One-To-One Program

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why have a 1 to 1 program?
A. There are many reasons that schools implement a 1 to 1 program. At SAS we have 4 major aims of the program.

These are to:
•    Improve student academic achievement through the use of technology
•    Assure equity in access to digital resources
•    Prepare students for their future
•    Enhance teaching and transform the quality of teaching

Factually, there are several studies which support the use of laptops in schools.  One particular study listed these benefits:

• Laptop classes were more active learning environments. Most revealing was the Laptop students’ superiority in using the computer as a learning tool.  Laptop students to be more attentive and interested in learning. (Lowther and Ross, 2003)
• Ever more prevalent, and presupposing at least a 1:1 ratio between students and computers, is the concept of “ubiquitous computing”** (Weiser, 1991) Computers are embedded in everyday life activities to the point of “invisibility,” so that we unconsciously and effortlessly harness their digital abilities as effort-saving strategies for achieving the benefits of “distributed intelligence” (Pea, 1993).
• At a National Research Council workshop on improving learning with information technologies that brought together K-12 educators, learning scientists and technology industry leaders, Pea et al. (2003) characterized 1:1 computing as an essential “first transformation” for realizing the potential of computing to support learning and educational processes.
• Laptop students demonstrate superior writing skills and have two seemingly important advantages over non-Laptop students. One is that their teachers placed greater emphasis on research and problem-solving tasks.  Second, Laptop students have greater accessibility to and better skills at using application software geared to solving open-ended learning problems. (Lowther and Ross, 2003)
• In the Year 1 evaluation of the program results indicated greater uses in the Laptop classes of student-centered teaching strategies, such as project-based learning independent inquiry/research, teacher as coach/facilitator, and cooperative learning. Overall, the Laptop classes were “busier” and more active learning environments. Most revealing was the Laptop students’ superiority in using the computer as a learning tool. (Lowther and Ross, 2003)
• Another positive impact is suggested from the significant finding in Grade 5 (and directional trend in Grades 6 and 7) for Laptop students to be more attentive and interested in learning relative to Control students. (Lowther and Ross, 2003)

Q. What are the educational benefits of laptops?
A. This research suggests that most students already own and use digital tools on a daily basis for their educational, social and personal needs. At SAS, we believe that it our responsibility as a school to keep up with technological change and be at the cutting edge.

Q. Why not create more computer labs?
A. The creation of extra computer labs causes various problems. The main issue with this approached compared to the 1:1 approach is that a laptop program allows all students access to the appropriate content at the time in which they need it. This is not always possible via the use of computer labs and pods. Our firm belief is that learning best happens in the context and under the guidance in a regular classroom setting.

Q. What will happen to the existing Labs and Carts of Computers?
A. The existing labs at SAS will begin to be phased out next year in the middle school and high school setting. Labs in the elementary school will continue to be maintained and upgraded as time passes.

Q. Are other international schools laptop one-to-one schools?
A. Yes, there are many schools around the world that have taken up a laptop one-to-one program including the vast majority of international schools in Shanghai.

Q. Will the laptop be used in every class?
A. The laptops will not be necessarily used in every class that your child attends for the day, but it will be used within all subject areas. Obviously some subject areas are more technology dependent than others and it is expected that the laptops will be used heavily each day.

Q. How will students submit work completed on the computer?
A. Students will be able to access their work, readings and notes via email, the Internet using their blogs, wikis and other tools that they use now. Currently the school is using Moodle (SAS Online classroom) for this purpose but there will be other ways we use web-based tools to address learning resources.

Q. My child complains about the internet speed at school. How is this being addressed?
A.  The SAS Board of Directors has been very supportive of the technology vision for SAS and tremendous resources are also being dedicated to upgrading our computer network to be a fully wireless environment. An additional benefit of this upgrade is that the SAS phone systems will also be upgraded and all classroom environments will also have phone systems, which will enhance the safety and security of our school.

Q. Does this mean my child will be carrying around a laptop?
A. Yes. SAS has researched a quality computer bag design and has contracted locally to have this made to our exact specifications.  The bag is designed so that the computer does not have to be taken out of the bag, but simply opened and the lid lifted. This will allow for a much safer and secure use of the machines in the classroom environment.

Q. How will they use the laptop in their class(es)?
A. A list of the many ways a laptop can be used in a classroom can be exhaustive. What follows is simply a summary of examples:

• A vast resource for additional information other than what a teacher and a book provides in a traditional classroom.
• The ability to quickly download teacher handouts from a school online resource thereby saving the time, expense and the destruction of the world’s trees.
• The ability for students to expand the walls of their classroom and include other students and experts in the field in online educational discourse.
• The ability to visualize Mathematical applications through the use of school provided Math software providing students will a more thorough understanding of concepts presented in class.
• The ability to directly upload data from their heart rate monitors in P.E. class and import it into graph making programs giving them a visualization of their progress.
• The ability to simultaneously write documents with students through the use of an online wiki thereby also providing the ability for peer-editing of written work.
• The ability for students to quickly have their work shown on the classroom’s LCD projector providing.

Q. My child is carrying a laptop plus all their textbooks? That could get quite heavy for a 7th grader.
A. While there is additional weight with the laptop, the laptop bag will have a shoulder strap to distribute its weight. Additionally, teachers will be now have the option of using more digital content than they could have previously making the text book unneeded for every class period. If you have concerns about the weight your young child is carrying, you might consider providing a small bag with wheels much like carry-on bags used when flying.

Choice of Laptop Platform
Q. Why Macintosh?
A. We examined the two main computing operational systems: Windows and Macintosh.  Three vendors replied to the requests for information around specific requirements of our educational computing needs.  All three presented an hour and half presentation to the computing platform review committee which consisted of classroom teachers, administrators and IT technical staff.  Written materials were submitted.   The major considerations of this choice were included the price, support (both technical and professional development), technical considerations (including server design, client software and operating software).

In pilot implementations at all levels of the organization, the Macintosh environment has been proven to be:
•    Durable and low maintenance
•    Educationally appropriate
•    Easy to use
•    Easiest interface to move to over Vista, Windows or Macintosh OSx.
•    Popular with teachers and students

Apple is the world leader in one-to-one education, and is the only computer platform with a division dedicated to supporting schools in one-to-one integration. The Mac is the computer of choice for many international schools due to the durability, reliability, ease of use, security and the wide array of software that comes with the Macintosh machines that provide the students with rich tasks. Apple have also been able to offer a range of technical support and infrastructure upgrades that are far super to what other suppliers were able to offer. The price that we have been able to negotiate is also very competitive.

After a review of all the above considerations and issues, the Macintosh computing platform was selected with broad-based and sweeping support from the committee members to be the educational computing platform at Shanghai American School.

Q. What software will be included?
A. There will be a range of commercial and open source software that will be supplied, pre-configured on the MacBook. The software included will be Microsoft Office, iLife, iWorks, Adobe CS, Inspiration and specialized content area software. Additionally, students will have full access to network services and software necessary for classroom and school collaborative experiences. Each machine also comes with a 3 year limited AppleCare® warranty.

Q. Why choose Mac when most computers in the world are Windows?
A. While most of the world does use windows machines, the Mac environment has numerous advantages over a windows based Machine, predominately security and ease of use that will best be focused on the use of multimedia tools for collaboration and creation of student developed content.

Q. On which did you base the technology fee price on?
The fee provides for a Macbook computer, computer bag, software (MS Office, Adobe CS3, iWorks, iLife and content area software), access to data services on school campus, storage and security additions for computers, warranty and onsite service by trained, qualified technicians.  The retail price of the computer, warranty and software is well above the level of the technology fee.

Laptop Questions
Q.     Does my child have to have a Laptop?
A. Yes, all students at SAS in grades 7, 8, 9, 10 are required to have an Apple Mac Laptop on the set date. The students keep the computer for at least three years.

Q.     We just bought a brand new Mac. Can my child bring a laptop other than a school owned Mac?
A. No, the only laptop that will be allowed to use the school network and infrastructure will be the authorized Apple Laptop that has been imaged with the SAS software image. This issues focuses on the outfitting of the machines, software licensing, and consistency of programs SAS is following the advice of schools who have implemented this type of program before us.  The research states that once you open the door to different models of machines (even to the a machine bought in just the last year) the school opens itself up to all kinds of problems that have to do with the ability of one computer to another.  Even the basic MacBook that was sold to SAS in the fall is now MUCH Less in power than the newer machine, which now comes with 2 gb of ram, a higher end video card and a longer-life battery.  This is much like a math text books in a way.  A math textbook that is 5 year old has the basically the same information in it.  Same units, same concepts and theoretically, a student using a 5-year-old math textbook would be just as successful.   Most people would not want their child using a different textbook than the rest of the kids in the room though.  It would be a problem for the child and for his teachers.   Another issue (and I could type about this for hours…) is the software. The software we own is all school licenses and of course the school legally owns it. Thus we cannot install the software on non-school purchased machines. The licenses installed on one machine would come to close to total cost of a computer if you were to individually buy them in shops or online. To start out, we want to do our best to put the students on an even level of technology and allow our teachers to learn to teach with tools that are consistent as well.

Q. I heard the school will have an administrator account on the laptop. Why do SAS need an Administration Account?
A. To ensure that all laptops on the school network are running in accordance with the acceptable use policy, SAS need to be able to have full access to all laptops. This will be used primarily for security reasons and will ensure that students cannot change usernames of machines on the network.

Q. What happens if my laptop is broken or under repair?
A. Commencing August 2009, if a student machine is broken, then the school will have some spare machines that can be used for the period of time that the machine is out of action. This is solely the discretion of the Apple technicians that are employed within the school as to how long these are issued for school use.

Q. What happens if a student forgets to bring the laptop to school?
A. The school will have back up laptops available for students who forget to bring their laptop but the numbers are not unlimited. Students will be required to sign a laptop check-out form to receive a loaner. It is vitally important that students remember to bring the laptop to school and they do so with a fully charged battery. Repeat offenders will need to explain their inability to bring their laptops to school to their school administrator.

Q. What is the battery life? How can I charge my Mac?
A. Apple laptops have one of the longer battery life spans of laptops on the market. It is common for the MacBook to run for approximately three hours without the need for charging. There will be charging stations located near most classrooms but this infrastructure has not been implemented yet. Students will need to bring their laptop’s power supply to school with them everyday in the laptop bag.

Q. Where will I be able to access the school network from?
A. The school has committed to investing heavily in infrastructure to get the school Mac one-to-one program ready for use. This includes the installation of wireless network points in all classrooms. Students will be able to access this network from anywhere on campus with their username and password.

Q. How will my child learn to use the laptop?
A. Students will be given some introductory lessons on how to use the Mac at the start of the year. There is always a transition time that is associated with the changeover to the Mac operating system. Students will then be shown how to use subject specific programs and skills within their various subject areas.

Q. Can other members of my family use my laptop?
A. We would advise against any other members of your family using the school laptop. We believe that ownership of the machine is an important aspect of any one-to-one program. It is also important that students are aware of the fact that they are responsible for the machine and for the contents of that machine.

Q. Will they laptop come with a mouse?
A. No, the laptop will be equipped with pointing pad which should be sufficient. If the student prefers using a mouse, they will need to purchase one for their own use.

Q. Will the students have the laptops year round?
A. Over extended vacations, the laptops may have to have newly updated software installed requiring the laptops to be return to school for that vacation period. The technology staff will be working on ways to do this without the students giving up their computers for extended periods of time. In any case, software upgrades will be announced well in advance giving students time to prepare.

Health and Safety
Q. How should the Mac be transported to and from school?
A. It is required that students carry their laptop to school in the school provided travel bag.

Q. Will my child’s eyes be adversely affected by looking at a laptop screen all day at school?
A. Your child will not be using the laptop in every class so there will be ample downtime in which your child’s eyes will be able to rest. In order to avoid eye strain, the school will include instruction in proper use of the laptop including the proper distance to best view the screen and the setting up of the proper screen resolution and viewing angle.

Security
Q. What happens if my laptop is lost or stolen?
A. If the laptop is lost, every attempt by the student should be made to recover it. If it has been left in a taxi, then the taxi company should be immediately contacted. As with other school property issued to students such as books, the family will be responsible if the item is lost or stolen. This means the student will need to purchase another laptop through the school. SAS is also creating secure places for laptops to be stored and charged.  These will be located in high traffic areas such as cafeterias, gyms, locker rooms and band rooms.  The school is also researching the feasibility of security software.

Q. My child dropped the laptop. What should we do?
A. If there is any damage to the laptop, students should not attempt to fix it themselves or have it fixed by outside repair shops. They should bring it to the school’s Apple Care center for repairs. If the student is away from Shanghai, they should only bring it to a certified Apple repair center. SAS purchased laptops will have a 3-year AppleCare warrantee and depending on the damage to the laptop, the costs for repairs and/or spare parts may be covered under the warrantee. Attempting to repair the laptop elsewhere may void the warrantee.

Q. How protective is the carry bag?
A. The laptop bag is designed with protection in mind. It has reinforced sides and is padded for protection. It is also designed to dissipate the heat a laptop creates. Students should not replace the bag with one of their own and other items should not be placed in the laptops bag. This may damage the screen which is the most expensive part of the laptop.

Technical
Q. Will parents be required to provide technical support?
A. No, all technical support will be carried out on site with SAS technical support personnel trained as Apple technicians. The technicians will be able to assist with ALL technical issues.

Q. Can the SAS network handle the load of every student and teacher having a laptop?
A. The school is investing heavily in infrastructure to ensure that the network will be able to cope with the demands of all the students and staff having laptops that require network access. As there will be a gradual implementation, this will allow us time to fully test the network to ensure that it will run smoothly when all users are online.

Q. Will I be able to use the Internet from home on my Mac?
A. Yes, there is no good reason that your child’s Mac will be limited to the school network. If you are using a wireless network at home then this should be a straight forward configuration which will be different depending upon the user’s setup. For a wired network it should be as easy as simply plugging the Ethernet cable into the Ethernet port. If you have any issues with this, the technicians will be able to advise students on how it is done.

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