Education Week Teacher: High-Tech Teaching in a Low-Tech Classroom
As 21st-century teachers, we are expected to help students master the technological tools they will use in college and the workplace. But in many districts, the one-computer classroom is not extinct. So how can we do a lot with a little? How can we best use limited resources to support learning and familiarize students with technology?
2 comments:
Hi Louis,
Interesting thoughts as we consider this issue at my district where we have students without access to computers at home. We are fortunate to have a good amount of lab computers throughout the district.
As I read your post, and article came to mind: a teacher leveraged open-source software and donated computers to build a "free" computer lab.
Free Computer Lab.
I can personally attest that I have seen many computers recycled that could still be used for web surfing (Google Apps) and other applications by installing a "free" OS such as Linux. I have rescued a few computers for family or friends and it certainly has its place. Some challenges might be administering the systems, but as mentioned in the article, he enlisted volunteers from a local Linux Users Group which likely greatly contributed to the success of his project.
-Brian
My school, Kradwell School (which is affiliated with Aurora), is one of those "one computer per classroom" schools. Last year, an instructor from Marquette University donated 7 Mac computers to create a mini lab. Apparently, Marquette would have disposed of them otherwise. I would like to use the computers to teach digital story telling, for example, but the computers are not networked. Aurora tech support has not (or will not) connect these computers to the internet. Perhaps for security concerns.
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