Abstract
This chapter presents the ‘1:1 educational computing', a methodology in which each pupil in the class has their own computer, which they use to participate in the learning activities. The continuous creation of new interactive multimedia digital material is an important effort that aims to enrich the resources available to the teacher, the student and the parent so as to transform learning into a creative, enjoyable, useful and efficient process. Lessons become more interactive and stimulating, while, at the same time, helping students to learn at their own pace. Educational Organizations that adopt the ‘1:1 educational computing' methodology should begin with a set of clearly defined goals, including the expected outcomes. In closing this chapter presents two surveys that were carried out at an Educational Organization which implemented the project (2009 and 2017).
TopAssumptions
It is important to study the data and proceed to documented assumptions before attempting any educational suggestion or intervention. This chapter is based on three important assumptions on the basis of which the educational proposal - methodology is presented and documented. The first is that we move towards a new education paradigm promoting Unity and not Uniformity (Koutsopoulos & Economou, 2016). The second is that the role of the teacher should change according to the current changes in the educational process and the 21st century skills that pupils have to acquire and develop. The third assumption is that students are changing as their digital capacity evolves.
The reality of the European pedagogical system shows that in order for the system to provide the two fundamental concepts in today’s education, namely unity (all schools to have equal opportunities, recourses and possibilities) without uniformity (avoiding “typical” common teaching and learning practices), there is: a need to work within a susceptible to present conditions educational paradigm; to have an appropriate instrument to be able to do so; and a suitable educational environment to apply these concepts.
The solutions for fulfilling these needs are presented in the form of three unconventional, but necessary propositions for education to move forward. The first suggests that we are in an era of a new network-centered education paradigm. The second is that Cloud Computing is the main instrument of this new paradigm (Koutsopoulos & Kotsanis, 2014). The third one proposes a new School, the School on the Cloud (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Paradigm shifts in education (source: Koutsopoulos & Economou, 2016)
Key Terms in this Chapter
Knowledge: Is the outcome of the assimilation of information through learning; the body of facts, principles, theories and practices that is related to a field of work or study.
Attitudes: Are conceived as the motivators of performance, the basis for continued competent performance; they include values, aspirations and priorities.
Digital Environment: A context, or a “place”, that is enabled by technology and digital devices, often transmitted over the Internet, or other digital means, e.g., mobile phone network. Records and evidence of an individual's interaction with a digital environment constitute their digital footprint.
Cloud-Based Technologies: Are an integrated digital and online ways to access and manage any kind of content or human actions. It is referring to computing, to approaches, to environments and to applications, where managing any kind of information could be happen from a distance. Citizens could be able to work in teams, collect shared data, and organize information, with anyone, for anything, from anywhere, in anytime, on any device.
Paradigm: Is a framework containing the truths, the ideas, the assumptions, the rules, the ways of thinking, and the methods that are accepted by members of a scientific community, at a particular point in time.
1:1 Educational Computing: Is the practice in which each pupil in the class has their own computer, which they use to participate in the learning activities.
Skills: Means the ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems.