Filed under: Leadership | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, Action Plans, Data, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, Surveys, Technology Plans
This is cross posted at 1to1SchoolsNet
In November, I wrote about “Periodic Dipsticking” to assess a 1:1 initiative. Graded – The American School of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is doing just that as they pilot a one to one laptop program in their sixth grade. The team used a variety of sources to develop teacher and student surveys to meet their needs and the data from these surveys will help them assess how the initiative is going and drive future planning. Hopefully these examples will provide you with ideas on how to assess your program.
Sources
Bebell, Damian. “Technology Promoting Student Excellence: An Investigation of the First Year of 1:1 Computing in New Hampshire Middle Schools.” Thesis. Boston College, 2005
Grimes, Douglas, and Mark Warschauer. “Learning with Laptop: A Multi-Method Case Study.” J. Educational Computing Research 38.3 (2008): 305-32.
Grimes, Douglas, and Mark Warschauer. “Learning with Laptop: A Multi-Method Case Study.” J. Educational Computing Research 38.3 (2008): 305-32.
Lee, Talisha H., Dewey G. Cornell, and Joanna C. M. Cole. “Concurrent Validity of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire.” Virginia Youth Violence Project 2001. March 2010 <http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/pdf/2006-APA-concurrent-validity-of-the-olweus-bully-victim-questionnaire.pdf>
Livingstone, Pamela. “One-to-One: The Student View”. March 2010. <http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pqizg5fIDTBgGGGP2XSJmNw&hl=en>
Filed under: Instructional Leader, Leadership, Manager, Visionary | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools, Educational Leadership, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, Research
Cross posted on 1 to 1 Schools.net.
I frequently hear negative press regarding laptop initiatives and it seems like the positive stuff is quietly released. Jeni Corn and Phil Emer from the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation 
recently reported preliminary findings from their evaluation of NC 1:1 Learning Collaborative to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. I’m pleased to say that they have positive results to report. I’m fortunate to be able to visit several of these schools this month and I look forward to observing classes and hearing the stories of the leaders, teachers and students.
Instructional Practice
1. Teachers increased use of technology for both planning andinstruction.2. Teachers and students reported ready Internet accessincreased the frequency, reliability, and quality of communicationacross the school.3. Teachers moved from assigning independent work tocollaborative, project-based lessons.4. Teachers shifted to technology-enhanced modes of assessment.
Student Performance
1. Attendance was above 92% in all 1:1 schools and remained virtually unchanged over the three-year period.
2. Dropout rate across the 1:1 Cohort A schools decreased, on average, between 1% and 2%.
3. Student engagement increased in the 1:1 learning environment.
4. Students’ 21st century learning skills increased in the 1:1 learning environment.
5. Student standardized test scores do not improve rapidly , but evidence from other states has found increases over longer implementation periods.
They also offer a list of lessons learned that should be considered when implementing a 1:1 laptop initiative.
NCLTI Lessons Learned
1. At least six months is required for planning and preparation.
2. Consistent, supportive, distributed leadership promotes adoption and buy-in from teachers and students for the 1:1 learning innovation.
3. Ongoing content-based professional development is imperative.
4. Technology Facilitators play a significant role.
5. Student safety and acceptable use must be addressed without limiting access in ways that interfere with educational uses.
6. Classroom management strategies and tools need improvement.
7. More effective approaches to technology infrastructure and support are needed.
Filed under: Leadership, Manager | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, Technology, Technology Support
Here’s the message. Make sure that the technology is up and running 99.9% of the time and that it’s easy for the teachers, students, administrators, and support staff to use.
This summer I learned about the research study of 1:1 high schools in North Carolina that is being conducted by a team from the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. The team spent this past year studying 8 schools in the state that were implementing 1:1 laptop programs. While the initial evaluation report that was submitted to the State Board of Education has tons of interesting information, one of the key findings caught my attention today.
Attending to the details makes all the difference. Having ways to plug-in computers and charge batteries, make printer supplies available, establish email class lists for teachers,backup teacher and student machines, respond promptly to technical problems, and address the many other day-to-day needs of making the use of 1:1 laptops go smoothly in classrooms is essential for successful use of the technology to improve student learning.
from Flickr by James W. Bell Leeds
Nothing can sabotage a 1:1 implementation quicker than failing to make the technology reliable and easy to use. Sometimes I think that if I prioritize the barriers for a successful implementation, that this should be the #1 barrier to address. If this barrier can’t be removed, then don’t bother moving forward. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen enthusiastic educators crushed when the technological glitches make it too difficult to do their work. What happens in the end is that they just quit trying and they don’t bother with trying something new because they fear that it won’t work and It only takes a few instances when a teacher is standing in front of a class trying to figure out why the technology isn’t working properly for the person to give up hope.
I have a personal example from this summer that describes what happens. In June I went out and purchased a HP 2140 (which I love) and I decided to go out on a limb and only use open source software. I wanted to see if I could do everything that I needed with these tools. So, I enlisted the support of our school’s open source guru and within a week I was set up. It took a bit longer than I would have liked and there were a few quirks that made me a bit worried, but I was really looking forward to this experiment. It was OK that I had to use a headset to use Skype and I was even getting used to the music software which wasn’t quite iTunes quality. I even signed up for 2 of the open source sessions at NECC.
By the end of June I was talking up Ubuntu and all of the open source products that I was using at the time. I loved that the computer started up and shut down quickly, that I did not need virus protection, and that it was FREE. I kept telling people that I thought that schools could use low cost netbooks and open source to provide all students with tools for learning. I loved the whole idea…until, one day, my computer stopped booting up and I was stuck.
On my initial call to HP the representative told me that they did not support Ubuntu. I then went online and joined a forum to see if I could trouble shoot the problem. Now, I’m definitely not a techie so it was difficult for me to understand language like this,
“Replace sda1 with the appropriate device (a = disk, 1 = partition number), then mount the virtual disk therein”
My friend who setup the computer, the Ubuntu guru, was on vacation and not available to help me from afar. Just as I was about to panic I put in one more call to HP. This time they put me in touch with an open source specialist who helped me determine that my hard drive was bad. To make a long story short, I sent the computer back and asked them to reinstall Windows for me. I gave up. I just did not feel like I had the support that I needed to continue with Ubuntu. It’s too bad because I think that it would have worked for me.
Now I’m trying to figure out if I want to pay up renew my virus protection to buy Microsoft Office since my trial copy is about to expire.
At one of the NECC open source forums someone asked about the availability of IT experts in the field who can support schools that choose to use the platform. The panelists response is one that all of us should remember, no matter what platform you use. While there isn’t an overabundance of experts out there, it’s best to find someone who is good and then provide them with the training over the long term. Develop that person(s) professionally so that they can truly support your users.
