> 3-5 most commonly asked questions when proposing a 1:1 program, in
> particular the
> questions that parents/guardians ask.
The big ones I heard from families:
1. Who's paying for it? How long will it last? (Plan for purchase/
lease/cycling)
2. What happens when it breaks? Gets stolen? Gets lost? (Plan for
repair/replacement)
3. Why do the kids need a laptop (because I didn't need it when I
was in school)? How will it be used?
4. Mac or PC? What model? What software will be on it?
5. Will we need to have wireless at home?
6. We have a computer at home. You have labs/carts at school.
What's the benefit of giving my kid a laptop?
7. What happens over the summer?
8. What kind of filter does it have?
Kids will ask:
1. Can I install/download __________ (games, AIM...)
2. What software will it have?
3. Why do I need it for ____________ (pick a class)
4. What do I do with it during ___________ (lunch, PE, after school
activities...)
5. Are you going to tell my parents when _____________ (it breaks, I
install banned software, I lose it...)
6. How big is it? Will it fit in my backpack? What's the case like?
7. Can I customize it (themes, desktop, screensavers...)
8. Does it have a filter?
The ones I've heard from faculty, in addition to most of the above:
1. What kind of training will we have?
2. What are the expectations for use?
3. How am I supposed to control a classroom when every kid has his
own laptop?
4. Where are they (the kids) going to put them during math/P.E./Art
(pick a class that thinks they'll never use the computer)?
You know your program is taking off when you hear:
From faculty:
1. What are kids supposed to do in my class until their loaner is
ready?
2. When will we have training on___________ (fill in the blank on a
new technology as applied in the classroom)?
3. Can you work with me to plan how my class can ______________ (and
the teacher doesn't mention the technology, just the outcome)?
4. I didn't know what to do, but the kids figured it out (or showed
me), and it worked just fine.
From students:
5. I can't turn my computer in for repair. I need it for class.
6. I can't wait until ______ class. We're working on... (And you
find out later that the project involves technology)
7. I've never worked so hard in class!
From parents:
8. I wish I had one when I was in school.
9. I didn't know he/she could do something like that.
10. I wish he/she could keep it during the summer.
Tami Brass
http://www.tech4teaching.org
http://del.icio.us/brasst
tamilb@mac.com
tbrass@spa.edu
In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned
find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no
longer exists. -- Eric Hoffer
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