Sunday, October 8, 2017

Tech Trends Article 3

EDU 6250 Article 3
This article talks about the use of 1-to-1 devices in Maine that has been there for a decade already and some issues they have come across.  They give Apple laptop computers to 7th and 8th grade students in the state at a cost of $11.5 million a year and have not seen a large return on investment.  There has not been an increase in Standardized test scores for them and they are questioning the effectiveness of the devices.  There is not much to show how much the program has helped.  They are worried the devices have just been used to replace other educational tools and used for word processing, presentations, and online research.  Michigan State recently conducted a study related to the efficacy of 1-to-1 devices (first of it’s kind) and found it led to increased student achievement and modest boosts in students’ ‘21st-century skills.’  There have not been many other states that have taken up this initiative on the state level because many school districts are taking it into their own hands to put laptops in students hands.
Maine is still considering what they will do with the devices and how they will progress moving forward.  They are considering using cheaper devices due to the much more affordable availability, giving the devices to students at a younger age, and possibly shifting resources away from devices and into professional development and training. The governor recognized how easy it was to take things for granted in a program and take the time to stop and reflect now on what has been done.  
When I first read this article, I was initially shocked by the results.  Why would any school not want to be equipped with 1-to-1 technology?  There are so many avenues people can take it to improve student learning, but then again, there could be too many avenues.  There is so much out there right now that many people tend to feel overwhelmed and inundated with the possibilities.  I think that having the devices is the right start for education, but needs to be revamped quite a bit.  Educators need to focus on a few key aspects to improve learning and put it into practice.  Once they have mastered a particular use of the device they can branch out to keep improving.  I think this article shows how important it is to have good professional development, training, and time to implement the training.  Technology has moved incredibly fast and it is time for us to catch up to it and understand the best use of this amazing resource at our fingertips.   


Herold, B., & Kazi, J. (2017). 1-to-1 Computing Under Microscope in Maine Schools. Education
Digest, 82(5), 48.

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