Professional blog

We have a 1 to 1 program right now at the school I'm at, and there are a lot of problems with it.  Initially I was for the program, but I am becoming more and more against it, especially with the current way our program is run.  Let me list the problems I've discovered so far:
 

1. Classroom management while students are "taking notes with their computers" is an issue.  I think installing a gigantic mirror at the back of the classroom would be ideal.
2. Classroom management issues while the students are supposed to be working on exercises using the CD version of their textbook, or a calculator emulator, when in fact they are searching the internet deciding what shoes they are going to buy on the weekend.
3. MSN Messenger, Skype, Google Chat, etc... name your poison here.
4. Transition times between activities increase as you wait for the students to reboot/boot their computer, plug in their power cord, comb their hair etc...
5. Exceptionally slow internet at our school since every student is actively connected to the internet all the time.
6. Our wireless hotspots only support 15 active connections.  We have as many as 26 students in a class.  You do the math.
7. Students don't maintain their computers properly, leading to the spreading of malware, viruses, etc... through USB sticks.
8. Since some students have malware installed, our network takes a hit as it has to defend itself against internal intruder programs searching the local network for active ports.  Every day I have 10-12 port scans that my firewall blocks.
9. Students don't keep their software up to date.
10. Students don't even keep the right software on their computer.  Equation editor is SUPPOSED to be standard in M$ Word, but hey some students have got it uninstalled... heck some students don't even have a word processor on their computer.
11. Students don't have the same software on their computers.  For example, I have seen Firefox 2, Firefox 3, Safari 2, Safari 3, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Google Chrome, Opera in action, all at the same time, in the same class.
12. Students don't know how to do "fill in the blank" on their computer, so class time is spent trouble-shooting rather than on instruction.
13. Laptops are stolen, about 3% of them each semester.  Combination of laisse-faire attitude by students and poor security at the school.
14. Students forget their laptops/power cords/brains at home/in locker/in canteen
15. Three different operating systems in use.  Yes, some students are using Linux.
16. Of the three distinctly different operating systems in use there are 3 flavours of Windows, 2 of Linux, and 3 of MAC currently in use.  Now I'm supposed to be an expert on all 8 of these flavours and plan my lessons for minor incompatibilities between them because why?
17. "I just need to print out X for my Y class.  Can I go do it now during your [unimportant] lesson?"
18. Students forget passwords, even for their own computers at times.  The most common one for the students to forget is the one for the wireless or for my classroom blog.
19. The laptops are heavy.  Textbooks are heavy.  Some of my students have back problems already at an early age from carrying too much to and from school.
    
20. Most teachers lack training on how to use the 1 to 1 program effectively.  We need time to be trained in optimal pedagogical techniques involving the use of technology, provided with classroom management strategies, and shown with some proof that the technology is worth using.
     

There are some simple solutions to these problems.

1. Don't let the students buy their own computers.  Either buy all of the computers for the students or require them to buy a specific model.  They need to be using exactly the same software, hardware, etc...
2. Make the school in charge of installing software on the student computers.  This works better if they are actually the school's computers and you are renting them out to the students for the year.  This way you can ensure that no games, chat programs, peer to peer file sharing programs, http proxy tunnel clients, etc... get installed on their computers.
3. Have a way for the teacher to turn off access to the internet when they need.  Could be as simple as a light switch which turns off the nearest wireless box (have one wireless box per room, configure it to a minimum radius, maximum number of active connections).
4. Don't use Windows until they can prove that it is as secure as the other Unix based systems.  Go with Linux and a bunch of open source software, or go for Mac and pay through the nose, either way works.
5. Have some common sense when planning the layout of your classrooms.  Install electricity outlets in convenient locations, either right in the tables the students are using or on the floor.  Make sure there are enough outlets to go around.  Heck, put an ethernet cable port right next to each outlet and forget about wireless all together.
6. Make sure students are all given training on how to most effectively use their computers.  It is the job of a school to help students learn how to use these powerful devices, but to be honest, the typical classroom teacher isn't up to the job, and they'll be the first to admit it.  This training should happen in an information technology course taught as a core subject.  Each student should take this course each year they are in school.
7. Have a specialist who's job it is to trouble shoot the computers and make sure they are all running smoothly.  Have students see this specialist outside of class time if possible.
    

Don't get me wrong, I'm a strong supporter of technology in the classroom.  I think there are some very powerful, very useful ways it can be used.  However I don't think it is being used effectively at our school, and I often wish I had the power to can the whole program and start over again, implementing some of my suggestions above.

Does anyone have anything else they want to add to these lists?  I'm open for suggestions.