I agree with the idea of quality over quantity and I certainly like the =
idea of reducing our carbon footprint. However, teachers need to be =
able to explore and experiment to discover quality ways to use the =
technology well in the classroom. Creating a standard that keeps laptop =
use reduced to 3 hours per day seems to be an excessive limitation on =
the exploratory creativity of classroom teachers and would require a =
significant degree of planning among the teaching team. A policy of =
this nature could also have a "chilling effect" of seeking to find and =
capture that "teachable moment." Doing so is to jeopardize the =
reliability of that battery being able to make it through the day. I =
absolutely applaud the effort to find ways to manage a 1:1 program on =
batteries but after doing this for 9 years in two different schools I =
haver personally given up on the fight. (I know...so defeatist!) :-) =
Good education is messy. So are laptop cords.
Take care,
Alex
Whitfield School
St. Louis, MO
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators on behalf of Jim =
Heynderickx
Sent: Sat 2/9/2008 3:16 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Battery "best practices" in an 1:1 environment
=20
Hi, Dave
I've been sharing an idea on this topic that I've seen work successfully =
at two schools. First, a school should determine how many hours during=20
the school day a laptop really should be used for academic work. Is it=20
2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours during the school day (8-3?).=20
A new Macbook battery can carry a charge for about 3.5 hours. It may=20
only be able to do that for about 18 months of use, but typically they=20
can run that long if the use of the laptop is managed well.
So, consider this idea. If the goal of a laptop program is quality of=20
use and not quantity of use, what if students didn't have AC adapters at =
school? What if the challenge for students was to manage their laptop=20
and battery use to make one full charge last for the school day?
Of course, there would be exceptions. A student could be loaned an=20
adapter if the battery is out by the last period (but not every day). =20
In science, there may need to be adapters for hours of probe data=20
collection. Batteries that begin to fail will need to be replaced.
The benefit, however, is that the use of the laptops could be more=20
focused. Additionally, most of the electrical cable clutter in=20
classrooms is removed. The laptops weigh less being transferred from=20
home to school and back again. The laptop cases can be narrower because =
there doesn't need to be an outside pocket for the adapter. Finally,=20
the laptops will likely last longer if their use was more focused during =
the day, and their use as "big iPods" just before and after school was=20
reduced.=20
So, just an idea. I have seen it work successfully, but obviously it's=20
not a fit for all laptop programs.=20
Jim Heynderickx
Director of Technology
American School in London
Dave Candelario wrote:
> We're in the process of developing our 1:1 implementation plans.
> I'm very interested to hear from 1:1 schools that have a good solution =
to
> keeping student laptop batteries charged. =20
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