to find people already logged in--like getting home and already finding guests milling about.  

As for "paying attention," that's the big question with which every teacher struggles.

When the devices are open, how do we keep students corralled? How do we know when they have wandered away from the ranch? Some schools have dealt with the attention/distraction issue by employing an LMS that gives teachers an omniscience and omnipotence over the devices in the room. Stray doggies grazing on their own pastures? Rope em and bring em back home.  

Theoretically, this may sound great. But it raises some questions: are we teaching students to be responsible users of technology?; are we instilling a sense of mindfulness when it comes to using devices; are we helping students to create a digital routine that allows them to leverage their devices in beneficial ways? Unfortunately, the answer to all of these questions is "no."

But here are two more comments that raise a different question for schools going 1:1:

English is basically the only class that I use my chromebook in, other than when we work on webassigns in physics.

I've really only used the chromebook in this class. It's been useful in here though.

Other English teachers and I have heard similar statements from many of our students. So, the question is this--should teachers be expected to make some minimum amount of use of the devices? There will always be teachers and classes that integrate technology more fully into their curriculum, with positive and negative results. But should there be a required baseline? If students used their devices more readily in all classes, would it help them to become more responsible and mindful?