one-to-one computing: new perspectives

Abstract

Well over one million laptops have been deployed to children across Ibero-American countries for educational, social, and economic purposes. Despite significant investments, the impacts of One-to-One initiatives are inconclusive. This could be due to a variety of factors, such as short implementation times, lack of clear goals and commitment to studying impact, and a paucity of measurement tools. In this paper, we propose a new way of approaching One-to-One that is less focused on technology and more focused on learning. Rather than defining One-to-One as the ratio of digital devices per child, we define is as the relationship that each student has with his or her own learning, with digital devices being among many other factors that influence learning. Finally, we provide the implications that this new approach has on the policy and management surrounding One-to-One initiatives so that they are more holistic and take infrastructure, educational content, pedagogical support, community involvement, and policy into consideration simultaneously.