Now fully into year two of school-wide one-to-one computing (and four years since the initial pilot classes), one of the biggest challenges we face is the actual physical structure of a school and classrooms built to service students in traditional teacher-centered learning environments. As we implemented ubiquitous student connectivity, things like lack of desk space and cooperative learning areas quickly were identified as impediments to the natural emergence of student-centered learning.

As a lead teacher in the first two pilot years of the program, we tried to structure the “classroom” to encourage all participants as a community of learners. For the first two years we teamed classes, with almost 60 students and two teachers in one big space. Rows of students were replaced by 13 round tables with space for 4-5 students each, plus a couple of comfy chairs and window ledges in our “learning corner”. The environment had as much, if not more, to do with the success of the initial program as the laptops themselves.

Now others are beginning to take notice. The keyword to describe New Brunswick Education Minister Kelly Lamrock’s first two years has been “innovation”. His government has provided a $5 million Innovative Learning Fund from which teachers may apply to get resources they can use to lead innovation within their classrooms. Issues with the fund and it’s acceptance by teachers and administrators continue, but Minister Lamrock’s ideas are nonetheless exciting.

Now, he wants to look at the very nature of the physical structure of schools themselves. In yesterday’s provincial morning newspaper, after attending the recent Microsoft Schools for the Future Conference in Finland, he shared his ideas for future schools that focus on students as connected knowledge creators.

“We are reviewing how we build schools because our schools are really built to have teachers sitting at desks and teachers up lecturing,” Lamrock said. “One reason why we wanted to slow down capital construction a bit, we want to make sure we have standards that match how we want teachers to teach.”

Of course, being a politician worried about the bottom line, he’s also, rightly so, wondering just how to pay forbeing on the cutting edge. He has his ideas…

“What if we made it a centre that used technology in a way that we could actually market and export some of the technology and lecture material and educational material that our teachers are developing,”

“What if it was a centre supported by a university that could evaluate what works and what doesn’t. And what if it was a place that could actually act as a place where we try the newest methods of teaching and teachers from around the province could come and learning from what is being done.”

Some bold ideas. But just what should a “school of the future” look like? Will it be a physical building at all? I doubt if Microsoft has any of the answers for our children’s future learning. Many have been debating what School 2.0 should look like? Some even have taken a shot at a definition – a good start for the conversations.

But maybe, just maybe, the answers lie somewhere in what the kids are telling us themselves. Through their use of social networking and interest in connectivity, I think they are speaking loudly, we just don’t understand their dialect. We need to listen carefully to their conversations.

tags: technology, education, learning, whipple, school 2.0

I have heard a lot about e-paper over the last couple of years, but hadn’t really seen much evidence as to the possibilities of it replacing traditional paper – until now.

The new Livescribe paper-based computing platform is due out at early in the next year. Complete with a “smartpen”, e-paper, applications, etc, this system will allow users to write, much like on traditional paper. The difference is that content is digitally translated, stored and is sharable via email or other tools like blogs. Imagine a whole class full of students making notes and connections.

There are also translation features – will students even need to share a common language to work together? – and notes, sketches and voice can be auto-posted to blogs and other web 2.0 tools.

Some subjects that require creation of graphics and working with non-linear text and numbers (e.g. Math) just lend themselves easier to pen and paper. This platform would allow learners to maintain the flexibility of handwriting with the even more portable and affordable nature of this medium as opposed to a laptop with a graphics tablet or even a tablet PC.

I have some questions…does it work in colour? Connectivity options? Does it connect wirelessly to a PC? I would love to get my hands on one to explore further…but the possibilities are mind-boggling…:)

Check out this video …even more details are available at their website.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/DE-mnEdAf7g" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

tags: technology, education, learning, whipple, livescribe

As users on this side of the planet continue to define connectivity primarily through an ever-increasing demand for PC’s (both desktops and laptops), the future is being glimpsed in the connected center of the planet – Japan.

In the Yahoo Tech blog, Christopher Null reports that the fall of the PC world has begun, with Japanese consumers, primarily young people, ditching their laptops for other devices. 2007 second quarter sales of desktops fell almost 5%, while laptops fell over 3%. The question is, why? The answer is, of course, rather simple – they demand to be connected, to their work, to their play and to their learning.

If we believe that our kids will invent the future with demand, then we are beginning to see the end of the PC. Not that it will be obsolete tomorrow, but it is obvious that the tremendous rate of change vis a vis technology will continue, with demand for smaller and more portable connectivity driving the shift. We can see evidence in devices like the iPhone, which is surely just a start.

What does this mean for education? Well, to start it reinforces the fact that it is not about any particular technology, but rather about the connectivity and the information. While PC’s are a powerful learning tool, we don’t need to spend huge amounts of time teaching kids how to use the machine. Rather, we need to spend time working with our kids to learn how to locate, assess, harvest, manipulate, synthesize, connect and communicate new information.

It also provides a challenge to those seeking to ban cell phones and other small, portable connected devices in our schools. What will be our response when, ten years (or less!) from now, our students are completely connected anytime, anywhere and laptops and desktops are not the most efficient tool for learning. How will we react? Would it not just be more effective to start with learning about proper digital citizenship, including when and where to utilize the tools?

This is not to say we shouldn’t be transitioning to 1:1 computing environments, it just means that this is only the beginning phase of a connected revolution, where being connected in an anytime, anywhere environment will be the key to learning.

tags: technology, education, learning, whipple

Photo Credit: “Old Car” by Whip62’s (me) photostream on Flickr

A couple of things happened today that really didn’t mean much at the time, but have me reflecting this evening.

This afternoon I was working with a group of Grade 6 students as I spent time with a colleague and her young learners introducing them to the use of wireless laptops in their class. I was introducing them to proper search techniques (which will eventually lead to information assessment).

Naturally, some of the kids were more interested in learning how to change their screen background, which many of the students did immediately and easily. I had my standard response…”you find out and then tell me how you did it”. It didn’t take long for more computer saavy classmates offered to help – a new learning community.

I try to encourage teachers not to teach kids how to use applications or the basics of the technology (except where I assess that it is immediate and necessary to facilitate a learning opportunity), especially common software like word processors and presentation software. Instead, by encouraging active learning communities and challenging learners to find the information (as opposed to me telling them) I hope to promote lifelong learning practices.

Then tonight, I stumbled upon a feature in sitemeter that I didn’t even know existed. It allows subscribers to monitor the OS of visitors to their site. I was looking at the analytics for my blog and noticed that, while various versions of Windows accounted for just over half of the visitors and another quarter were running Macs (which always makes me smile!), over one in five visitors were running versions of Linux.

Frankly, the fact that almost as many users are running Linux boxes as Macs surprised me!  I will be the first to admit that I am not a programmer and wouldn’t even know where to start with a Linux box, the collaborative and participatory nature of both Web 2.0 tools and open source software and operating systems is encouraging.

Noting that the Linux-based OS on the XO laptop of OLPC (see previous post) is non-proprietary and the immense capabilities of learners (when given the opportunity) to share, connect and learn together, I am heartened to think of the possibilities outside the the Microsofts, Googles and Apples of the world.

tags: technology, education, learning, whipple, olpc

The ultimate Christmas gift went on sale yesterday…but you’ll have to act quick to get one.

The folks at One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) have opened up sales of this truly world-flattening device to residents of the US and Canada.  For a donation of US$399 you can get one cool laptop for yourself, and a second will be sent to a child in a developing country.

Conceived by Nicholas Negroponte and the folks at MIT, the goal of OLPC is to provide a connected laptop to every child in the third world, creating learning opportunities that empower them to become productive global citizens.  Originally available only to governments and agencies that would disseminate to schools and children in the developing world, the goal is to create a machine that would be Internet accessible and useful in conditions in developing nations.

Innovation is all through this machine, dubbed the XO Laptop. From the innovative Linux-based OS and unique connectivity sequence to the switchable B&W/color monitor and hand-cranked power option, the bright green unit stands out in the crowd.

What a great idea for a fundraiser at your school.  For $10K you can get a class set of 25 laptops, and another 25 go to children in the developing world.  Considering a set of laptops that we would get for our school would be pretty much double that, seems like a pretty good deal…although I am now sure how our purchasing and IS staff would react…:)

Thinking I better get that Christmas list started…

tags: technology, education, learning, whipple, olpc, MIT, one laptop per child