At the heart of our laptop program is the word community.  Community is the at the center of our laptop initiative because our program transcends the provision of laptop computers to students.  We are firmly focused on the what we can do with technology, the windows to the world that technology opens, rather than the technology itself.

If the life of our program is in the community, what exactly has our community been doing?  

• We’ve been learning about what a responsible learner looks like.
• We’ve been learning about putting balance in our lives.  We can’t spend all of our time using a laptop!
• We are learning how to collaborate online.
• We are learning how to be respectful and how to protect our privacy.
• Most importantly we are leveraging our laptops to access information, to share, and to publish our work.

How do we know we are learning with technology?  

It’s in our daily practise, in the way that technology is helping to redefine learning at YIS.Has everything been smooth sailing?  There have been some choppy waters, but actually things have been going remarkably well.  We’ve had some who have had trouble finding balance in their lives.  Remember, it’s in the conversations that happen both at school and at home that we come to common understandings, and set expectations.  There have been some adjustments on the network and hardware side.  We’ve had a water spill (and a perfume spill) , a laptop left on a train (and thankfully returned) and a dropped laptop.  Overall the students are very careful with their laptop.

With technology there is always a road forward.  Some highlights include:

• An extension of the CLC to Grade 5.  All students in Grade 5 now have their own laptop that they don’t take home.
• The continued development of our blogs with assignment information, and opportunities for reflection.  This is another example of our CLC connecting home and school.
• An exploration of Student Information Systems in order to find one that gives students and parents live assignment, attendance, grade information.

One thing is certain, our Connected Learning Community will continue to develop and I’m sure it will go places we haven’t even imagined.  If you want to learn more about the skills and tools that you can use, and that will help you to become and active member of our Connected Learning Community, we look forward to seeing you at one of our technology coffee mornings.  After all, we are all learning together.