From Fear to Facebook

by Levinson, Matt

• ISBN13: 9781564842701
• ISBN10: 1564842703
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-09-15
• Publisher: Intl Society for Technology in educ

Summary

In 2007 Matt Levinson moved from New Jersey to California to start a 1-to-1 laptop program at the Nueva School, confident that his knowledge of technology would help him accomplish this goal. He never imagined the challenges he and Nueva would face. Honesty and insightful anecdotes make this an indispensible guide for anyone looking for a path away from fear and into the future of education. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Matt Levinson is the assistant head at the Nueva School in Hillsborough, California. He has been published in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Education Week, and Teacher Magazine.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Lessons Learned: Starting a 1-to-1 Laptop Program	p. 7
Best-laid plans aren't necessarily successful plans! Our ambitious 1-to-1 rollout didn't go as smoothly as we'd hoped. Even with lessons learned, we found more surprises and challenges in the second year.
Schools and Facebook: Moving Too Fast, or Not Fast Enough?	p. 35
Middle school students are social; thus, it is no surprise that they view technology as a social tool. We strove to find a working balance between the needs and work styles of students and the security and learning needs of the school.
iTunes Schools: Customized Learning for the 21st Century	p. 51
Just as iTunes has changed the way we consume music by making custom playlists available, ubiquitous computing offers schools the opportunity to customize learning for each student.
Kids Online: Lying as the New Social Norm?	p. 63
Again, balancing safety and access is a tricky task, and some of the solutions involve thorny ethical dilemmas. To protect kids, do we really want to encourage them to lie about who they are online?
Smart Parenting in the Facebook Age	p. 75
When students bring home a school-issued laptop, who sets the home usage rules? We found that parents had a variety of opinions on the topic, and they were more than happy to share them.
Privacy and Little Brother	p. 87
Finding the balance between appropriate oversight and students' rights and needs for privacy is anything but easy. Understanding that students will attempt to and often succeed in overcoming security measures makes it critical for you to get their buy-in. Students need to understand the rules and why they are in place, and schools need to channel their energies productively.
Teacher Development: A Field of Dreams?	p. 101
Although students often grasp technology almost instinctively, most teachers need time and training in order to effectively integrate technology into their teaching styles and goals.
Students and Laptops: Making a Difference?	p. 115
Undoubtedly, we learned an awful lot of valuable lessons as teachers and administrators during the first two years of the program. However, the priority has always been improving teaching and learning for the students. Have we made progress, and how is that measured?
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