ProfessorTOSA Blog

The other day three colleagues and I had the pleasure of visiting Fisler Elementary school. Fisler is a k-8 school in Fullerton California and, although I wrote previously about Fisler because of a tool they use called Notetaker, what I found most interesting is that Fisler is a one to one school. At Fisler, all 2-8 students have personal laptops and teachers vigorously make use of that abundant technology. As a pseudo-tech coordinator, this situation is particularly interesting and particularly useful as I try to get my arms around any “goals” that I, or my district or colleagues, might have. Is the goal 1 to 1? Are students’ needs best met by a 1 to 1 program? Well, I’m afraid I will not describe a definitive answer to that question here, but what I will say is that what I saw was tremendous and what I saw would be the type of program I would want for my two daughters. If this program is best for the children of Solana Beach will have to be determined by perspectives greater than mine.

A 1 to 1 program is just as it sounds, full of technology, and rampant with little tech savvy students. During our tour, each student actively worked from their little Macbooks and each demonstrated a comfort in such tools as Notetaker, science probes, hand-held Responders, Keynote, Pages, Garageband, the Internet, as well as demonstrated an understanding of the school’s server and the process for both grabbing class information and turning in completed projects. It was a sight to see and I was amazed to witness technology integration that had less to do with instruction and more to do with student interaction with technology. In this manner, technology became a vehicle for students to gather information and an efficient, glamorous and powerful means to demonstrate their learning, not simply a sugar coating on teacher pedagogy.

And so why would such a initiative be so appealing and why would my girls benefit from Fisler? In my job, I’m inundated with tools and “hip” applications, projects and technology trends, and, aside from a few, most do little to convince me that they alone can improve student performance. And, on the same coin, few teachers are comfortable integrating technology to the extent that it’s raising student achievement at a marked level. At Fisler, to the contrary, the structure and the commitment has created an environment where students are able to navigate their school work with a mastery of the “tools” and teachers’ collaborative efforts take advantage of this mastery. For example, in this 1 to 1 setting, kinder and first grade students are not offered laptops, but they do utilize laptops carts regularly. Their goal? Their tech objectives during those formative years, is to become conversant in the applications and procedures they will need for the coming years of regular laptop interaction. So, when those students get to second grade, they understand the server (the general steps), Keynote, Pages, etc.. and can complete assignments with little instruction of the tool itself. Teachers can then focus on the standards and the objectives and know that whether they teach 2nd or 8th grades, their students have already learned the skills needed to succeed with technology-rich projects as well as become better thinkers, problem solvers and more accomplished learners for the 21st century. In this sense, Fisler has achieved a super-charged version of what all other schools have accomplished with the integration of crayons and pencils. At some point students are introduced to a pencil and that pencil is utilized for years to manage the tasks of school. A trite and outdated example, but valid none-the-less considering that if a district is truly trying to integrate new technologies (like that of the pencil), and committed to creating 21st century learners, they need to realize the power of a school-wide 1 to 1 vision and and see if such a vision, in some form, can assist their goals. Thankfully, my district is taking a good look.

Food for thought . More on this to come…