A joint effort between the former Minister of Education for England, Lord James Knight, the e-Learning Foundation from the U.K. and the 1:1 Institute from the U.S. brought together dignitaries and thought leaders in education from around the world. The Core was privileged to be invited and wanted to sit down with organizers Leslie Wilson and Valerie Thompson to further discuss education technology and ways our two countries can intersect. Wilson's 1:1 Institute and Thompson's e-Learning Foundation were pivotal players in this global discussion that will continue at this year's upcoming ISTE international conference in Atlanta. 

Leslie Wilson knows firsthand what it takes to make 1:1 initiatives successful in schools. She's CEO of the One-to-One Institute (OTO), a national nonprofit organization that provides hands-on expertise, services and support to K-12 schools that are making the transition to 1:1. Also known as Project Red, OTO conducted the first large-scale, national study of educational technology and its impact on student performance and costs. It developed a set of best practices-from leadership to infrastructure to instruction-based on the results of this study.

Wilson worked in public education for more than 31 years, and she led Michigan's 1:1 teaching and learning initiative, Freedom to Learn. We talked with her to hear her insight on the potential of 1:1 and what it really takes to make it work.

What, in your experience, are the benefits of 1:1?

A well-implemented 1:1 initiative creates a student-centered environment where teaching and learning are personalized for individual learners. Personal, portable computers allow students to direct their learning, do research, access immediate resources and information, work independently or in groups, and get quick feedback to guide their personal pace. Through simulations and online field trips and collaborations they can virtually experience life, global expertise, nature, science, history, etc., without the amount of time, cost and space needed in traditional environments. (LEARN MORE) 

Providing a device for every student doesn't require a  huge staff or an impossible amount of funding - and you don't have to figure out everything before you've begun. But it does call for vision, planning and commitment, as these experts will attest. 

Even as the Los Angeles Unified School District is being derided - rightly or wrongly - for bungled management, inadequate teacher training, overpaying for devices and insufficient attention to infrastructure, its massive iPad program has helped make the concept of 1-to-1 part of the national conversation beyond ed tech circles. Here, tech leaders from five districts share nine lessons they've learned over a collective 37 years of 1-to-1 computing. (MORE)

One-to-One Institute will be on the road in May, providing assistance to the State of Nevada as they strategically plan for a statewide 1:1 initiative.

If you hadn't heard, Registration is OPEN!

You will not want to miss this year's 12th Annual Conference.  You will receive three full days of learning and networking with other educators from all over the world.