New Federal Stimulus Idea - Write your senators and congressmen

[Carl Anderson]

In a recent New York Times op-ed Paul Krugman calls for a new stimulus package aimed at our nation's schools. "If you had to explain America’s economic success with one word, that word would be 'education.'" The problem is, if the federal government just gives this money to the states they will use it to fill cracks just like the last round. I have another idea that I thought I would air out here to see if it holds water. Many many schools, dare I say most schools, would like to have 1:1 laptop programs if money were not a critical factor. The biggest problem with 1:1 initiatives so far has been the total cost of ownership for school districts. Of which most schools report maintenance as the biggest problem. Some 1:1 schools have even been seriously considering abandoning these initiatives because of the financial stress they put on the school budget. Connect With Stillwater Public Schools recently ran this post that poses the question of whether or not a 1:1 program can be accomplished with student-owned computers: Student-owned technology: Is there a place for it in our schools?

If the government wants to do another federal stimulus that would greatly benefit education perhaps it would be more wise to do it as a federal tax credit for families with students in k-12 or post-secondary to purchase laptops. Schools could publish their minimum requirements and suggested models and families could either use the money to buy laptops for students that meet or exceed that requirement. A small amount of federal aid could then be awarded to schools that are not yet wireless to install necessary infrastructure to make the student-owned laptops useful. The only thing a school would have to do to become a 1:1 laptop school is adjust their policy.

Since this would be done through a tax credit, states would not be able to divert the money to other budget issues. And, since the computers would be student owned, schools would not be responsible for maintenance and repair. Schools could then apply technology dollars to teacher professional development, curriculum development, or other necessary uses instead of maintaining student use computers and outfitting labs. Additionally, this would be an economic stimulus because the money spent would go back into the economy to help boost the tech sector.

What do you think of this idea? Could this work? If you feel as I do that this "Cash for Computers" program could work please join me in writing your senators and congressmen and tell them we need a program like this now.

Minnesota Representatives:
* Bachmann, Michele, Minnesota, 6th
* Ellison, Keith, Minnesota, 5th
* Kline, John, Minnesota, 2nd
* McCollum, Betty, Minnesota, 4th
* Oberstar, James L., Minnesota, 8th
* Paulsen, Erik, Minnesota, 3rd
* Peterson, Collin C., Minnesota, 7th
* Walz, Timothy J., Minnesota, 1st

Minnesota Senators:
*Franken, Al - (D - MN)
*Klobuchar, Amy - (D - MN)

[Bryan Berg]

This general idea was proposed to the state several years ago from a plan that was originally drafted by Loren Kiefer (Stewartville and Dover-Eyota). I think I still have that proposal somewhere, since it was presented to the SEMTEC group back around 2003 or so. It didn't get much steam at that time despite the idea being promoted by Anoka-Hennepin and other metro schools. I'll see if I still have that proposal handy, and I could bring it before SEMTEC again, and we can go from there!

[Carl Anderson]

Could you post a copy of it in this online forum?

[Bryan Berg]

Just some thoughts: 1:1 also still has to show its merits. If it's done incorrectly, it can be a money-pit disaster. Dollars also do need to be ongoing in some manner (though there is a thought about resolving that in that proposal that I'll try to find), and there HAS to be a major shift in the way teachers handle technology. They HAVE to become front-line troubleshooters/tech support, able to solve basic issues that go along with 20-35 laptops running at once, and that come and go from the building on a daily basis. They have to learn how to teach to a classroom of students that will have devices that can and have created challenges with security and distraction. Stillwater's experiences, as well as those documented by Maine and Michigan (Maine's first-year report: http://usm.maine.edu/cepare//Reports/MLTI_Impact_Digital_Divide.pdf , Michigan's Freedom to Learn Analysis from 2005: http://archive.techlearning.com/techlearning/events/techforum06/Les... ) need to be looked through thouroughly. There is also the issue of students having access from home with their laptops, which has spurred some discussion about funding Municipal Wi-Fi access (last check, that was $110,000 per square mile of coverage using the Cisco Matrix technologies) to support 1:1 initiatives. If we write to our respective representatives, we have to be prepared to answer questions about the benefits as compared to costs. The potential expendiatures will be the primary area that they will look at.

[Bryan Berg]

Another thought - if the schools wouldn't be responsible for Maint and repair, who would be? The parents? What happens if a student busts up the laptop, or it is otherwise inoperable? Can a school actually completely free itself from Maint and repair issues?

I'm wondering if a 1:1 initiative with a multitude of different computer types will work at K-12 levels, even with published minimum standards. Invariably, some won't get a computer with the stated minimums, and how does a school maintain network security with that many laptops that aren't under school control? How does software licensing work under that scenario? Who's responsible for installing that software, and troubleshooting issues or handling updates? I'd be in favor of a plan that perhaps split costs of a lease program between school and students with an agreement that the school controls the laptop until the end of a specified time period (3, 4 or 5 years - whatever the lease agreement can be set to be), and then the parents can buy the laptop outright by buying out the lease, or the laptop can be replaced and a new laptop comes in (depending on the grade-level of the student). This idea is a part of the proposal that was out there a few years ago.

[Bryan Berg]

Certainly, as soon as I can track it down!

Carl Anderson said:

Could you post a copy of it in this online forum?

[Carl Anderson]

Of course teachers will have to adjust their pedagogy to meet the challenges and benefits of a 1:1. This is inherent in any 1:1 implementation. It is something that should have been an ongoing thing as technology has evolved but without tech being as prevalent in schools as it is in homes (or in some cases our students pockets) there has not been enough demonstrated need for change for many teachers to invest the time or energy to reform their practice.

Also, the Stillwater superintendent has stated that if cost were not a factor going to a 1:1 school environment would be a no brainer. The biggest problem with their program is it is not fiscally sustainable. Doing 1:1 with student-owned computers (especially in the age of $200 netbooks) the cost of maintenance and hardware is taken off the shoulders of the district and placed back on the parents. If this cost could be offset by a government subsidy or tax credit it would be simple for districts to just declare themselves 1:1 without incurring any additional costs. Instead of spending money on upgrading labs they would just spend the money on updating infrastructure.

Bryan Berg said:

Just some thoughts: 1:1 also still has to show its merits. If it's done incorrectly, it can be a money-pit disaster. Dollars also do need to be ongoing in some manner (though there is a thought about resolving that in that proposal that I'll try to find), and there HAS to be a major shift in the way teachers handle technology. They HAVE to become front-line troubleshooters/tech support, able to solve basic issues that go along with 20-35 laptops running at once, and that come and go from the building on a daily basis. They have to learn how to teach to a classroom of students that will have devices that can and have created challenges with security and distraction. Stillwater's experiences, as well as those documented by Maine and Michigan (Maine's first-year report: http://usm.maine.edu/cepare//Reports/MLTI_Impact_Digital_Divide.pdf , Michigan's Freedom to Learn Analysis from 2005: http://archive.techlearning.com/techlearning/events/techforum06/Les... ) need to be looked through thouroughly. There is also the issue of students having access from home with their laptops, which has spurred some discussion about funding Municipal Wi-Fi access (last check, that was $110,000 per square mile of coverage using the Cisco Matrix technologies) to support 1:1 initiatives. If we write to our respective representatives, we have to be prepared to answer questions about the benefits as compared to costs. The potential expendiatures will be the primary area that they will look at.

[Carl Anderson]

"how does a school maintain network security with that many laptops that aren't under school control?"
-How do colleges and universities do it?

"How does software licensing work under that scenario?"
-If we use Open Source software we won't have to worry about licensing. Districts could publish links to recommended open source software on their websites. Then, teachers teach content, not software. Students choose the software (or cloud app) that can accomplish the stated assignment/learning objective. This shifts us from focusing on specific tools and back on crafting quality authentic assessments.

"Who's responsible for installing that software, and troubleshooting issues or handling updates?"
-Who is responsible for doing this on people's home computers? This is the tech equivalent of sharpening pencils. Do we really need a certified person to do this?

"I'd be in favor of a plan that perhaps split costs of a lease program between school and students with an agreement that the school controls the laptop until the end of a specified time period"
-The problem with this is if the district owns the machines for a given period of time then all maintenance costs and care issues are the responsibility of the district. With this you run into the same problem that plagues the Stillwater 1:1 program. If a student owns the computer they are more likely to take good care of it. Just look at how high school students treat textbooks compared to college students.


Bryan Berg said:

Another thought - if the schools wouldn't be responsible for Maint and repair, who would be? The parents? What happens if a student busts up the laptop, or it is otherwise inoperable? Can a school actually completely free itself from Maint and repair issues?

I'm wondering if a 1:1 initiative with a multitude of different computer types will work at K-12 levels, even with published minimum standards. Invariably, some won't get a computer with the stated minimums, and how does a school maintain network security with that many laptops that aren't under school control? How does software licensing work under that scenario? Who's responsible for installing that software, and troubleshooting issues or handling updates? I'd be in favor of a plan that perhaps split costs of a lease program between school and students with an agreement that the school controls the laptop until the end of a specified time period (3, 4 or 5 years - whatever the lease agreement can be set to be), and then the parents can buy the laptop outright by buying out the lease, or the laptop can be replaced and a new laptop comes in (depending on the grade-level of the student). This idea is a part of the proposal that was out there a few years ago.

[Bryan Berg]

Colleges and Universities have Higher End Network Security devices that are capable of scanning any computer that requests to use the network, and can deny access if the computer has a virus. It's expensive hardware. And there are plenty of Colleges and Universities that specifically will tell students that if they chose to buy a laptop outside of their purchasing and set-up options, they can get help from their Tech teams for a price. Otherwise laptops bought within their programs provide free tech support. I'm guessing that most incoming freshmen buy through the school.

Open Source is a possible alternative for some areas, but what about specialized programs? Text-book related software? CAD? Various EduTainment titles (Stewartville recently tried to move to Tux Paint, but couldn't. The Teachers preferred a commercial alternative), Testing software? If the schools remove the labs, then the student laptops have to be used for testing. That brings up another issue. MCA tests have some very strict requirements for software and the way it runs on a computer. I don't think schools can trust that parents will make those necessary updates and changes so that testing environments work correctly. And computers would have to be tested quite often to make sure they haven't been changed since the last test time-period so that they'll work correctly during the next test time-frame. What about Classroom Management software? That's going to be needed and running correctly each and every day if that gets used to help a teacher in a 1:1 environment. There's a bit more to think about and do than just doing an Adobe update, so it's a little bit more than "pencil sharpening" don't you think?

What happens when a student laptop goes bad during the school day (or outside the school day) or they forget their laptop at home? Who helps them get the computer running again, or supplies them with a laptop ready for them to use, or do we deny access for the day? I don't agree with the textbook analogy. College students are older and generally better adept at taking care of things that K-12 students. Plus most college students have the added bonus of being able to sell back their textbooks! Even so, things happen. Where does the support come from when it does?

There's an assumption about parents buying the computer that has to be overcome. Can schools require a computer, forcing parents to buy them and maintain them and follow specific instructions for making them work and not have a major outcry from a district? What about poorer families, or families with parents/guardians that aren't very responsible, or parents with lots of kiddos? Is there going to be a cap for expendiatures in this situation like there is for Athletic Fees? You know that tax credits will likely have a cap. Who pays for the computer in those cases? How does a tax credit get funded? My guess is that the formula for schools gets reduced....the tax credit is for schools, after all. So then the schools still have an expendiature - one that doesn't appear as spending, but lost dollars nonetheless.

Teaching procedures for software use, whether it's Open Source, from the cloud or not, has to be done at some point, doesn't it?. Just because you're using an Open Source app, or some Cloud app doesn't mean that the student inherently knows how to use it. You and I can figure it out because we're dealing with it all of the time. That's not the case with the kids. Yep, they grew up with all these tech tools, but that doesn't mean they can figure it out without instruction, anymore than they can build a good essay without being taught the steps. So there still has to be instruction time for doing that. I don't think schools can say - here's the app, know how to use it by tomorrow! I think that's a very unreasonable expectation.

As far as the teachers and the change in pedagogy: I think Tech has been very prevalent in recent years, and teachers have adjusted in many ways, but 1:1 requires a huge change in the way a classroom is run. Training would be a big undertaking, and there would be a number of different skills that would need to be learned. I don't think you can build up to getting to the point where you're "ready" for a 1:1. Teaching in a classroom with a SMARTBoard, projector, network access, etc...requires a big shift in strategies. Going to 1:1 requires an even bigger shift district wide because of the number of teachers that are involved, and the inherent change those computers bring to classroom instruction. It can be done, but there needs to be planning. I think Maine mentioned that two years of training and preparing are necessary before the 1:1 is brought online with hope of success. This can't be done as a knee-jerk.

I agree with you - if cost is not a factor, every school would love to have 1:1. That would be a no-brainer. The problem is that cost IS a factor. The money has to come from somewhere. The situation becomes very clouded and complicated in hurry. That's what we found out with the proposal from before. If the red tape can be waded through - with much discussion - a solution might be worked out.

-Bryan



Carl Anderson said:

"how does a school maintain network security with that many laptops that aren't under school control?"
-How do colleges and universities do it?

"How does software licensing work under that scenario?"
-If we use Open Source software we won't have to worry about licensing. Districts could publish links to recommended open source software on their websites. Then, teachers teach content, not software. Students choose the software (or cloud app) that can accomplish the stated assignment/learning objective. This shifts us from focusing on specific tools and back on crafting quality authentic assessments.

"Who's responsible for installing that software, and troubleshooting issues or handling updates?"
-Who is responsible for doing this on people's home computers? This is the tech equivalent of sharpening pencils. Do we really need a certified person to do this?

"I'd be in favor of a plan that perhaps split costs of a lease program between school and students with an agreement that the school controls the laptop until the end of a specified time period"
-The problem with this is if the district owns the machines for a given period of time then all maintenance costs and care issues are the responsibility of the district. With this you run into the same problem that plagues the Stillwater 1:1 program. If a student owns the computer they are more likely to take good care of it. Just look at how high school students treat textbooks compared to college students.


Bryan Berg said:

Another thought - if the schools wouldn't be responsible for Maint and repair, who would be? The parents? What happens if a student busts up the laptop, or it is otherwise inoperable? Can a school actually completely free itself from Maint and repair issues?

I'm wondering if a 1:1 initiative with a multitude of different computer types will work at K-12 levels, even with published minimum standards. Invariably, some won't get a computer with the stated minimums, and how does a school maintain network security with that many laptops that aren't under school control? How does software licensing work under that scenario? Who's responsible for installing that software, and troubleshooting issues or handling updates? I'd be in favor of a plan that perhaps split costs of a lease program between school and students with an agreement that the school controls the laptop until the end of a specified time period (3, 4 or 5 years - whatever the lease agreement can be set to be), and then the parents can buy the laptop outright by buying out the lease, or the laptop can be replaced and a new laptop comes in (depending on the grade-level of the student). This idea is a part of the proposal that was out there a few years ago.

[Bryan Berg]

The Laptop Leasing Plan is a brief document highlighting a way that the plan could have been done in Chatfield. This little write-up is from the SEMTEC meeting, January 2004. Still looking for that original plan that Loren wrote up. I may have to ask him for that.

[Matt Anderson]

Let’s say you make your students purchase their own laptop and you expect that you’ve done all the planning in the world and that you have now absolved your responsibility of supporting those machines beyond some small technical support issues.

The scenario you run into is a student comes in to school and tells their teacher they spilled juice on their computer and all of their data was on that computer. Ok… No problem right? You have told students they are responsible for everything on their computers. But now what? We can have a temporary computer for the student until theirs gets fixed but what happens when Mom or Dad decides they don’t have money to fix or replace the computer? If we are at a 1:1 and their computer goes down in essence that student cannot participate in class now without a computer. How long do you supply a computer for that student until parents buy a new one? Can the school require them to buy a replacement? That’s a tough one for me. I think if you’re going 1:1 you need to supply the computers as a district.

I’m not a big fan of the 1:1 right now. I think with the budgetary issues we as a state and nation are facing adding more computers into a classroom is not going to make these students pass the MCA tests or the GRAD tests or make them better prepared for anything critical in life right now. I think we need to focus on infrastructure for schools first as that has been lacking. Let’s get districts good connections to Internet, state and federal network access, Wireless, good servers, good technical support staff and managers, etc. Get that in place and learning will operate much more efficiently than trying to get a thousand computers to connect on a 3-5MB internet connection.

How about we request our lawmakers push to increase the mandatory dollar amount communities must pay per child on a yearly basis. How can we have such a huge difference in funding levels from community to community? Why are there so many communities that have gotten away with funding their schools well below the state average and now we are expected to accommodate them as they fail now because these schools can’t afford to operate and the communities voted down possible consolidations when the district was actually a benefit to someone and now when they are in SOD nobody wants to touch them.

I think 1:1 on a statewide or nationwide standpoint is not even something we really need to spend a lot of time on. Let those schools that are well organized work on it and figure out what works. Throwing more technology at kids and expecting them to pass a GRAD test because of it isn’t the answer. If you can afford to do it as an individual school you need to pay for it yourself and you need to know how you’re going to pay for it once the first set of laptops is beyond its life expectancy. Planning is key and I don’t think the government developing a plan of how to do this is going to work. I won’t be writing my representative or senators as I don’t support it as a whole and don’t support it for my district. Perhaps in few years I will be on the 1:1 path but not yet.

[Carl Anderson]

"How can we have such a huge difference in funding levels from community to community?"
-This is actually a state issue. The possible opportunity I am talking about in this post is a federal issue. I completely agree that we need to work with state level lawmakers to make things more equitable.

As for whether we should be concerned with 1:1 or not, from a teaching and learning standpoint we soon will be faced with it as more and more students carry devices that have powerful computing capabilities. When the day comes that over half of our students have the internet in their pocket are we really going to say they can't use that tool to help them learn?

I am glad I posted this here. It seems to be generating some good dialog.

Matt Anderson said:

Let’s say you make your students purchase their own laptop and you expect that you’ve done all the planning in the world and that you have now absolved your responsibility of supporting those machines beyond some small technical support issues.

The scenario you run into is a student comes in to school and tells their teacher they spilled juice on their computer and all of their data was on that computer. Ok… No problem right? You have told students they are responsible for everything on their computers. But now what? We can have a temporary computer for the student until theirs gets fixed but what happens when Mom or Dad decides they don’t have money to fix or replace the computer? If we are at a 1:1 and their computer goes down in essence that student cannot participate in class now without a computer. How long do you supply a computer for that student until parents buy a new one? Can the school require them to buy a replacement? That’s a tough one for me. I think if you’re going 1:1 you need to supply the computers as a district.

I’m not a big fan of the 1:1 right now. I think with the budgetary issues we as a state and nation are facing adding more computers into a classroom is not going to make these students pass the MCA tests or the GRAD tests or make them better prepared for anything critical in life right now. I think we need to focus on infrastructure for schools first as that has been lacking. Let’s get districts good connections to Internet, state and federal network access, Wireless, good servers, good technical support staff and managers, etc. Get that in place and learning will operate much more efficiently than trying to get a thousand computers to connect on a 3-5MB internet connection.

How about we request our lawmakers push to increase the mandatory dollar amount communities must pay per child on a yearly basis. How can we have such a huge difference in funding levels from community to community? Why are there so many communities that have gotten away with funding their schools well below the state average and now we are expected to accommodate them as they fail now because these schools can’t afford to operate and the communities voted down possible consolidations when the district was actually a benefit to someone and now when they are in SOD nobody wants to touch them.

I think 1:1 on a statewide or nationwide standpoint is not even something we really need to spend a lot of time on. Let those schools that are well organized work on it and figure out what works. Throwing more technology at kids and expecting them to pass a GRAD test because of it isn’t the answer. If you can afford to do it as an individual school you need to pay for it yourself and you need to know how you’re going to pay for it once the first set of laptops is beyond its life expectancy. Planning is key and I don’t think the government developing a plan of how to do this is going to work. I won’t be writing my representative or senators as I don’t support it as a whole and don’t support it for my district. Perhaps in few years I will be on the 1:1 path but not yet.

[Bryan Berg]

SMART Phones bring up a whole different approach to the discussion. I think any person "into" technology (like everyone in the SEMTEC Group) are excited about the possibilities that these technologies promise, but there are many, many questions to answer. Many are very similar to the 1:1 questions. Costs, security and combating distractibility are the issues that have to get resolved before those get used effectively for a district-wide initiative. Lessons incorporating PDA and Smart Phone technologies aren't new. But trying to use them for every student as their single access point to internet and network services for schoolwork on a day to day basis becomes another thing entirely.