[Yr7-10it] Re: [Oz-teachers] Teacher & School ICT wish-lists (3)

[Peter Ruwoldt]

>
> --

I with you Ken
lets do it

>
>
> ken price, kenjprice at gmail.com 24th Feb 09:35:25 EST 2009  [Yr7-10it]
>
> I think I'd try for a different approach.
>
> Rather than extend the current model of schools providing computers to
> students (an approach that began in the 70s and 80s when most families
> did not have a computer, and where schools were the only practical owners
> of ICT for education), I think I'd hope for a country where society
> expects each student to have their own personal computng device as a
> future member of a country with a 21st century economy.
>
> They would NOT have this device given to them by the school, but would
> own it themselves in the same way they own a uniform, books etc.  They
> would own it and thus have the complete responsibility for ensuring it
> works, charging its battery, updating its software, doing what else it
> needs to keep functioning,  and carrying it with them. Just as they now
> do with mobile phones, which seem to work remarkably well without the
> assistance of armies of school IT support staff. And kids in general
> don't vandalise or corrupt their phone, they reserve that activity for
> things owned by others.
>
> Kids in struggling financial situations would be covered in the same way
> as they are now for books etc.
>
> Before people scream in horror at the cost - I bought a name-brand
> netbook at Christmas time from a large national chain store for under
> $300 including their extended warranty. I think this would last maybe 2
> to 3 years in an educational setting, so that's about $2 to $3 a week.
>
> After tax breaks this drops to a bit over a dollar a week or so.  It's
> not out of the question for most families, and for those who find it
> impossible it's within the realms of a federal fund to bring in some
> equity. Well, far more realistic than giving schools the liability of
> computers that they have to maintain.
>
> As schools won't own these student-owned computers, they would have no
> obligation to allocate resources to repair them. You break, you fix. Works
> with mobile phones. In many ways, computers are the last thing schools
> ought to own, as they present a management liability. There is a good
> reason why fast-food restaurants and coffee shops increasingly provide
> customers with broadband but not computers - who'd want to be responsible
> for maintaining fleets of computers?
>
> Schools/systems would be funded (and expected) to provide fast wireless
> connectivity on site, storage and printing facilites, classroom facilites
> (data projectors, etc) and maybe screens and keyboards for cases where
> extended use might give rise to OHS issues.
>
> It is interesting that most students find school connectivity to be worse
> than what they get at home on even the cheapest broadband plan.
>
> Possibly schools would have a small number of computers for specialised
> tasks that are beyond the netbook type of device. And of course they'd
> distribute educational sofware and provide online environments to support
> learning within and outside the school. I think it goes without saying
> that they would provide a reason for students to use their computers as
> part of their education (if not, there is no purpose to this discussion).
>
> Theft you say? Ok, microwave ovens used to be THE thing for burglars to
> steal. This was because they were expensive and not everyone had one. Now,
> no crim would bother with a microwave (car GPS devices are apparently the
> big-ticket itme for petty crims now). I literally could not give away a
> microwave oven recently - they are now cheap, abundant and hence not worth
> stealing. So the theft problem is very likely to decline significantly as
> portable computers become more ubiquitous.
>
> The current technical support model could be swung across to support and
> enhance infrastructure for learning instead of dealing with break/fix
> problems.
>
> Teachers? Maybe they would be given a computing device as part of their
> employment.
>
> More important though is that employers would require teachers to be able
> to use it as part of their professional practice, as with most other
> professions. No ifs, no buts.
>
> If we are serious about the importance of ICT in education (as expounded
> in the Learning in an online World etc publications) then how can we
> accept people opting out of this aspect of pedagogy? It's as if you get a
> spinal injury and go to a hospital and see an MRI machine there, but the
> doctors tell you they don't believe in them or don't know how to use it.
>
> Yes, this has PD imlpications, but at least the PD will be better used
> than it has been in  the past 20-odd years, where much of the PD on ICT
> use has not reached those who most need it.
>
> Yes, this idea has flaws and would require a cultural shift. But cost-wise
> it compares pretty well with other alternatives and might shift things
> towards a sustainable learning culture which makes better use of ICT to
> personalise and support learning, and which moves some of the obligations
> off schools and frees them to do what they do best.
>
> Might have some possibilites....  Ken (TASITE Tasmania)
>
>

-- 
Free and Open education for all

Peter Ruwoldt
Grant High School
Hosking Avenue
MOUNT GAMBIER  SA  5290

P. 08 87263128
F. 08 87250173

ruwoldtp at granths.sa.edu.au
http://www.watiwara.com
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