58,000 mini computers will be a nice little learner

This was the headline at the top of page 5 of the Edinburgh Evening News this today. The headline on the front page read, ’58, 000 kids to get free little helper: plan to give all pupils a mini helper’. I had even heard mention of the proposal on the 6 o’clock ForthOne news as I was driving home from work this evening.

The initiative refers to the proposed Learning Hubs project which if successful will provide each student in Edinburgh, East, Mid and West Lothian with a PDA / Laptop. I have known about this project for a while, mostly from what I have learned from Karen’s blog (she is a member of the learning hubs project board) and following the links that she has provided. The Learning Hubs wiki is worth looking at to provide more information about the project. I suspect, however, that for most teachers in East Lothian the headlines of the Evening News today will come as a complete shock. 

So what are my thoughts on this? Well I am all for 1to1 (that’s one laptop for each pupil) and I have been ranting about it since the first Apple 1to1 schools were set up in 1999 in the USA. I have also blogged about other 1to1 schools in the past including the new Microsoft School of the future and the proposed $100 laptop project. We have also had success from 1to1 initiatives in Scotland and most recently in the news we have seen schools in Wolverhampton run successful PDA pilots (see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6247853.stm)

However the overwhelming response to the article in the Edinburgh Evening News (on the forum anyway) is that a scheme like this is a waste of money. I have to agree that I am not convinced with the idea of PDA’s. I am in favour however of students having their own laptop. The hardware and usability features are so much more robust than a PDA. If each student has one of these it would also allow a school to reallocate some of its computer hardware expenditure towards other areas of ICT, think of the money that would be saved on desktop computers in a school if one laptop per student and teacher could be secured via a separate budget (the EU is proposed in this case). Specialist software would be a problem, but then this could come down to negotiation with software manufacturers to provide software that runs off a memory stick?

One of the unfortunate things in the article tonight was the picture of the pupil using a Blackberry handheld device. The article made no reference to the Blackberry and I feel it would be completely unsuitable to what the project it trying to achieve. I think the project will go ahead – no matter what the sceptics think. I just hope we get it right. I know it will cost more but please let’s give every child a laptop not a PDA.

One final point. I read in the article that the Learning Hubs Pilot will be restricted to one P6 and one S5 and cost £80, 000. We would of course like to volunteer to be part of the pilot (although I should probably check this with my head teacher and our authority first!). If we can get it to work in Musselburgh, we could get it to work in any of the proposed education authorities. I would also like to volunteer to be part of the Learning and Teaching Committee for Learning Hubs, I see you are still looking for members of your committee.

UPDATE: I’ve since found out that actually the pilot schools have been chosen for this project. See: http://121.wikispaces.com/Pilot+Projects Looks like 24 pupils from Elphinstone Primary will be East Lothian’s participants?

Comments

[Ewan McIntosh]

Don't take everything in the papers at face value - this is very much a nascent project. However, it is looking to the future which might not in fact be in PDAs or laptops. There are a host of worthwhile handheld learning technologies which are neither of these things - gaming consoles are perhaps one of the best ways forward educationally.

It's a really complex project about more than just handhelds, too. It's about providing area-wide wifi that covers schools, homes, parks and other public spaces.

In the meantime, I'm sure most teachers and pupils will appreciate the council's sterling efforts at getting the basic WAN (schools internet access) up to a bare minimum for 21st century in-school learning.

[OllieBray]

I agree – the paper in fact tells me less than the website and wiki. However, I remain to be convinced that games consoles are the best way forward? Although I acknowledge that you will know more about this than me and also probably have a bit of an insight into the future of this technology.

I think the Authority wide roaming wifi will be a long way away. Although there have been several county wide tests in Gateshead that have been very successful – particularly in deprived areas. The big thing is of course the cost and the access for us in rural areas.

Everyone I know in East Lothian is looking forward to the WAN upgrade. The internet is simply unusable in some schools at the moment in East Lothian. I also hope that in the 5 year plan there is the next upgrade already being considered for around 2012 or even sooner.

Have agreat weekend, Ollie

[John]

Hi Ollie,
I am not sure if you should rule out PDAs, last year I met a couple of year 5 ( a pretty small sample size;-)) children that had 1to1 PDAs for a year. The ways they were using them was very impressive, video, stills with annotations, their fingers flew across the screen as they should me how to select and connect to available wifi. They used them without thinking (about the tech). I'd add a fold up keyboard and be happy to at least explore PDAs for a lot of things.

[OllieBray]

Hi John, I’ve seen some excellent use of PDA’s with small pilot groups as well. I’m not discounting PDA’s as I think they could be really powerful classroom tools. I just feel that sometimes they are chosen over laptops because they are cheaper. I guess what I really need to do is make a list of what each one can do and then weight up the cost? Thanks again for your comment it’s got me thinking!