Comparing one-to-one Solutions

Many school districts are starting to implement various one-to-one solutions. When I read about the implementations, I realize one-to-one is so much more than a hardware project. One-to-one computing is generally defined as the ability to provide a student with an individual personal wireless computing device on a continuous basis throughout the school day and afterwards, if possible. Laptops, PDAs and cellphones all have pros and cons as devices to implement a one-to-one program. Laptops seem to be favored although they are the largest and most expensive. In addition to comparing the devices, the programs themselves can be implemented in many different ways.

One-to-one allows students to be more self-directed and creates a learning environment where the student is more invested in the outcome because the process is personalized. The best programs recognize that a teacher should know the individual student; know his or her strengths and weakness; know their preferred learning style; know their interests and develop and present lesson plans that differentiate the teaching and learning for the individual student. I feel the one-to-one programs with their access to vast amounts and diversity of data on the Internet (public and private) can allow for collaboration and the best opportunity to learn.