After only one week at the American Embassy School (AES) in Delhi, I’ve had the opportunity to gain some great insight into the school from the perspectives of students, teachers and administration. I’ve conducted some classroom walk-throughs and met with multiple groups. One meeting in particular stands out in regards to the use of technology at AES. On Friday, I met with a student group and listened to them discuss their thoughts as they prepare for the transition to 1:1. Part of that discussion was around the device that their school will choose. The school is debating whether to move to 1:1 with iPads or the Mac Air. Interestingly, although most students (80%) already have some type of laptop, the large majority of students indicated they would prefer moving to 1:1 with the Air laptops. I was surprised by this finding from the student survey. The school is also meeting with each department to assess which device will better meet the needs of their department. Although the conversation around the device is certainly interesting, I found other parts of the student’s discussion much more interesting. In particular, students highlighted two extremely important points for all 1:1 educators. I must also say that I was blown away by the way students participated in the discussion. Not only were they extremely articulate, they also truly listened to one another and were able to respectfully debate with one another.
The first major point students made was about the ways that computers were currently being used. They delivered a message that I often try to deliver. They described how technology was often used in ways that didn’t really change what they were doing. It helped them with their organization and may have increased their efficiency, but it didn’t necessarily change the ways they learned. That message aligns with the ways that I often see technology used. My challenge to the administrators at that meeting was to aggressively try to empower teachers to use the technology in ways that will truly change the learning experience of students. Next week I’ll be working with the entire administration team, and I hope to help them develop a walk-through tool that can assess the ways in which technology is being used.
The next major point students made was that they wanted to be able to personalize their devices as much as possible and make them their own. The students had questions about the things they would be able to put on their devices as well as summer use. Obviously, both of these issues present challenges on school owned devices. They do, however, raise some questions to consider. Are there ways that students can keep their devices over extended breaks? If not all students, can some students submit “proposals” why they need their device? Are there other ways that students can make the device more personal so that they don’t need a second laptop or desktop?
When describing the design process, my colleague ,John Nash, always highlights the importance of hearing from all stakeholders. AES faculty were wise to meet with and listen to their students. The concerns, questions, and opinions they shared should help the school as they transition to 1:1. Similar conversations with student focus groups could also be valuable for any 1:1 school.
*On a personal note, I’m excited to say that I wrote this on my way to the Taj Mahal! It was more spectacular than I imagined!
I’m not surprised that the students stated a preference for the Air over the iPad. I work at a 1:1 school system in Dubai, and when we started our 1:1 program, it was with MacBooks. Recently the system transitioned to iPads for incoming students (Grade 9), and while the cost savings are enormous (no more paper texts, and each iPad costs 1/6th what each MacBook with licensed software cost), the effect on student productivity has not generally been positive.
Content creation on the iPad is difficult. Yes you can create basic presentations with Keynote, and do some basic video editing with iMovie for iPad, and apps like Evernote, Notability, NearPod and others allow for some interesting collaborative learning and teaching, there are yet serious weaknesses that pose serious issues.
The first, and most basic challenge teachers face is distributing activities, and getting them back for marking. Google Docs Froms are fantastic for meeting this challenge. Also, we found that by maintaining subject blogs where we can link to course material, we can use Goodreader to download content and work with it. We can download .ZIPs containing video or audio, in addition to .PPTs or .PDFs, and Goodreader will open the .ZIPs, play the video or audio, display the presentations, and allow us to annotate the .PDFs. Students can then e-mail assignments to the teacher directly from the app. Alternatively, if the internet is an issue, Goodreader will connect to AFP and SMB servers that can be accessed on a local network, allowing students to grab content that way also.
So the basic challenge of giving and receiving can be overcome. However, when the network is slow (which is often), or down (also not infrequent) there is not much you can do. With a Macbook, you can transfer files straight to the teacher’s Drop Box inside their Public Folder, or manually via USB or or portable Hard Drive. In addition, when working on senior level subjects (our students take the Math, Physics, and Chemistry SATs.. which is very rare in the Middle East), where English is a second language, the ability to keep multiple windows open for reading, writing, and translating, is a must. Currently, it is very difficult to do this on an iPad.
For academic minded students, the limitations of an iPad or more than cosmetic.
Mind you, for teachers.… they are AWSOME. (But you still need a Laptop).
The issue of personalization and “take home” privileges are an issue of who “owns” the computers. At HKIS, parents of students grades 5–12 purchase the computers but the school licenses the software.
Hence, students are able to personalize their computers with covers and such. The school gives parents the admin passwords, which are necessary to download or update programs. When students leave, the software is wiped off the computer (but the computer goes with the student).
AES is a fabulous school with great leadership. I’m sure they’ll make it work beautifully.
Nick,
Would you be willing to share the walk through tool you mentioned? Our district is in the process of revising our teacher eval walk through tool and at present the only thing on it is whether or not they (teacher and/or students) are using technology. I’m trying to get the message out that is not the goal…it’s the why, and what and how that really matters. If I had an example to show them, admin might finally “get it.”
I’d be happy to share that tool and a couple of others. Please shoot me an email, and I’ll get them to you (nck0208@gmail.com).
Nick
Thanks for the comment Janet! It is great to hear how other schools are addressing this.
Nick
James,
This is great feedback! I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts in another six months. Your insight may be very helpful to others struggling with the same decision.
Nick