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Students in the 1-to-1 computing program in California鈥檚 are using netbooks in their classes every day, but the 2-year old program is constantly adjusting the roster of computing devices it uses. The K-6 district is now starting to incorporate tablets into its offerings and is considering a plan to allow parents to purchase upgraded netbooks for their children.

While students in grades 4-6 currently use school-purchased netbooks they store at school each night, younger students are now sharing iPads and Nook Color tablets, also purchased by the school district. And the district is in the process of piloting a program to allow parents to buy upgraded netbooks for their children, which they would take home at night and would receive an operating system and software through the school.

鈥淲e aren鈥檛 really locked in on a standard device,鈥� says Jim Klein, the director of information services and technology for the 11,000-student district in Santa Clarita Valley, Calif. 鈥淲e want to have a mix of devices at different levels depending on usage patterns.鈥�

Klein says he doesn鈥檛 believe this poses an equity issue for students whose parents choose not to purchase an upgraded device, since all students will have access to a computer at school and assignments will not require home usage. 鈥淏y providing all the software and a consistent environment (in school), our strategy is actually far more fair and equal than any other鈥� bring-your-own-technology program, he says. 鈥淚f students are bringing whatever they want, schools actually promote an environment of haves and have nots and leave themselves open to all sorts of problems with equity ... In such an environment, teachers are always forced into crippling limitations and workarounds to accommodate the least capable device in the room.鈥�

While many of the more than 1,500 public schools the nonprofit estimates have such initiatives, they typically use one type of device. As programs expand to more elementary and middle school students and cloud computing storage becomes more widely available, experts expect the single-device approach to change.

鈥淢ost school districts don鈥檛 have any real vision for their technology, other than saying, 鈥楾his is cool, I鈥檓 going to buy a bunch of it,鈥� 鈥� Klein says. 鈥淚f you start thinking about what you actually value about it, then it鈥檚 much more big-picture.鈥�

鈥楳ix and Match鈥� Issues

But having just one type of technology in a 1-to-1 initiative can make life easier and even enhance a program, says Jeff Mao, the learning technology policy director for the , which provides laptop computers to the state鈥檚 middle and high school students.

The Maine program uses Mac laptops and sticks with one product because of the scale of the initiative: The program has about 72,000 of the devices spread across the state.

Using one type of device gives the state purchasing power to whittle down prices, since it buys in bulk. It also allows district and school technology personnel to become experts at troubleshooting and repairs.

鈥淚f you have a singular [device], it鈥檚 going to be easier to support, and you鈥檙e more likely to see adoption and buy-in among educators,鈥� Mao says, adding that if the devices aren鈥檛 working well, teachers are less likely to use them. 鈥淭he more you mix and match, the harder that job becomes.鈥�

Even so, Mao says Maine will be putting out new bids for devices for the 2012-13 school year, and he鈥檚 not wedded to any particular product. If something else fits the need, he says, he鈥檒l consider switching. In addition, if the program evolves to include elementary-school-age students, that also could mean using a variety of devices.

鈥淲hat our older students need from a device is much different from what a student in grades K, 1, 2, or 3 might need,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the things that could drive a difference in devices.鈥�

In addition, as cloud computing, which permits schools to store data and applications 鈥渙n the cloud鈥� or in data centers they can access over the Internet, becomes more popular and storage is not limited, 1-to-1 initiatives will be less about the device and more about what the device can do, says Nick J. Sauers, the leadership-training coordinator for the . The center is based at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington.

Leslie A. Wilson, the chief executive officer of the One-to-One Institute, a Mason, Mich.-based organization that works with countries, states, and school districts on 1-to-1 initiatives, says she agrees that education leaders must think about the outcomes they want.

鈥淲e went into a district last week, and they told us they were going to get iPads, and we said, 鈥榃hy?鈥� 鈥� she says. The answer was that they were cheaper than laptops, and the district could buy more. That reasoning, says Wilson, is the wrong way to view a 1-to-1 initiative.

鈥淭he decision on what to purchase should be based on what you want to achieve,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey hadn鈥檛 thought it through.鈥�

Such computing programs also need to adapt over time, Wilson says. Just a year or two ago, tablets weren鈥檛 even being considered as devices for schools to use, she says.

Evaluating the Tool

It鈥檚 certainly been a story of flexibility and adaptability for the 34,000-student in Texas, which launched its 1-to-1 program more than a decade ago.

The district, which now has more than 12,000 netbooks at the high school, middle, and elementary levels combined, started with laptop computers for its students. But after five years, the laptops were far more expensive than the new netbooks hitting the market, says Alice E. Owen, the district鈥檚 director of technology.

By replacing a fourth of the devices each year, the Irving district gradually moved away from full-size laptops, and all students in the program now use netbooks.

Over the years, however, Owen experimented with the size of the netbook, starting with a 7-inch, but users found the screen too small to scroll through large documents and the keyboard too cramped for high school hands. Those 7-inch models went to elementary and middle school students, and Owen determined a 10-inch device was optimal.

The netbooks have worked well for what students need to do on a regular basis, Owen says, but high schools still maintain computer labs stocked with PCs and high-end laptops with the capacity to do movie editing or high-end graphics.

Though the Irving schools have had success with netbooks, Owen says she continues to experiment. District administrators got iPads to use for teacher evaluations during the last school year, and school officials are trying to determine whether those devices also have value for students. This school year, the district is piloting iPads with students at its new Lady Bird Johnson Middle School, which uses new technology to operate as a 鈥渘et zero鈥� school, producing as much energy as it uses.

The Irving 1-to-1 program has even considered using smartphones, but school officials have concluded they are more of a device that consumes information than one that is easily used to create work. Still, the district did revise its cellphone policy this year to allow students in all grades to use smartphones in the classroom if the teacher presents activities in which the devices would be helpful, Owen says.

Sauers, from the University of Kentucky, says it鈥檚 important for districts to do small pilot programs with teachers and students with new devices to determine whether they fit the needs of a 1-to-1 program. Those pilots allow districts to create their own 鈥減roduct review鈥� teams, he points out.

Such reviews, he says, can provide information on 鈥渨hy this tool is valuable and the educational impact it can have.鈥�