A Look at Issues Surrounding one-To-One School Districts

A Look at Issues Surrounding One-to-One School Districts

        I am fortunate to work in a school district that recently implemented a one-to-one initiative during the 2014-2015 school year. Students in grades kindergarten through second grade received classroom sets of Apple I pads. Each student in grade three through six received MacBook Airs that are to be left at school, while students in grades seven through twelve were issued a MacBook Air that can be taken home each day. The new changes came with new anxieties, concerns, and questions. For one, teachers were worried that the cost of funding the one-to-one initiative might jeopardize job security. There was also the worry that one summer of professional development would not be nearly enough training to prepare new and old teachers for the technological changes ahead. Many voiced their concerns of being able to effectively monitor the students’ use of the computer. Despite all these questions and doubts, the number one question was always would the technology improve achievement scores. We all hoped so, but there was the concern that scores may decrease while teachers and students try to adjust to the new “way of school.”

        One of the first worries that surfaced at my school district was how will we pay. So many expenses would be incurred with the new technology. We would have to have full time tech support, increased bandwidth, professional development, maintenance, and replacement costs. Teachers could not help but wonder if their job was in jeopardy. Teachers learned that Mooresville, North Caroline school district had to eliminate more than 65 jobs, 37 of which were teaching positions, to afford the one-to-one initiative (Rhor, 2014). The district also had to decide what purchases were unnecessary with the new laptops; these expenses included textbooks, calculators, and computer labs. My school district was fortunate enough not to have cut any teaching positions, which came as a huge relief to my coworkers and me. Our school district and others are able to afford the initiative through various sources. First of all, the laptops are leased from Apple and replaced every two to three years to keep students from using outdated technology. School districts can also use bonds, federal funding, or apply for educational grants, such as Race to the Top. Parents also pay annual technology fees in different districts to help fund the initiative (Rhor, 2014).

It doesn’t take much to convince me that technology can enhance learning and improve student achievement. However, some need to see the data before they are willing to embrace change. In preparation for the one-to-one initiative, some administrators from my district went to visit the Mooresville, North Carolina school district, which has shown great gains since issuing a laptop to each student. According to their district data, graduation rates are up to 91 percent in 2011, from 80 percent in 2008. Also in 2008, only 73 percent of students were meeting proficiency standards in reading, math and science, compared to an average of 88 percent of students meeting the proficiency standards in 2011. These statistics are across grades and subject areas. Due to the implementation of laptops for each student, Mooresville school district now ranks third in the state in test scores and second in graduation rates (Golson, 2012). In a thesis on the investigation of laptop classroom and the effect on the teaching and learning of mathematics by Carrie Jane Annable (2013), the classrooms that were researched revealed that classrooms with laptops were student-centered, exploratory, and engaging for students. Another study by Wasmuth and Levine shows that benefits do exist when student can use laptops in and outside the classroom (2004).

        Both veteran and new teachers were aware that extensive training would be necessary for a successful implementation of laptops in the classroom. Veteran teachers expressed concerns on not being up to date on all of the new technology. While some were excited and ready to embrace the change, others were reluctant, arguing that “their way” of teaching had been successful so far, so there should be no reason for them to change. New teachers were barely comfortable teaching at all and now they were expected to be technological gurus in the classroom, when in reality they were just keeping their head above water. All of these anxieties were grounded in the fear that the teachers would not receive enough training. Because of teacher variability and differences in specific needs, meaningful professional development is necessary (Storz, 2013).  There was the certainty that students would use the computers irresponsibly and inappropriately and that there would be technical problems that arise. Teachers are unsure how they could possibly monitor the students’ use of the computer at all times and address equipment malfunctions effectively. In a paper that examined the teacher and student response to one-to-one initiatives, teachers said that while it was an advantage to be able to communicate with students outside of the class if needed, the students would use the chat feature on their laptop to socialize with each other while they were supposed to be doing their work (Storz, 2013). A study that focused on the sustaining technology enhanced learning shows that it is a challenge to facilitate student use of the laptops and reduce the number of times it becomes a disruptive element in the classroom. (Håkansson Lindqvist, 2015).  The study also provided that there was the possibility that teachers would begin to use the technology less if they had to continuously deal with technical problems (2015).  Using Mooresville, North Carolina school district as a role model, our school implemented approximately ten days of professional development into the summer schedule. Like Mooresville, our district created a leadership team to begin working with the new technological tools to create lesson, instructions, and help for colleagues throughout the district. Mooresville actually has 15 to 20 leaders in every school and the district organized professional development by teacher response, content area, and grade level. My school district followed suit and this was very helpful to the faculty.

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