1:1 Technology is a new LCPS initiative which will be introduced to all schools in Loudoun County in the coming years, including Dominion High School in 2019. The initiative will allow each student to be supplied with a personal device for the entire school year.

During the school board work session on Tuesday, April 10th the initiative was discussed The goal of this initiative is to “provide all students with contemporary digital tools that will allow them to maximize the learning environment” according to the powerpoint which was presented during the school board work session. It also says that “every student in grades 3 through 12 [will be provided] with an individual learning device”.

Students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade will maintain a 3 to 1 computer ratio and computer labs will remain in high schools. Students will be given Chromebooks and teachers will be provided with laptops to “facilitate instructional and operational functions”. By 2020, 93 schools in the county will have the 1:1 initiative in place, including Dominion in 2019.

The LCPS budget does allocate for this initiative saying “Utilizing our current financial capacity as a base, we assessed the current device offerings and assessed the computing capacity that was required to meet our goal of providing all students with an individual learning device. This led to our decision to procure a less expensive model for daily use. In the previous model the base amount of a lab computer was $850 per student device, and in the new model the device price point does not to exceed $350 a device. That lower cost, along with the reduction of items like computer carts, allows us to adopt a new, cost neutral computer refresh model” per the Loudoun County Department of Digital Innovation.

As far as computer labs go, “Specialty computer labs that operate at the secondary level and require specialized equipment to serve students in courses such as Career and Technology Education, digital graphic arts, and video production, will be maintained and included in the new refresh model” according to the DDI although computer labs which are not used for specialty purposes will be repurposed.

LCPS is “consider[ing] creating digital production labs, engineering pods, tinker spaces, fabrication spaces, and other options” as replacements for the computer labs which will be repurposed.

The goal of the whole process is to innovate and provide students with new and improved technology. In doing so, the desktops in the specialty computer labs referenced above are going to be replaced with higher quality, more multifaceted computers.

“The Department of Digital Innovation is responsible for the removal, asset management, and recycling of obsolete equipment” Wade Byard, Loudoun County’s Public Information Officer said. “Department planning is in process; this action is a standard operating procedure and is a normal aspect of the computer refresh process.”

Now, with this mass-removal of devices, the plan is to either reuse, or auction off the ones currently in place, “These computers are recycled by a company or sold at auction as defined in School Board Policy.  In some cases, the equipment being replaced will be re-purposed in another school until that school gets new computers,” Byard said.