Implementing a 1:1 Program

by Nick Sauers

I was recently asked by a friend to rec­om­mend some major steps as their school begins the process of decid­ing if and how they will become a 1:1 school.  My rec­om­men­da­tions follow:

1. Cre­ate a lead­er­ship team
• Include mul­ti­ple stake­hold­ers on the team, and not just technophiles!  
• Include stu­dents in the process.
• Con­sider hav­ing sub­com­mit­tees that address var­i­ous topics.
• Involve admin­is­tra­tors in the lead­er­ship team and the entire process.  They are key play­ers who will need to sup­port the initiative.
2. Iden­tify the rea­son you are going to imple­ment 1:1
• This may be the biggest prob­lem I see with 1:1 ini­tia­tives.  Con­vert­ing to 1:1 should not be your goal.  Iden­tify a change you want to see in your school that 1:1 can support.
• That goal should align with your school’s mis­sion and vision, and not be some­thing that acts as a stand alone.
3. Visit other schools

• Iden­tify model schools and send teams to those schools.
• Rather than send­ing a larger group to one school, send smaller groups to mul­ti­ple schools.
• Include edu­ca­tors as well as stu­dents, board mem­bers, and com­mu­nity mem­bers in these visits

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