Written by One of the earliest and largest 1:1 computing initiatives in the United States has been transpiring in the Henrico County (VA) Public Schools(HCPS) for nearly a decade. For the last X years, every student in grades 6-12 in the county has been issued a laptop. The program began under the leadership of Dr. Mark Edwards and continued under the stewardship Fred Morton. A new superintendent, Dr. Pat Russo, took over the reigns of the school system this year and now the county is holding a series of parent input sessions on the “Middle School Laptop Initiative.” Given that the program has been implemented across all of secondary education, that they’re holding parent input sessions on the “middle school” initiative suggests that there is a real possibility that the program will be cut in the middle schools.
I have been working for a number of years to help educators understand the affordances for learning of technology in education. I am also a parent of two not-yet-school-aged children in Henrico County. Wearing those two hats, I intend to attend the last parent input session on Thursday, November 19 and I hope to offer my input. I have a pretty good idea of the points I’d like to make, but I’ve built up a respectably large network of educators through my blog, through Twitter and through face-to-face meetings. So, I’m modeling the power of social learning and I’m asking you to help me frame the arguments to the HCPS board. [Or, I'm outsourcing the work; you decide 
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I’ve started a Google doc where you can help me frame the argument(s). Please click on that link and head on over there to offer your ideas. Thanks in advance!
Jon, It is amazing to me that an initiative like this can fail, but it does happen. Take a look at my post on 1to1schools.net.
http://1to1schools.net/2009/11/prepare-for-the-opposition.html
We have to be prepared to tackle the critics and address the issues that have led to programs failing. Good luck with your meeting and future battles.
I guess I would have to ask, as a taxpayer, are you getting your monies worth? Are your middle school teachers still maximizing the laptops for the education? I don’t know the answer, so I have a hard time saying they should stay 1:1. I think 1:1 is a great program if you have staff and student buy in. But I (obviously) don’t know enough about the school to say you should keep the program.
Thanks, Blair. I will add your resources to my repertoire.
Josh, there’s been quite a bit of evaluation research around the initiative. Results have been mixed, though they skew slightly positive. The real rub may be that the new administration (i.e. new Supt.) may not fully support the initiative. As we all know, it’s tough to expect success where the highest level of leadership are not on board.
I’m really confused why an administrator takes that job if they are not in full support of 1:1. I don’t expect you to answer that question, but it’s not like you don’t know what’s going on when you sign your name on the contract. Henrico rings a bell in education for their 1:1. You would think it would’ve came up during Board meetings – unless the Board isn’t on Board. I’ve seen first hand how the make up of a school board sways decisions. Interesting. Can’t wait to hear more.
I am always amazed that we will spend millions of dollars every few years for textbooks, but balk at offering students a resoure like a laptop that is more dynamic than the textbook will ever be. As an English teacher I cringe when so much money is spent to give my students “new” textbooks that have the same short stories as the previous ten editions.
I would argue in this day and age when there is so much emphasis on closing the achievement gap, that any initiative which helps to level the playing field for all students and facilitates student learning is a keeper. The laptop initiative seems to me to do just that!
Rdngteach
I think part of the reason you only see a slight increase in performance is the assessment itself. I am doing a 1-1 program with 5th graders. The increase in engagement and and increase in attendance will never be measured on standardized testes. That does not mean positives don’t out-weigh negatives. I believe reverting back to a traditional classroom would be a huge negative step in the wrong direction. We don’t ask businesses to remove their machines because the expense or because some don’t understand how to use them. Business trains their employees and manages the resources that will give them the best outcome. Why can’t education see that? Seems that those that want to rid the MS of this program, don’t truly understand the program. Maybe they need some professional development. Keep up the good fight Jon!
I believe that the #1 key to success is building the shared vision with a broad base of support and this requires support and promotion from the highest level. I have learned this through the little bit of work that I have done with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation (http://www.fi.ncsu.edu/project/nc-11-learning-collaborative/), They are evaluating 1:1 initiatives in public schools in NC. If you have the broad coalition, the other components (infrastructure and support, professional development, curriculum alignment, and finances) will be put into place. Below is a quote that came out of their work.
“Consistent, supportive, distributed leadership promotes adoption and buy-in from teachers and students for the 1:1 learning innovation. Key characteristics emerged from the conversations with teachers at the 1:1 pilot schools for school leaders to successfully support a new 1:1 laptop project including supporting teacher professional growth, setting reasonable expectations for effective technology integration, modeling technology use, readily addressing instructional and technical needs, and communicating commitment to the purpose of 1:1 learning initiative.”
The other problem is proving that the laptops are enhancing student learning. Depending on your community makeup, that can be extremely challenging. Not everyone wants to hear, “trust us”.