This is a topic I can clearly see both side of the argument. Most authorities through BSF are leaning towards the specification of a 1:1 device ratio and many towards personal devices. At the moment I don’t know which one is best and would welcome comments / discussion.
Pros
* students learn to take responsibility for the device (charging, keep intact etc)
* helps them become a knowledge worker / learner
* support personalised learning
* helps eliminate digital divide
* students can make the device personal
Cons
* students lose, break, damage device often
* no affordable device suitable today
* places huge admin burden on school / ICT techs
* poor spend of limited resources
* need refreshing often
* disruptive – charging etc during lessons
I guess a good question might be is ‘ how would you feel towards and treat a laptop that you had to hand back in at the end of each day, rather than one you were trusted to look after?’
This post was orginally placed on Andy Davies’s Blog.
Filed under: Blog | Tagged: 1:1 Devices, bsf, education, ict, Netbooks, Personal device |
BSF conversations 
In my opinion, computers and technology are not the answer even though I work in Education IT on a daily basis.
The answer lies in getting pupils to read and write before they even touch a computer.
Computers have their uses but I find that computers have taken over the teaching of children to such an extent that it is endangering their education.
If you think pupils are going to use a 1:1 device for homework then you really do need to take your head from the clouds and back into reality.
1:1 devices are also have the potential to compromise security within a school – for example, a child takes home a laptop computer and downloads the latest music via torrent. Who is responsible if a) a virus penetrates a school network & b) illegal material on a school owned laptop?
Anti-Virus software is all well and good but virus’s and malware are generally a lot harder to crack these days and some surpass even good products.
It will be a complete nightmare.
The fact BSF is still continuing in a recession is mind boggling let alone stupid. The money could’ve been spent much more wisely.