Minnesota 1:1 Summit: Tami Brass-10 years of 1:1 Lessons Learned

Tami Brass, Director of Instructional Technology at the St. Paul Academy, shared some of her lessons learned in her experience with 1:1 Learning at the Minnesota 1:1 Summit.

The devil is in the details...
Don't be afraid to over-prepare
Always have a Plan B ready to roll and be ready to implement Plan C if necessary
Being prepared makes winging it easier!

She started talking about device selection.

• The first question you need to ask, "What are your instructional goals?"
• What integration is already in place?
• What tools can't you live without?
• What CAN you live without?
• How much training and PD is realistic?

Brass said that writing on the screen is important, thus they went with tablets. They are a PC school and do a lot of "inking" so having those devices made the most sense. They use the Classmate PC for Middle School, and tablet PC's at the high school. Based on the amount of writing their students do, they needed a keyboard. 

"When I see a tool, I ask what can I do with it?"

Ownership Models

Their tablet at the high school level includes a 4 year no-fault warranty and runs $1,900. 

Influences for ownership models include:

• Budget
• Classroom Management
• Family
• Curriculum

Content Management

• Kids under 13...
• What is your process for...
• Teacher Sharing
• Student to Student Collaboration
• Student to Teacher (Handing In)
• Feedback Loop
• Longterm Storage
• How much space is needed?
• Where do parents fit in?

Software, Apps, Subscriptions

Kids under 13

Free or paid?

Alternative To-http://alternativeto.net

Ownership 

Support

What if it breaks? (Loaners, warranty, repair, tolerable downtime, access...)

Helpdesk Models

Infrastructure

Wiring and Wireless

Bandwidth

Filtering and Firewalls-

Parent Training-What to Expect When You're Expecting...

• Prior to roll out
• Laptop Handbook
• Home tech needs-printing
• Wireless
• Social Networking-13 year old limit
• Device Capabilities
• Device Care/Management
• Online Grade Access
• Sibling Jealousy/Curiosity
• Digital Parenting Strategies-How to parent in an environment 

Wellnology-Taking Care of the machine and yourself!

• Skills training for kids
• Survival Skills
• Hardware Care
• Responsible use
• Digital Citizenship
• Ergonomics
• Keyboarding (or not)
• Balance
• Responding to Digital Parenting...

Expectations

Classroom Management

AUP or RUP in Kidspeak-Be respectful, ethical, lawful, responsible, safe.

Developmental Design in their Middle School.

Professional Development

• Skills Development
• Naysayers vs. Early Adopters-Work w/ the naysayers. Get them to buy in.
• Mentorship
• Curriculum Development
• Other Curriculum Demands
• Just in Time Training
• Skills mapping in curriculum maps
• How much troubleshooting is realistic?
• Integration Support Models

How will you deal with...

• Subs
• Outside of school/summer
• Misbehavior
• Families who want to opt out
• Financial Concerns
• Special Needs
• Naysayers
• Reluctant adopters
• Early adopters
• Loss/Theft/Abuse of hardware
• Support needs
• Bullying, Porn
• Lockers & Locks
• Building Security