Sunday, February 20, 2011

Invest in people, not in tools

I wasn't able to attend the 21st Century Learning Conference in Hong Kong but thanks to my PLN I have been able to still participate and learn.

I found the video about why schools should move to a 1:1 programme posted by Chris Smith (@shamblesguru) to be really interesting.  These are educators from schools in Hong Kong (HKIS, CIS and KGV) who have actually moved to a 1:1 programme.  Their advice: communicate, talk about transforming the teaching and learning, create a culture of excitement, focus on the pedagogies, professional development, planning, resources, infrastructure and technical support and leadership.  Invest in people and not the tools.

2 comments:

  1. I have enjoyed being able to follow the conference through my PLN as well. I hadn't see this video, thank you for posting it. Whether or not schools are able to move 1-1, this sentiment rings true, it is always best to invest in the people not the tools.

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  2. This was the thrust of my presentation at 21CLHK, Technology Integration Specialist: What? Why? How?. I explained that school administrations spend a huge amount of money on infrastructure, hardware, and software, but practically no money on human-ware -- people to support the faculty w/technology. It is more important to have support personnel than to have the equipment in many cases.

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