With (too) much of my life revolving around technology it is often easy to put too much focus on the tools and the toys and not so much on what we want to do with them. As technology advocates in education we could do well to focus our efforts on a balance of teaching not just how to use the tools, but whether we should even bother using them at all.

In education there are very few issues or challenges that come up with clear well defined solutions. Almost always the way through is a matter of balancing approaches and resources, and technology provision is a good case in point. Having technology around for use as and when it is needed is a good and fair goal. Whether 1to1 is the best solution for this is, to my mind, definitely open to question.

As I mentioned I am fully in support of the IDEA behind 1:1 computing. Yes we should absolutely aim toward getting the devices as close to the location of learning as possible. But for the reasons I mentioned — and other reasons that others have mentioned — I don’t think laptops are ready for school-time yet.

So rather than rely completely on laptops, one option is to mix up the layout of computers in the school, with a combination of fixed computer labs, classrooms with 5 or so desktops placed in each, and a limited number of COWS. This is the model that I have used in the past, and no, it’s not ideal.

If possible, I say spend any extra money on tougher COW laptops. Or alternatively, I’m curious about the possibility of going with cheaper options, such as One Laptop Per Child’s XO, though I don’t know about availability of this device to regular consumers. At $100 a piece, and built specifically-rugged for kids in the developing world, I wonder if this little Linux-running laptop could fill the gap when students need portability, while not doing away with more powerful stationary desktops appropriate for other school uses.

I agree with you both that a solid, realistic plan for implementation, teacher training, student use, and last but not least, maintenance considerations are the most important thing a school can do to increase the success of laptops in schools. This has not been a strong feature at the laptop-using schools I’ve seen and experienced. Cooperation with families (i.e. sharing laptop costs, responsibilities) is important also. And of course some schools do have far deeper pockets than others, and can better adapt to originally-unplanned-for costs, and/or have a team of certified computer technicians on staff.

But I must agree with myself that the bottom line is that laptops marketed to schools today are still too delicate and temperamental for effective large-scale use in the “typical” school. I know we’re not far off from the day when that is no longer true. At that point, we can work on finding ways to deal with the other problems I haven’t mentioned regarding laptops, such as the ones illustrated in this article from The Wall Street Journal, as well as those I link to in my original post.

Yes, classroom management that is different than what teachers are used to, but so is the teaching. Teachers need support (I posted on this) with this, but if they get it then laptops in students’ hands and in environments where they are learning already (instead of heading to the computer lab), must be a positive move.

One to one changes the dynamic because kids can be rough with them outside of teacher supervision, but then isn’t that a matter of family responsibility for maintenance cost or is that unaffordable for most families so schools have to take on that cost?