i-School: Technology Makes An Impact!
LMS Prepares for a "One to One Learning Initiative."
September 22, 2008
It has been said that if you were to take a doctor from the late 1800’s and put him into today’s hospital he would be amazed and lost. The same would be true of a businessperson and the modern office, a Civil War General and the modern U.S.Army. However, if you were to put a teacher from the 19th century in a modern classroom they would be at home and recognize, quite easily, what they were seeing and hearing.
While today’s youth are using cell phones, texting, e-mailing, downloading music to i-pods, gaming, using social networking via My Space, Facebook or Bebo, chatting using Wiki’s and even listening to podcasts, most schools aren’t utilizing these common technologies with which most of our kids are very comfortable and familiar. If you don’t know a Wiki from an i-pod, don’t feel bad, most adults aren’t all that up to date either, but the world is changing fast and our kids are driving the evolution.
We are now part of a global economy. The economic meltdown we are currently experiencing and its’ effect on world markets are proof of that fact. Our students are no longer competing just with other Nebraska students, or American students either, they are competing with young people from India, China and other nations adapting to a world that is firmly entrenched in the technology age. How do we prepare our children to live and prosper in the world that is unfolding? If we are to be successful, it will be by teaching them to create, problem-solve and leverage their skills with technology.
To educators charged with the task of preparing our children for their future, the answer seems pretty clear: we embrace what the world has become and stay in tune with the trends that are coming at us. In Lexington, that means the development of a “One to One Learning Initiative.”
What is a “One to One Learning Initiative?” Simply put, it involves putting a laptop computer into every student’s hands. But, if that were all we were going to do, it would be a waste of money and a huge failure. “One to One’ also means changing the way education is delivered: the way teachers communicate with, challenge and evaluate students. It will mean teaching with multi-media and expecting kids to demonstrate what they can do by creating multi-media. It does not mean the focus changes from the basic skills of reading, writing and utilizing mathematical concepts, it means that the relevance of those skills will be taught and demonstrated in modern terms.
“One to One” will change the way information is shared. It will mean a student’s math book will be accessed from the computer desktop, which is something we can already do. It will mean that the textbook as you and I knew it will eventually no longer exist. Educators will be free to challenge students with current facts, images and ideas that are not inhibited by the printed page in an outdated edition of a textbook. Imagine discussing any scientific discovery with the scientist doing the research, any current political event with thousands of others offering their insight or discussing the American Revolution in real time with students in Great Britain. These are just a few examples of the way our children will be educated in the near future.
Are we ready to make “One to One” work in Lexington? If you asked the students this question, you would get a loud and resounding, YES! The Lexington Public School’s Board of Education has approved the implementation of the “One to One Learning Initiative” at the 8th grade level beginning in January 2009. Policies are being put into place that addresses student and parent responsibilities, appropriate use and liability. The networking capabilities are being updated and improved at the middle school. Teachers who have been implementing technology for several years are ramping up for classrooms where all students are “connected.” This change will not take place without obstacles, but we are confident the changes will have a tremendous beneficial impact on learning.
The Lexington Public Schools is creating a new educational environment that will be exciting and challenging to students and teachers alike. The students that graduate from our school system, with the support of parents and the community, will be on par with students from around the world. As a community we are on the cutting edge of where education is going and the hard work going into this process will certainly be worth the effort.
