One-to-one computing


In the context of education, one-to-one computing refers to academic institutions, such as schools or colleges, that allow each enrolled student to use an electronic device in order to access the Internet, digital course materials, and digital textbooks. The concept has been actively explored and sporadically implemented since the late 1990s. One-to-one computing used to be contrasted with a policy of "bring your own device", which encourages or requires students to use their own laptops, smartphones or other electronic devices in class. The distinction between BYOD and school-issued devices became blurred when many schools started recommending devices for parents to buy. The term 1:1 computing in education is now redefined to a situation where students have access to a device per individual that is used in the teaching as a tool for learning.
Historically, the programs have centered around the following devices:
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The level of education will influence the type of adoption, through factors such as: user-readiness, budget, expected merits, and cost-benefits.
There seems to be consensus that 1:1 availability of devices improves their usefulness. Having to share devices reduces their educational efficacy because of the reduced intensity & length of the experience and the additional time spent on file-management, configuration management, device management and distribution.
Before cloud-computing the main benefits referred to access to devices. As cloud-computing progressed collaboration, cost reduction, going paperless, 21st century skills became more of a focus. Red research included 1:1 and collaboration in its key research findings.
One-to-one computing offers the benefits of equal access, standardization, easy upgrades, simple networking and the ability to monitor student progress and online behavior. For these reasons, one-to-one computing is a major part of education policy in many countries. These benefits also underlie the one-to-one model of One Laptop per Child, a charity that aims to issue electronic devices to millions of children in the developing world. With the growth of the internet-connectivity the possibility to use cloud-computing to transfer the data and administration from the devices to cloud-computing has removed the necessity of much of the tech support from the teacher.
The ultimate academic benefits of one-to-one, if any, are unclear. They may not be the same for the different eras of 1:1.
In the Laptop Era the laptops were often used as add-ons to the established teaching. Their limited use reinforced the doubts about their educational value and whether the high maintenance costs were worth the investment. According to research published by Boston College, the educational value of 1:1 in the laptop era depended on the classroom teacher. Some schools have even phased out their one-to-one programs because there was no evidence of academic gains according to the 2007 article.
Other studies have shown some progress in specific subjects, especially in writing scores, that are correlated with the use of school-issued laptops. The wide range of results for 1:1 programs means there is no consensus on their benefits or drawbacks.
The iPad Era saw increased uptake of iPads in schools and consequently increased 1:1 programs in schools. More and more education specific applications and tools became available as increasing research about educational value and implementation methodologies of 1:1 programs were published.
The popularity was based on their touchscreens, good battery life and the availability of applications as well as their general brand-related image and comparative ease of use compared to Laptops/Desktops.
The Chromebook era had several major success-factors.
  1. Very portable: small laptops, lightweight.
  2. auto-updating devices. Reducing the need for device management and the need to wait while updating.
  3. Quick start-up/ almost instantaneous wake-up from sleep.
  4. Battery life
  5. Truly device independent. Backed-up files & configuration available anytime, anyplace, anywhere. This allowed distribution of educational content. It also allowed keeping stock of spare-chromebooks available. If a student logged in with his/her account it worked flawlessly. iPads and PCs kept much configuration information on devices making quick swaps hard or impossible.
  6. Availability of general productivity software that was cloud-based. This allowed note-taking, going paperless.
  7. Low cost both for purchase, and running costs/maintenance.
  8. Increased attention to professional development and to embedding 1:1 use in the teaching of different subjects.
  9. Increased involvement of stakeholders like parents and school-boards because of the costs of WiFi, the increased tendency to use the devices at home and the increased awareness of processes for repairs, insurances, temporary replacement etc.
  10. Increased use in assessment and tests.
  11. Increased collaboration, self-directed learning, inquiry based learning
Because 1:1 computing programs may have many goals, from improving educational outcomes to increasing equality, and are associated with such a wide range of teaching methods, it is also difficult to judge their overall success or value. One notable benefit that has been documented and researched is the potential for 1:1 computing initiatives to support the use of open educational resources, available in digital form, for ubiquitous access by learners.

Disadvantages

Disadvantages of 1:1 are controversial, but there are general objections at increasing "screen-time" when the private lives of children also see significant screen-time. There may be psychological and / or physical disadvantages as there are with any technology, including the ones replaced.
While devices aren't addictive, some apps can be addictive. There can also be objection against possible effect of exposure to radiation from the screens and WiFi. As stated under advantages there is no general consensus on the scientific evidence on efficacy. In a field as new as 1:1 with the technology used having undergone major changes it may take time for clear patterns to emerge and be agreed on.
The cost itself may be a disadvantage. Schools and districts in areas with low incomes and high rates of homelessness have argued that Chromebook programs compare positively to paper for homework return-rates.

Costs

One-to-one requires substantial institutional investment. In addition to the cost of purchasing devices, the Cost-of-Ownership is not insignificant and can include connectivity/WiFi, charging-facilities/caddys, implementation, training, software licensing, monitoring, security, upgrades and maintenance. Therefore, the overall cost–benefit ratio of a one-to-one model is not clear.
Aside from the technical costs the changing of the teaching itself is labour-intensive and may require professional development, licensing, re-writing materials, re-designing lesson plans.
Several methodologies exist to make sure all stakeholders are involved and the adoption/implementation is done responsibly.
One example can be found at The Natpicks Schools 1:1 Program which has the "Red" Logo indicating it is a Project Red Signature District indicating they followed the Red methodology, as well as an Apple Distinguished District logo. If one looks at the documents they increased their numbers of Chromebooks and have mature planning processes including cooperation with Boston College research.
As the cost of internet services and data charges fall WIFI speeds and accessibility has increased to the point that it is no longer a limiting factor for users of Chromebooks and other devices used for education.

Recent developments

The USA based Chromebook programs may have shown changes in the economics of 1:1 programs. Although 1:1 programs require better WiFi than previous programs, they use ChromeOS which automatically updates and patches in the background. The purchasing prices of Chromebooks were substantially lower than competing devices. According to IDC research the maintenance costs were significantly lower. Since the batteries of Chromebooks easily last a full day, schools experimented with having students charge them at home and only keeping a replacement stock ready in school reducing the need for charging equipment/trolleys. GAM did charge for licensing, but it could remove the necessity of other MDM solutions and other security solutions at lower than Web-authentication level. Some schools also experimented with parents owning the devices. Having less costly equipment on site may also have saved in insurance and rooms may have become available for other purposes. 1:1 also enabled going paperless and reducing the cost on paper/printers used. No serious study is known of this, at this point. But individual schools have published costs and savings. The use of Google-Classroom software and G suite in general was instrumental in going paperless. It allowed electronic hand-in, grading and returning of projects to groups of students. Microsoft is trying to copy the classroom functionality in their O365 for education.

Uruguay's 2007 Project Ceibal

Between 2007 and 2016 Project Ceibal was the most successful 1:1 program in the world. It included the right to internet connectivity in school as well as at home besides the right to have a computer "Since its implementation, every child who enters the public education system in any part of the country is given a computer for personal use with free Internet connection at school. In addition, Plan Ceibal provides programs, educational resources and teacher training courses that transform the ways of teaching and learning.". The 2007 decree specified in it desired outcomes "1.2.3. EXPECTED RESULTS: Have covered 100% of children of school age within a period of 3 years with an Internet connection in their Schools as in their homes." By 2009 all 300.000 students were equipped with hardware and all schools had WiFi. By 2013 use of Google-drive and apps were added to CREA and By 2015 95% of urban schools had fibre-optic connections. By 2016 Chromebooks were added to the available hardware. Since the original hardware was Fedora based Uruguay has held the top-spot of Linux uptake for years, according to statcounter.

Recent mass uptake in American schools

1:1 Programs in US schools have gained serious momentum somewhere around 2016/2017. In February 2017 edtechmagazine reported more than 50% of teachers reported using 1:1 computing. In March 2017 Futuresource reported Chromebooks had 58% market-share in US-Education. The success of Chromebooks in education was reported on by The New York Times in May 2017. Which explains the success "This became Google’s education marketing playbook: Woo school officials with easy-to-use, money-saving services. Then enlist schools to market to other schools, holding up early adopters as forward thinkers among their peers."
In June 2017 CMS-district was reported to be on a 150.000 Chromebooks 1:1 program.
It looks like 1:1 Chromebook programs have come become very popular on the basis of adoption and evangelizing by enthusiastic users in schools. The suburbs of Chicago are most often mentioned as influencers. Leyden in District 212 has on its main page Dr. Nick Polyak saying "Over 2,000 educators from across the country have visited Leyden to learn about teaching and learning in the digital age." which clearly refers to its 1:1 program. The history of Leyden's 1:1 program is clearly told in the 2014 article "How many administrators does it take to get a district to go one to one". So there is evidence that successful schools indeed show others the way.
The original legitimization for 1:1 education may have been derived from research by the Red group whose findings describe the potential of transforming education "Our findings demonstrate that schools employing a 1:1 student-computer ratio and key implementation factors outperform other schools, and reveal significant opportunities for improving education return on investment by transforming teaching and learning.". The influence of the change in teaching is also stressed academically like in "Chromebooks and the G Suite group of products, like Google Search, Gmail, and Google Docs, have rapidly expanded in American schools during the past 5 years. The impact of one-to-one Chromebook devices and the pervasive use of Google's software products in American education cannot be overstated."
Apple is also promoting its own 1:1 iPad programs and there are some signs of uptake of its "classroom" software and iPads for example in San Bernardino.
Other countries where 1:1 programs are successful are Sweden, New Zealand.

Examples

Newberg Oregon: "Newberg Public Schools is a 1:1 Technology district, meaning every student is assigned their own device. "
Sioux Falls: "The driving purpose of the 1:1 Student Technology Initiative is to increase student engagement, further involve students in active learning, and provide students with 21st Century skills such as communication, problem solving, and collaboration, along with content expertise."
Passaic: Early adopter: " the Passaic City Public Schools rolled out a 1:1 pilot at the Lincoln Middle school and Passaic High school. The district purchased 5,500 Samsung Chromebooks for 4,700 students and began sweeping, district-wide technology upgrades "
Iowa City Schools: "1:1 INITIATIVE COMING IN 2017, 2018 In Fall, 2017, the Iowa City Schools will be deploying a Chromebook 1:1 initiative in all high school grade levels. The following year, the initiative will be extended to include grades 7 and 8 district-wide."
Central Falls:
Mauston:
Newcastle, PA
Upper Scotia Valley
Sudbury Public Schools
Oostburg:
Becton:
Pequannock:
East Bridgewater had to recall some Chromebooks from their 1:1 program because of fires:
Danvers:
Greater Clarck County:
AMS Edmond:
Anderson, SC:
Maine, IL:
Lumberton:
Niche Best School District RankingURLEvidence of 1:1 in District?
1 Solon City School Districthttp://www.solonschools.org/https://www.solonschools.org/Page/2895 “The Solon City Schools One2One program will provide students with Chromebooks to use at school and home. At the beginning of the 2016-17 School Year Grades 7-10 will be provided with Chromebooks. By the 2017-18 School Year both Solon High School and Solon Middle School will become completely One2One.”
2 Tredyffrin-Easttown School Districthttps://www.tesd.nethttps://www.tesd.net/cms/lib/PA01001259/Centricity/Domain/37/1to1FAQApril2017.pdf “Tredyffrin/Easttown School District 1:1 Technology Initiative FAQ
What device will students receive? The District-provided laptop, Dell 11” Education Edition, with the following specifications: • 11.6” display • 4GB RAM • 128 GB Solid State Drive • Intel Celeron Processor • Spill-proof design • Drop protection
Who will receive District-provided laptops? Laptops will be available to all Conestoga High School students during the 2017-18 school year. ”
3 Radnor Township School Districthttp://www.rtsd.org/https://www.rtsd.org/domain/1384 Evaluating 1:1 Evaluate 1-to-1 Technology at Radnor High School and Technology K-12A. Full review of the high school 1-to-1 technology.B. Review of access and use of devices K-12.These reviews will assess both the educational and financial impact of the current use of devices.A. January 2018: High school 1-to-1 technology recommendation B. September 2018: K-12 technology recommendation
4 School District of Claytonhttp://www.claytonschools.net/Clayton’s strategic plan rums from 2012-2018 so it will be updated soon. No clear evidence of 1:1 on main page. Clearly a GAFE School for staff and students. https://www.boarddocs.com/mo/sdclay/Board.nsf/files/AHSRUK6F4AD9/$file/Updated Technology Final Self Study 012517.pdf Plan to go 1:1 in phases ending in 2023. Acknowledge that they are behind in tech.
5 Dublin City School Districthttp://www.dublinschools.net/https://www.dublinschools.net/OnetoOne.aspx Clear 1:1 school on basis of Chromebooks implemented Sep 2017 School tech website behind.https://www.dublinschools.net/dcstech.aspx Clear GAFE school with BYOD policy but not explicitly 1:1
6 South Texas Independent School Districthttp://www.stisd.net/http://www.stisd.net/departments/technology_servicesConfusing: they use a login for MySTISD which links to https://www.google.com/a/mystisd.net/ServiceLogin?service=mail&passive=true&rm=false&continue=http://mail.google.com/a/mystisd.net/
7 Eanes Independent School Districthttp://www.eanesisd.net/No explicit 1:1 Goals. Direct links to gmail and google-classroom for employees. http://www.eanesisd.net/uploaded/District/Our_District/Reports/2015-16_Highlights.pdf “Technology • Thanks to the 2015 Bond, technology services purchased and deployed 9,400 iPad Air 2 devices with a new mobile device management system for staff and students. In addition, more than 500 new computer systems were deployed across the district as part of the computer refresh bond project. Subsequently, approximately 8,500 old iPad 2’s were sold.”
8 Wellesley Public Schoolshttps://wellesleyps.org/Technology plan 2016-2020 https://wellesleyps.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Wellesley-Tech-Plan-2016-20.pdf 1:1 iPads for lower years and laptop or MAC for higher years. Google-classroom as central tool.
9 Indian Hill Exempted Village School Districthttp://indianhillschools.org/http://indianhillschoolshs.ss10.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_374579/File/Indian Hill High School/StudentsParents/BYO Technology/BYOHandout.pdf BYO approach with schools providing for students that cannot afford or have under repair or forgotten.http://hs.indianhillschools.org/students_parents/b_y_o_technology/b_y_o_frequently_asked_questions/ MS-Officce downloadable as the basis for approach.
10 Lexington Public Schoolshttps://web.archive.org/web/20050826000328/http://lps.lexingtonma.org/https://lps.lexingtonma.org/Page/1436 has only old information 2012 iPad program and 2012–2015 plan. The districts genera 2016l improvement plan addresses technology https://lps.lexingtonma.org/cms/lib/MA01001631/Centricity/Domain/442/1617DistrictImprovPlanFINAL.pdf “ Develop a three year Technology Plan for the school district which includes a vision statement and appropriate action steps in the areas of curriculum, digital citizenship, technology infrastructure and hardware, personnel, data culture, and communications.” Technology training pages https://lps.lexingtonma.org/Page/6763make it clear that iPads and PCs and Macs are widely used, but also that GAFE is widely used.
11 Mason City School Districthttp://www.masonohioschools.com/Have mixed BYOD and personal learning device approach for > Graade 7.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WdnrSuAN-DB4ieWLJTZbAR7XXqQmQ2f9F7X2oeuvOlg/edit A 2015 video indicates they have a 1:1 Chromebook aspiration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYlK4M22P0w Use GAFE and other tools. Do have computer-usage and internet policies and a “Home Access Centre” that allows apps to be used with grades, schedules etc.
12 Jericho Union Free School Districthttp://jerichoschools.org/Have elaborate help on BYOD wifi http://www.jerichoschools.org/departments/Technology/WIFI/ OWA but also GAFE and BYOD with iPads, Macs, Windows. Use Google classroom.
13 Great Neck Public Schoolshttps://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us“Instructional Technology in our Schools: Great Neck Implements New Apple Classroom App Elementary and secondary schools in Great Neck implemented the new Apple Classroom app to enhance the District's 1:1 iPad Initiative which now spans Grades 3-12. This teacher-only app is linked to our student management system and mobile device management system to enable teachers to monitor student iPad screens while in class, see what apps are currently running, lock screens, group student iPads into learning teams, and launch apps and Web sites that lock in on individual or group iPads.” combined with GAFE.
14 Princeton Public Schoolshttp://www.princetonk12.org/Strategic goal of x:1 technology in 2016-2021 plan http://www.ppsvision.org/uploads/8/3/2/7/83278812/goal_4_objective_2_technology.rev.pdf Have been buying iPads, chromebooks and other devices.
15 North Allegheny School Districthttp://www.northallegheny.org/Have planned and are implementing full 1;1 or a laptop. Use GAFE
16 Lower Merion School Districthttps://www.lmsd.org/Strategic documents do not explicitly go into 1:1, the tech department does http://www.lmsd.org/academics/instructional-tech/one-to-one 1:1 Laptops since 2007. Young children get iPads.
17 Highland Park Independent School Districthttp://www.hpisd.org/Individual schools do have chromebooks, PCs etc. but no central policy, cannot find a 1:1 policy.
18 West Lafayette Community School Corporationhttp://www.wl.k12.in.us/Strategc plan on site is for 2011-2016. Site outdated with only 1 of the school links working. Many applications to Indiana State Board of education: Common School Loan Advancements for Construction and Technology Programs: for iPads, chromebooks, apple-tvs, deskops, smartboards etc. but no clear policy.
19 Newton Public Schoolshttp://www.newton.k12.ma.us/https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/cms/lib/MA01907692/Centricity/Domain/51/Systemwide%20Goals%202017-18_Final.pdf “● Plan for increased student access to Chromebook/Mac Air for use in school by September 2018, including 100-student pilot. ”
20 Beachwood City School Districthttp://www.beachwoodschools.org/No district policy evidence. Schools do have individual programs like: Beachwood Middle School Chromebook Program 1:1 https://issuu.com/beachwoodbison/docs/beachwood_middle_school_chromebook_

The top 5 have 1:1 programs or are in advanced stages of implementing.
7 of the top 10 are or are on their way to 1:1.
The apple and mixed BYOD schools that went 1:1 usually use GAFE and often use Google-Classroom. 1 of the top 20 indicates moving to Apple Classroom.
If the district does not lead 1:1 then there are sometimes individual schools going 1:1 or experimenting.
2007 Comment from the article "Seeing no progress, some schools drop laptops"2017 Status
1. "the Liverpool Central School District, just outside Syracuse, has decided to phase out laptops starting this fall, joining a handful of other schools around the country"Liverpool now have a 1:1 Chromebook program.http://www.liverpool.k12.ny.us/departments/technology/chromebook-11/ In the State of the District address the leaders accept responsibility for the 1:1 Program and link it to performance and educational goals.http://www.liverpool.k12.ny.us/assets/Communications-Folder/State-of-the-District-Address.9.11.2017.pdf
2. "Matoaca High School just outside Richmond, Va., began eliminating its five-year-old laptop program last fall."https://sites.google.com/a/ccpsnet.net/anytime-anywhere-learning/ Outlines their 1:1 Chromebook program.
3 "Everett A. Rea Elementary School in Costa Mesa, Calif. gave away 30 new laptops to another school in 2005 after a class that was trying them out switched to new teachers who simply did not do as much with the technology."Website of the district inaccessible on 29/12/2017. Indications: http://newportmesa.agendaonline.net/public/Meeting/Attachments/DisplayAttachment.aspx?AttachmentID=355452&IsArchive=0 outlines that they make available to let: 2 ESL Rooms with carts with 32 Chromebooks. http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-schools-breakfast-20170927-story.html indicates they will continue their Chromebooks programs. Another Elementary in Newport-Mesa proudly displays its Chromebook program http://adams.nmusd.us/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1256797247497
4. "Northfield Mount Hermon School, a private boarding school in western Massachusetts, eliminated its five-year-old laptop program in 2002 after it found that more effort was being expended on repairing the laptops than on training teachers to teach with them."No direct policy on 1:1 Chromebook, but clear statement about GAFE.https://www.nmhschool.org/student-life/information-technology/it-faqs If you follow the link from the FAQ about what should be bought for the child: you get this link:https://www.govconnection.com/IPA/Campaigns/PCCGOV/6693817/16de394d_ca49_4e16_a1a4_d72939ddef6f/8036ca7f_30c7_4987_b0b8_cd124d84fbf1/landing?sid=7ce46078-b536-49c2-9288-2980462317a1 where you can select from 3 chromebooks. They also allow BYOD https://www.nmhschool.org/student-life/information-technology/computer-compatibility
5. "Two years ago, school officials in Broward County, Fla., the sixth-largest district in the country, shelved a $275 million proposal to issue laptops"In this 2014 Article the 1:1 BYOD Rollout is discussed.https://www.districtadministration.com/article/preparing-large-scale-tech-rollouts At least the literacy and maths programs meet the requirements of being able to run on a chromebook.
Maths: http://new.schoolnotes.com/files/ejoseph/My.hrw.com_tips_Broward_County.pdf
Literacy https://www.browardschools1.com/cms/lib/FL01803656/Centricity/Domain/11926/Myon%20Letter.pdf
iReady https://www.browardschools1.com/cms/lib/FL01803656/Centricity/Domain/60/i-ReadySystemRequirements.pdf

Examples in other countries

Bombay school 1:1:
Tiki School:
Uddevalla Municipality 1:1 Chromebooks:

Examples involving iPads

Oak Lawn
Kimbolton, UK
Please note that Ranchodistrict are having an auction selling their 570 iPads which greatly reduces the credibility of a report they are swapping their chromebooks for iPads.