iPads for Everyone

In a fit of double dipping, I chose to view the Education Week webinar entitled "The 1-to-1 Computing Challenge: Overcoming Barriers" because my SI 623 team project  is researching the feasibility of a 1-to-1 iPad program for students at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor. As a webinar it was not particularly interesting or even instructional, but as an informational resource it did touch on issues and solutions to problems that would be useful to school administrators considering such a program.  I registered for the live webinar on March 4th, but of course missed the scheduled time and ended up watching the archived presentation instead.  The slides were completely dull, heavily text and data laden and the buffering was a nuisance, but the voice over presenters made the information digestible.  The edtech coordinator for a 1-to-1 laptop initiative in the state of Maine explained why they believe the program is improving test scores and how they began the comprehensive statewide support for the technology needed. (So far all 7th and 8th graders and 55% of 9-12 graders in Maine are issued laptops.)  The superintendent of  an Ohio school system talks about how and why his district researched the possibility of a 1-to-1 initiative that will begin this fall, and a Vail, Arizona administrator described different approaches used in two high schools there, one traditional (a term I found interesting, as it implies historical precedence) in that the school supplies the laptops, and a BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) initiative that I think would work well at Skyline.  Only the last presenter mentioned tablet computing, which already dates the webinar somewhat as this year iPads are the fashion rage in 1-to1 computing circles. Seriously, get used to the idea. We will all be carrying iPads or something similar as PEDs, and for schools to get on board now is unusually prescient considering how they are usually behind in tech trends.  Our group is recommending that Skyline go for it, and I suspect they will.  It's a progressive, tech savvy school and well equipped to impement a successful 1-to1 iPad initiative, scoring high on nearly all the recommendations suggested in the webinar.  If only the webinar had been more progressive and tech savvy in its own presentation,  the message might have been more effectively demonstrated.