The information
Some one asked me recently if I wanted to implement a one to one (1:1) program for students age 11 - 13. It took some time before I understood that she didn't mean it as a job proposal. She actually asked me if there should be an "age limit", for one to one initiatives.
At first I was a little chocked that she had concerns weather her younger students would be able to handle their computer in an appropriate way. She questioned the cognitive ability of these students, and thought that they would not be to handle all the addictive distractions that are available online.
After a few minutes of intense thinking, I understood that she had a valid concern. Sometimes putting a laptop in the hands of a student, can be like putting a beer in front of an alcoholic and then trying to teach him or her the fall of the Roman empire. The poor alcoholic would not be able to concentrate and the lesson would off course fail.
The simple solution is to take away the temptation of the alcohol, by removing the beer. But should we apply the same logic to the students that cannot handle the distractions that comes with modern technology? And should we at the same time deny computer access for other students because some of their peers have problems doing what they are told.
I do not want to simplify the problem by saying that my friend was thinking in an old fashion way. And I did not ask her weather she would deny a student using a pen if that student had drawn on the bench. We need to recognize that the distractions that comes with the Internet are troublesome for educators. That's the simple truth.
One argument is that the modern educator needs to compete for the students interest, and that the student is distracted because he or she don't find the task give meaningful. However no teacher in the would can create tasks for every single learning objective that all students will find meaningful every single time.
For many schools now looking at one to one programs this question is a reality. Are our students in year x mature enough to handle a computer. Instead of blaming the teacher for being conservative / giving pointless task, or on the other hand constructing an arbitrary age limit, thus ignoring differences in cognitive development among students, one must look at each school as a unique environment. Each school has a unique combination of teachers, students, facilities and technology that will influence and ultimately determine the level of success of the implementation process.
What action can you take on this information:
Looking at the school from a wider perspective makes the age factor less important. Some schools might go from year 7, some might decide on an individual basis who gets a computer and who has to wait. A simple approach to decide when and where to hand out computers, might just be a simple check list like this:
Are the teachers ready?
Do we have the facilities?
Do we have the technology?
Do we have the students?
All of these factors can be changed and improved upon. Teachers can get computer training and education in Google Apps etc. Facilitates can be improved and upgrades and new simpler technology (read Apple MacBooks) can be purchased. Even the students can be prepared and taught the importance of adapting good computer habits, showing respect to peers and teachers. As I see it there is no age limit to change! (Well some people believes that change stop when your turn 25 or when you are hired as a teacher, but that is just not true!).
One very good principal once said to me: "Doctors heals humans, Teachers builds humans!". A very true statement that lead me to my conclusion: let us build humans that can handle computers or what ever technological paradigm our students will face as humans in the future, their age does not matter!
You will most likely be limited by your budget anyway.
