Some practical solutions for the 'New Classroom', Part 1

I still have to think of something better than 'New Classroom', any suggestions?

Over the past few post we have looked at what we could be able to do under a new system that focuses on a the new skills required for the 21st century.  Now lets look at three concrete steps that would help facilitate such a system.

Mobile is where it's at (or at least where it's going)


Mobile computing is starting to hit its stride.  It is becoming less expensive, more reliable and simpler to use.  Those are three of the biggest hurdles to the adoption of a technology.  Admittedly they are limited in their functionality when compared to desktop or laptop computers.  However, when you think of what a student needs the most in school, access to the internet, word processing, audio and video recording/simple editing, audio and video listening/viewing, presentation preparation, email, etc..., these are all found on smartphones or tablets.

Now I don't see schools giving students smartphones, but I could see them getting each student a tablet computer, like the iPad.  The idea of implementing a 1:1 ipad project may seem to be expensive, but over the course of a high school student's 4 years it would actually save money.  A tablet in the hands of each student would dramatically reduce the need for paper.  With the use of the good word processors available the student could complete a great deal of their work this way.  Students with learning difficulties could take advantage of the many accessibility features found natively in many tablets or any of the numerous apps available to help them.

Give them a stylus and they can complete any of the worksheets you might have available for practice.  Email or Dropbox become the main means of 'handing in'  their work.  A stylus in a teacher's hand allows them to edit written work and send it back to the student.

A tablet for every student also removes much of the need for computer labs.  What is the main purpose of those rooms?  For classes to do research and prepare some work that demonstrates what they have learned.  Business classes use spreadsheets, history classes write essays, etc...  Short of the computer programming or communication technology classes, most classes don't need the full functionality of a desktop computer.

Mobile computing can also spell the end of the textbook.....

More on that in my next post.