One of our first roles of helping out mom at the office was filing records. The had rows and rows of cabinets with patient records. When we were in on the weekend, it was our job to meticulously file them alphabetically in order so that the receptionist, nurse, or my mom could get to them quickly. There were never a lot to file, but usually 15 or 20 that hadn't gotten done by the close of the day on Friday. However, when we would walk into the records room, we were literally surrounded by files. All painstakingly organized for quick access.
I walked into my son's doctors office now. Its a small practice, four doctors. The receptionist is in an open air area with windows behind her. It's a nice view. There are no files. She uses an earpiece to talk to individuals on the phone. In a moment's notice she has all of the information on my son. She sends a digital alert to the doctor to let us know we picked up his prescriptions.
The change from the records room to now didn't happen overnight. There were many that said it wasn't necessary, there would be fewer jobs for people, and it wouldn't improve health care. Many professionals needed additional time, support, and training to make the transition. However, as we complete the journey, we can certainly say that our medical professionals have greater access to up to date information to provide the best care they can.
Thirty years later, we are making the same transition in education. Sure we did it long ago with student records. However, teachers, administrators, and secretaries make up only a small portion of those who work in schools. Students are by far the largest number of workers in a school. The digital transition to student devices is more than simply screen time and glowing parchment. The impacts are more than access to Khan Academy videos and digital games. The impacts begin with simple work flow. If emailing out a page for students saves 10 minutes at the copier (figure walking to the copier, running the copy, and walking back, all assuming that the copier works and their is no line), and 3 minutes of passing out papers, that number alone adds up to incredible savings throughout the school year of teacher time and student time. If digital distribution, means that now I can distribute different worksheets to different groups, not only is time saved but now we can get more aligned products. If digital distribution means that students can send me back their work electronically instead of putting it in a bin, needing to ensure that every paper has made it to the bin and has a name on it (ask a teacher, this is a real problem), and I need to sort it and organize it, there alone is a tremendous time savings. If digital distribution means that I have access to teacher and student materials beyond the age level I teach, there is an incredible time savings and learning opportunity. None of these huge savings addresses the incredible product development opportunities for students and teachers, authentic publishing experiences, or research opportunities available to children and adults. The digital revolution is as much about creating time and learning efficiencies as anything else.
The integration of 1:1 learning won't be easy. It may not be inexpensive. However, the new-fangled ultrasound machine that my mom got for her office wasn't either. Like my mom, we will need to be brave as we change the tools of our practice. In the end, these tools improved patient care, just as 1:1 will improve learning. They allowed more specific and more diagnostic care, just as 1:1 will help in learning.
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