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One-to-One
Volume 7, Issue 1
September, 2010
In This Issue
President's Message
AALF Leadership: Executive Director's News and Thoughts
Survey Says
1-to-1 Leadership and Learning
AALF Institutes
Research and Resources
Share Your Expertise
Upcoming Conferences and Events
Coaches' Corner
AALF Worldwide Networking
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List!



Dear Colleague,

Welcome to the September edition of the AALF newsletter. This month we have an article by Bruce Dixon, President of AALF, who discusses what he considers as the tipping point in 1:1 education. We also have an editorial by Susan Einhorn, Executive Director of AALF, who writes about an historic meeting at the Big Ideas 1:1 Global Summit in Maine. There is also an article by Heather Chirrtea about alternative funding sources for your 1:1 program and Sylvia Martinez who shares findings from the latest Gen Yes whitepaper. Also included in this month's newsletter are some of our regular features: Survey Says, and Share Your Expertise.

Click on the link at the end of each article to read it in its entirety on our website. You can comment or add your stories to any of these articles. We would love to hear from you!
 
Enjoy!

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ANNOUNCING NEW AALF NEXT STEPS INSTITUTES!


WE'VE GOT LAPTOPS, NOW WHAT?

Course 1: Foundations for Success

Course 2: Instructional Frameworks & Increased Student Achievement

Course 3: Model of Outstanding (and Effective) 1-to-1 Classes


Click here for further details!


NEXT STEPS INSTITUTE

1:1 and English Language Learners: A Winning Combination


Click here for further details!
President's Message
THE PARADOX OF THE TIPPING POINT

Dixon

Reflecting upon the Big Ideas Global 1:1 Summit held in June at Point Lookout, Maine, Bruce Dixon, President of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, discusses what he sees as the 'tipping point' in 1:1 education. According to Bruce, it is one thing to believe in the possibilities of what 1:1 may offer, but it is another thing for that potential to be realized. Click here to read Bruce's thoughts on this "tipping point" and the challenges we now face in 1:1 education.

AALF Leadership: Executive Director's News and Thoughts
THE BIG IDEAS GLOBAL 1 to 1 SUMMIT - AN HISTORIC MEETING

seinhorn

This past June, over 80 policy makers and educators from around the world gathered in Maine to participate in the Big Ideas Global 1 to 1 Summit, hosted by AALF, the Maine International Center for Digital Learning (MICDL) and IdeasLab of Australia. In this article, Susan Einhorn, Executive Director of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, discusses two remarkable people who met for the first time ant this unique event, Professors Seymour Papert and Sugata Mitra. Their research and visionary ideas provide unique perspectives on how children learn, technology's place in the process, and the role of teachers and schools. Click here to read more about Professor Papert and Professor Mitra's research and ideas.



Polls and Results
SURVEY SAYS
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What has been the most challenging aspect of your 1:1 initiative this year? Let us know by responding to a 10-second poll we have posted on web site (scroll down the homepage).

We will share more survey and poll results in upcoming issues, so stay tuned!

Thank you for participating!

1:1 Leadership and Learning
MAKING THE CASE FOR TECHNOLOGY

With many schools facing budget cuts and a recessionary environment of declining funding, how do you convince funders that technology is important? In this article, Heather Chirtea, Executive Director of the Digital Wish foundation shares a list of five compelling reasons for interested parties to support your technology initiative. Furthermore, she discusses specific tips on how to identify new funding streams. Click here to learn about how to make a case for funding your technology initiative.

AALF Institutes
ANNOUNCING NEW AALF NEXT STEPS INSTITUTES!

The Next Steps Online Institutes are a series of Professional Development courses that focus on best practices of highly effective 1:1 classes and their organization, pedagogy, and learning culture. Some courses concentrate on general guidelines for teaching and learning in 1:1 classrooms, while others center on 1:1 learning and teaching models for specific curriculum areas.

We are pleased to announce our upcoming online institute line-up. All sessions are designed for teachers, teacher leaders, and principals. Click on the session dates for more information, pricing, or to register.

gotlaptops
We've Got Laptops, Now What? Course 1: Foundations for Success

During this course, participants will learn about, discuss and plan for the crucial alignment of district and/or site 1:1 goals with their classroom instructional practices and student engagement activities. This institute will be offered two times in the upcoming year.

OCTOBER 19-28, 2010

FEBRUARY 15- MARCH 1, 2011



We've Got Laptops, Now What? Course 2: Instructional Frameworks & Increased Student Achievement

While building upon, We've Got Laptops, Now What? Course 1: Foundations for Success, participants will take an in depth look at the elements of successful 1:1 classes and learn about research-based frameworks and principles that guide teachers to become 1:1 pedagogical design experts. This institute will be offered two times in the upcoming year.

NOVEMBER 3-15, 2010


MARCH 15-24, 2011


We've Got Laptops, Now What? Course 3: Models of Outstanding (and Effective) 1:1 Classes

Developed for people who have taken We've Got Laptops, Now What? Course 1 and 2 in the Got Laptops series, this institute will provide participants with multiple virtual visits to highly effective laptop classes and schools around the world.

MAY 10-19, 2011

EL

1:1 and English Language Learners: A Winning Combination

Laptops are a powerful tool in the EL classroom. This course is designed to provide participants with an introduction and overview to effective 1:1 practices for English Language Learners (EL's).

JANUARY 20- FEBRUARY 1, 2011



Class size is limited, so register early!
Research and Resources
TECHNOLOGY LITERACY AND ASSESSMENT: A GENERATION YES WHITEPAPER

The most recent Generation YES Whitepaper centers upon issues of technology literacy, theories of Constructionism, project-based learning, and assessment. In the following article Sylvia Martinez, President of Generation YES, shares some concepts from this whitepaper, as well as six principles guiding the development of authentic assessments of technological literacy. Click here to read more about the Generation YES whitepaper.
Questions from the Community
SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE 

A  grade If you have any experience or thoughts on the question below, please respond by following the link to the discussion boards!

Do you know of any surveys that would help assess and build parent, school community and school board engagement and support of your 1:1 initiative?

Click here to share your expertise!

Are you implementing a 1:1 laptop program and struggling with a specific issue? Do you have questions about policies, communicating with parents or the community, AUPs, professional development, or any other issues that you are facing in implementing anytime, anywhere learning in your school or district?

If your answer to that question is yes, let the AALF community help. Send your questions to AALF, and we'll post them both in our newsletter and on the AALF web site.  Although we may not be able to post all your questions, we'll try to post as many as we can.

Conferences, Institutes, Academies and Events
UPCOMING EVENTS

Check Events on the AALF website regularly to learn of other events at which AALF leaders will be speaking or leading workshops. We look forward to seeing you there!

OCTOBER 16-24, 2010
CRSTE Global Symposium

OCTOBER 19-28, 2010
We've Got Laptops, Now  What? Course 1: Foundations for Success

OCTOBER 29-31, 2010
European Laptop Institute, The Hague, Netherlands

OCTOBER 18-20, 2010; FEBRUARY 7-9, 2011; APRIL 4-6, 2011
Tablet Conferences at Cincinnati Country Day School, Cincinnati, Ohio.

NOVEMBER 3-15, 2010
We've Got Laptops, Now What? Course 2: Instructional Frameworks and Increased Student Achievement

DECEMBER 2-3, 2010
Great Lakes 1:1 Computing Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

JANUARY 20- FEBRUARY 1, 2011
1:1 And English Language Learners: A Winning Combination

FEBRUARY 15-MARCH 1, 2011
We've Got Laptops, Now What? Course 1: Foundations for Success

MARCH 15-24, 2011
We've Got Laptops, Now What? Course 2: Instructional Frameworks and Increased Student Achievement

MAY 10-19, 2011
We've Got Laptops, Now What? Course 3: Models of Outstanding (and Effective) 1:1 Classes



Do you have an upcoming 1:1 event you would like to share with other newsletter readers? Contact Justina Spencer for information on posting these events.
Coaches' Corner
AALF COACHING

AALF coaches provide support for educators at all levels and, working either individually or in expert teams, coaches and consultants support educators and policy makers at every phase of their 1:1 initiative. This includes creating a vision, designing appropriate goals, translating plans into action, choosing the most effective technology tools and designing technology support, providing professional development opportunities, and using data to reflect on the effectiveness of their program.

 Working with individual leaders and teams of educators, AALF coaches incorporate:
  • Face-to-face and additional communication sessions
  • Online learning opportunities
  • The use of Web 2.0 online collaborative communication tools such as blogs and wikis
  • Professional development support with AALF associates who are currently working in highly effective 1:1 schools.

For additional information regarding AALF coaching support, go to the Coaching and Mentoring Services page of our website, or contact Susan Einhorn at seinhorn@aalf.org
AALF Worldwide Networking
CONTRIBUTING TO AALF
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Our AALF worldwide newsletter readership continues to grow. In the past year our foundation enrollment and readers have grown to over 2,500 members. This is exciting news and certainly provides evidence about the relevance of 1:1 learning across continents!  As our audience and support continues to grow, we are anxious to provide timely and relevant information regarding 1:1 learning and schools around the world. With this in mind, I would like to invite foundation members to get involved with the production of this monthly publication. There are several ways you can contribute to this important work:
  • Volunteer your school to be a '1:1 Global Storybook Spotlight School'; this column provides an in depth look at 1-to-1 schools from the perspective of leaders, teachers, and students
  • Volunteer to submit an article to an upcoming issue of the AALF newsletter.
  • Volunteer your unique suggestions; suggest columns or ideas you think would benefit 1:1 educators around the world

Please contact Susan Einhorn (seinhorn@aalf.org or 425.223.3763) if you are interested in any of these opportunities.

The Foundation thanks all its partners for their ongoing support.