[Yr7-10it] netbooks being distributed to every year 5 and 6 studentin northern victoria primary schools

Tue Mar 24 11:55:06 EST 2009

Hi Bill

Anne is obviously much better positioned to definitively answer these questions but i'll have a preliminary go at one or two as an interested observer  (i would have been in a p-10 school that was getting some of the netbooks, if i hadn't taken 12 months leave of absence to work for an educational software company)

i recall seeing some introductory programming tools  (scratch, gamemaker) on the image - don't think e-toys was there

i noticed some useful links on Darrel Branson's site as well that you might want to look at - Darrel is a strong ICT advocate, is on this list, and he also has a supporting role for the project (sorry if i didn't describe that correctly Darrel!)
http://www.smsn.vic.edu.au/ictguy/

from a school perspective, i think most local teachers would generally have a positive response, mixed in some cases with some personal uncertainity that they will quite know how to utilise them most effectively 

At the other end you have people who can't wait till we have greater access across all classes 

i know Anne has done a lot of interesting work with wikis and other curriculum projects with this age group, so her experience with convincing projects like this will no doubt be a strong example as it gets going

again unofficially, i think the general vision would include 'personalising education' 

certainly in Bendigo, where there are 4 brand new secondary schools replacing 5 old ones, that would be part of the vision - the education plan behind the new buildings looks to establish 'learning communities', moving away from the 'age related', 'factory model' of schooling , and looks to ICT to provide greater personalisation in this environment (the secondary schools are all aware that the kids will soon be coming through with these netbooks)

we ran a pilot year 7 and 8  learning community last year, and the high laptop ratio that the school provided (about 1:2.5   - or 1:1.5 if you include desktops) certainly helped make it all work

some observations - kids loved the laptops; invariably chose them over desktops if possible - self directed project learning time ran much better with the high laptop ratio   

our techs had been wary about these fragile machines in kids hands; - other schools had reported significant damage to their banks of laptops - but it wasn't a problem 

we had no damage whatsoever ....which i think was tied to  personal accountability - kids had to swipe the barcoded computers in and out of the system (a library terminal - although not in the library) ...so they felt accountable. 
It was a little tedious to do, but worth it  (individual ownership would remove that step as well)

i think the sense of doing something different in school also increased ownership 

anyway, personally i think its all a good thing....especially in schools that are rethinking their whole educational premises

as a maths/science teacher, i'd love to have ICT available like this - think it changes the game significantly - for example opens up other ways to think of maths learning - and no doubt many opportunities open up in all areas...

cheers
rob 

________________________________

From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Bill Kerr
Sent: Tue 3/24/2009 9:55 AM
To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
Cc: lindsay.winen at woodvillehs.sa.edu.au; Simon Newbury
Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] netbooks being distributed to every year 5 and 6 studentin northern victoria primary schools

thanks for information, Anne

software:
I'd like to see a full list of the software installed, if possible (is there scratch, etoys, logo,  gamemaker, inform 7, inkscape, opera browser to display svg animations ?)

wrt the users agreement:
Are students allowed to install their own software? (it would seem difficult to prevent this)
Are they allowed to install games, any restrictions here? (ditto)

Some worst case scenarios, what happens:
Are there any circumstances where some students would be banned from taking the computers home? (eg. repeated damage to machines)
What happens when porn or other inappropiate material is found on the machines?

consultants:
Has AALF  involved in the process up until now? They recently presented in South australia
http://www.aalf.org/

educational philosophy:
What is the big picture vision? Or is there one? (such visions do exist, eg. Papert, alan kay, greg whitby - catholic ed NSW has led the redesign of school architecture, see http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/21st-century-school.html)

teachers:
Has there been resistance? Teachers and the community in general has different attitudes to technology in general. Some see it as a potentially liberating force (I'm in that category), others as potential dangerous (dehumanising, anti social or time wasting), others see computers as just useful but limited tools). I would expect some resistance or reluctance at least but I suppose my real question is the perceived balance b/w those 3 broad groups and how that evolves as the project evolves and runs into a variety problems which may or may not be solved. 

cheers

On Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 8:24 AM, Baird, Anne P <baird.anne.p at edumail.vic.gov.au> wrote:

	Hi Bill

	I am managing the netbook Trial in our region, Loddon Mallee, Victoria. (also Rob Costello's region) We have rolled out 4,400 netbooks to date which gives every Grade 6 student and 40% of Grade 5 students access to a netbook. All the Grade 6 students are leasing the netbooks from the schools and DEECD for $52 per year and will take them from school to home each day therefore  having 24/7 access. The netbooks are Lenovo S9s and come with an image that includes Vista as the OS, the MS suite of tools, Kahootz and a wide range of open source educational software. At the end of 3 years, parents/ students will have the option to buy the netbook with their final lease payment of $52. A total of $156.

	DEECD and the regions are providing a range of professional development opportunities for teachers in the trial. We are using a range of research strategies to assess and document the trial. There are three other regions who are participating in the trial as well. With the other two country regions  trialling with Grade 5 students. Our netbooks will go with the students to secondary college next year so we have the added challenge of supporting the Secondary teachers as well.

	I hope this helps and let me know if there is anything else you would like to know.

	Anne Baird
	1-to-1 Netbook Project Manager
	Loddon Mallee Region

	-----Original Message-----
	From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Costello, Rob R
	Sent: Mon 3/23/2009 10:23 PM
	To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List

	Subject: RE: [Yr7-10it] netbooks being distributed to every year 5 and 6 studentin northern victoria primary schools

	HI Bill

	its been on the cards for ages and seems finally official

	http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/ict/netbooks/netbook-parent-brochure.pdf

	i've seen the models  (or at least the same model and software image that one of the schools here had prepurchased) - Lenovo - i don't know the exact brand - 1.6 Ghz chip i think
	running vista and seemed suprisingly responsive

	afraid i'd choose them, and the software image, over the XO / OLPC sugar environment that might have indirectly influenced the design of the netbook market

	cheers

	rob

	 _____

	From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Bill Kerr
	Sent: Mon 3/23/2009 12:04 AM
	To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
	Subject: [Yr7-10it] netbooks being distributed to every year 5 and 6 studentin northern victoria primary schools

	netbooks being distributed to every year 5 and 6 student in northern victoria primary schools

	press release
	http://candybroadcountry.blogspot.com/2009/02/hi-tech-mini-netbooks-to-boost-learning.html

	brochure to parents (pdf)
	http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/ict/netbooks/netbook-parent-brochure.pdf

	Anyone have more information about this? I'm preparing a talk about the potential of netbooks for my school staff and for the CEGSA conference in July (I'll post my notes somewhere in due course, still at the research stage)

	--
	Bill Kerr
	http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/
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Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
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