Student Tech vs. School Owned Tech
I think we can all agree that anyone using this forum is a proponent of using EdTech in the classroom, but when it comes to the hardware whose should we be using?
Should schools provide students with laptops/ipads/ipod/etc. for use in the classroom? Or should students be required to bring the hardware with them from home? Is a laptop the new textbook/TI-83/compass? Or should schools have to provide these resources just as they provide teachers with blackboards, chalk and other materials?
Tags: Hardware, Requirements, Responsibility, School, Student
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Adam Simon on -
I think that there should be a mix, but this will require a paradigm shift and a new cultural outlook from most parents. Students should be required to have a modern laptop computer (windows xp or later or mac osx, with a webcam, etc.)for use in school, just as they are required to have a TI-83 for certain math classes, but if the teacher decides to integrate technologies beyond that threshold (iPads, Kindle, etc.) it should be something that is up to the school and/or teacher to facilitate.
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Permalink Reply by Moshe Adatto on -
It's a big question. Initial thoughts: advantages of student providing is a) saves the school the expense, b) sets student up for life by making sure he or she has the tools necessary to function in this world. The benefits of the school providing are a) uniform tech resources (avoid mac-pc issues etc.), b) ability to limit what is on the laptops etc. to help ensure that students aren't using them for inappopriate uses, and c) you can ensure that hardware will be there consistently when you need it.
We started out providing laptops to our students, but stopped for a combination of financial reasons and the reality that the vast majority of our students had their own anyway (we have a few school-owned laptops for those students who don't have their own, and we are trying to upgrade to more functional and up-to-date "backup" laptops).
In theory I feel that the advantages of school-owned hardware make it the ideal, but if schools are having issues with the financial end, the middle ground is workable also.
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Permalink Reply by Eliezer Jones on -
Good question. There are schools that provide the hardware and schools that require them. I lean towards requiring the students to own the equipment for two reasons. One, I do believe the ipad/laptop etc. is the new text book and, again, there are some schools that have the students buy the books and those that provide them. This leads into my second reason for having the students own the hardware. Many of the schools that provide the hardware "loan" it to the students for the day and they can't bring it home. This either means they have to have the same hardware at home to continue any work or they don't get to do any work at home. This also means having an online space to access their work which is another step in the process and many schools block uploading and downloading. I also feel that as a student I was more connected to the textbook I owned versus the one I "borrowed" because I was able doodle in it, made notes in the margins and highlight. The students iPads/laptop should be an extension of themselves and be a personalized learning platform that will only occur if they can customize it.
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