When Computers Are Free--Next Month--What is K-12 Going to Do?

• By Cathie Norris, Elliot Soloway
• 01/07/13

And let’s be clear: the specs on the $99 Android devices are quite impressive: Dual-core, Cortex-A9, 1.5 GHz, processor plus GPU, 1024 * 600 high resolution screen, 1GB RAM memory, 8GB HDD storage, support for external storage, etc. At least for K-8 this is a fine computing device. (Let’s put high school aside; high school is so complicated for pedagogical and non-pedagogical reasons; we will devote a blog to high school’s complications later.)

$99 for a computer means the computer is for all intents and purposes…. FREE.

Does the TI graphing calculator appear on your school’s “supplies” list that parents receive in August”? Well, the $99 Android device may well displace the TI graphing calculator. The Android computer can do all that the TI graphing calculator can do – and so much more. (Getting the math department to go along is another issue; we will address that issue, too, in another blog.)

And the $99 Android computer will displace BYOD, as well.

Why would a clear thinking school suffer the pedagogical, curricular, and support issues that come with a classroom full of different devices when each child could bring essentially the same device to school – for … nothing? For... it’s on the parent’s “supplies” list?

• Finally, a teacher can make an assignment (e.g., create a concept map for the water cycle) that all the students can do—since they all have the same concept mapping app and, in fact they all have the same suite of domain-independent productivity apps and content specific apps loaded natively on their devices - and it’s easy to turn in via an LMS for feedback and grading.
• Finally, teachers and students can develop a common, shared expertise in using the homogenous devices – and thus everyone is a potential support person.
• Finally, the IT department (read: 1 person at best, more than likely a teacher serving part-time) can have a chance at providing support to the hundreds of students and teachers in the school.

Indeed – and here is the key to pedagogical change – homogeneity makes it possible to use the devices as essential tools, not just supplemental, add-on tools. And the data are clear: ONLY when computing devices are used as essential tools does student achievement increase![iii] Using a computing device for a short period during the day, while fun and engaging for sure, does not result in increased student achievement. But, when students use a device for 50-75% of the school day – and outside of the school as well, employing a range of apps (reading, writing, time lining, animating, concept mapping, KWLing, etc., etc., etc.), only then is increased student achievement achieved. Only then does the device become a truly useful tool.

But wait, schools or parents don’t need to purchase special devices for school – students can bring whatever devices they already have! What a great idea – look at all the money that can be saved! Yup,

BYOD is being heralded as the Silver Bullet with schools jumping onto the BYOD bandwagon apparently in droves – if publicity is a proxy for action.

In a BYOD model, where does the educational software come from? The Internet. Thus, a suitable BYOD device need only have a browser app. What happens, however, when the Wi-Fi signal that brings the Internet into the device’s browser drops? Without apps running native on a device, the student is stuck – waiting for the Internet to come back up. But the whole point of BYOD is that the devices do not need native apps – all the software is on the Internet!

Question: how often does the Wi-Fi signal in your school drop – on occasion? frequently? NO school we have been in has an always-on Wi-Fi signal.

But, Oak Hills Local Schools in Ohio has made it all work[iv]. How? Throw money at it. Oak Hills Local can do that since their mean family income is $89,362[v]. Oak Hills has built a portal that has a private cloud and a public cloud that is well-populated with software and that is well-supported by an IT staff (about 3-5 FTE). Yup, BYOD works like a champ in Oak Hills Local!

We are strapped in; let’s hear from districts that have made BYOD work. By the way, what does “work” mean? Improved test scores? In all the preening about BYOD, we haven’t read where schools say that they have observed increased test scores. Increased engagement? Most certainly – but increased engagement is not enough!

Bring it on; our skins are thick. (Well, Cathie’s is, but Elliot is a crybaby.)