1:1 Educational Computing Initiatives

Lessons learned andconfirmed at …

Steve VoslooHead of Mobile, Innovation LabPearson South Africa

Context

At the 8th Global Symposium on ICT in Education 2014, themed Transforming Education with 1:1 Computing (3-5 November, 2014, Hilton Gyeongju, Republic of Korea)

28 countries represented, sharing their experiences of planning and implementing 1:1 computing initiatives

Hosted by the Korean Ministry of Education and the World Bank, along with KERIS, UNESCO Bangkok and Intel

South Korea is one of the leaders in digital learning, so it was a fitting context for the country

A number of lessons were learned and known ones confirmed …

1. 1:1 is a journey, not a destination

We are all learning, all trying to work it out

Many failures so far!

If you are struggling, that’s ok

2. Articulate long-term vision, have short-term plan

Set and communicate the long-term vision

But: Since this is a pioneering space, be open to surprises. Be agile, be willing to adapt

Double-but: Still, have a plan, document, evaluate, re-document, re-evaluate…

Triple-but: Don’t wait for the perfect plan, it doesn’t exist

3. 1:1 often starts for the wrong reasons

Because it’s “the future”

Because it’s “progress”

Because it can win a political campaign

Massive pressure from the market and media for the “next big thing”

Did good educational research or rationale inform the decision?

4. Very little evidence of academic impact

In South Korea in 2007 the drive to Digital Textbooks started, but by 2014 still no concrete evidence of increased academic performance (yet)

The government has now began a long-term research effort to try to better understand impact of ebooks

(Note: In South Korea their risks are gaming addiction, too much screen time — a culture that is TOO digital)

5. Measuring the impact of 1:1 remains a challenge

But there are many other benefits – we need to define the non-academic impact

What benefits?• Collaboration• Project-based learning• Engagement• 21st century skills• Communication• …

Indicators?

6. It’s not about the tech: It’s about people

1:1 must be about the education of the learner, not the implementation of technology

6. It’s not about the tech: It’s about people

Even in South Korea, a digital learning pioneer, there is still some teacher resistance and apprehension around using ebooks (since 2007)

There is a need for continual training and opportunities for sharing between teachers (online communities)

Change management is critical

7. Teacher training!

We can’t do enough of it!

ISTE recommends that teacher training and PD should be 25% of total 1:1 budget

In Kazakhstan only 2% of teachers have been trained in e-learning

In Kyrgyzstan 86% of school directors have never used Internet at schools. 72% of school administration started to use computers only one year after installation

8. “Community” buy-in is critical

Cost, risk, perceptions carried across communities

Principals, teachers, administrators, parents…

Need to educate to get support – have prioritised this in Australia

9. Infrastructure, support and maintenance!

OLPC implementation in Sri Lanka:

Connectivity problems, content could not be updated

Charging problems

After 2 years half the laptops were defective

10. Learner analytics, big data vs privacy

Privacy is one of the “big issues” of the move to digital

We don’t have the answers yet to finding the balance between educational interests and personal privacy

And then a visit to Saeron Elementary School

Thank you

Steve VoslooHead of Mobile, Innovation LabPearson South Africa

steve.vosloo@pearson.com@stevevosloo