Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students - By Alejandra Bonifaz and Andrew Zucker

Page created by Jared Bennett
 
CONTINUE READING
Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students - By Alejandra Bonifaz and Andrew Zucker
Lessons Learned About Providing
            Laptops for All Students
                        By Alejandra Bonifaz and Andrew Zucker

This paper is a product of the Northeast and the Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium.
Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students - By Alejandra Bonifaz and Andrew Zucker
Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students was developed by Education
Development Center, Inc. (EDC), a partner in the Northeast and the Islands Regional Technology
in Education Consortium (NEIRTEC), with funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
Additional funding was provided by National Science Foundation grant #REC-0231147. Any
opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring organizations.

     NEIRTEC is a collaboration of Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), TERC, Learning
Innovations at WestEd, and the Education Alliance at Brown University. NEIRTEC is one of the ten
Regional Technology in Education Consortia funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

© Copyright 2004 Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). All rights reserved. Permission to
copy is granted for educational use.
INTRODUCTION                                  former Governor of Maine, Angus King,
                                              said about the laptop initiative he initiated:
      A growing number of states are
supporting one-to-one student-to-                  “For more than 100 years, Maine
computer ratios by purchasing laptop               has always been in the bottom third
computers for all students and teachers in         of states—in prosperity, income,
particular schools or at particular grades.        education, and opportunity for our
Maine has been a pioneer in the ubiquitous         kids. In my 30 years of working on
computing movement, providing                      Maine economic issues, no idea has
computers and wireless Internet access to          had as much potential for leapfrogging
all students in grades 7 and 8. About one-         the other states and putting Maine
third of Maine’s high schools will also be         in a position of national leadership
providing laptops to their students in the         as this one—giving our students
2004–2005 school year. Indiana supported           portable, Internet-ready computers
one of the earliest one-to-one initiatives.        as a basic tool for learning” (Curtis,
Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico,               2004a).
Texas, and Vermont are also experimenting
                                              Bette Manchester, director of special
with state-supported laptop initiatives,
                                              projects for the Maine Department of
as are many individual school districts
                                              Education, including the Maine Learning
throughout the United States, including
                                              Technology Initiative, adds that, “if people
Henrico County, Virginia, the largest
                                              are really serious about school reform and
district-funded laptop program.
                                              leveling the playing field, raising the bar
      Ubiquitous or one-to-one computing      for all kids, these are tools that can really
environments are different from what          support change” (Curtis, 2004b).
one traditionally finds in most school
                                                    Although one-to-one programs
settings because they offer all students
                                              vary from one another, they have each
and teachers continuous access to a wide
                                              demonstrated that a comprehensive,
range of software, electronic documents,
                                              systemic approach is needed if the initiative
the Internet, and other digital resources
                                              is to achieve the desired goals. No one
for teaching and learning. Policymakers’
                                              component is sufficient for a successful
goals for laptop initiatives include
                                              initiative, as represented in the illustration
                                                                                               3
increasing economic competitiveness,
                                              on the cover page. “If it’s not going            Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students
reducing inequities in access to computers
                                              well,” says Bette Manchester, “it’s usually
and information between students from
                                              about the leadership. There needs to be
wealthy and poor families, and raising
                                              a leadership team that looks at things
student achievement through specific
                                              through three different lenses: the lens of
interventions, such as improving students’
                                              curriculum and content; the lens of the
understanding of algebra through the use
                                              culture of the building; and the lens of
of education software. Other reasons cited
                                              technical needs.”
for supporting laptop initiatives include
improving classroom culture, increasing            As a way of helping states and districts
students’ engagement, making it easier        interested in laptop initiatives, NEIRTEC
to differentiate instruction according to     has reviewed lessons learned to date from
students’ needs, and solidifying home-        many laptop initiatives around the country
school connections. For example, the
and has prepared this guide. Drawn from           guiding principles” (Manchester, 2004).
                                                           articles and reports about current and
                                                           past programs (see references at the end                • Focus on key goals for students’
                                                           of the paper), as well as conversations           learning: Which goals for students are
                                                           with policymakers, this guide can be of           most important—increased motivation,
                                                           practical help to emerging initiatives. But       better writing skills, test preparation,
                                                           it is important that this information not be      technology proficiency, broader access
                                                           perceived as a “recipe.” What is necessary        to Advanced Placement courses, helping
                                                           or appropriate for a particular laptop            students succeed in algebra, or any of many
                                                           initiative will depend on its specific goals,     others? To meet the goals you establish,
                                                           circumstances, and needs. Nonetheless,            you may need to license appropriate
                                                           these lessons are intended to increase            software or websites, provide focused
                                                           information sharing across laptop programs        teacher professional development, select
                                                           and help leaders and stakeholders build           new curricula, implement new policies
                                                           on existing knowledge. Because large-scale        for technology use, create new resources,
                                                           laptop initiatives are so new (Maine’s 7th        develop new assessments, or engage the
                                                           graders received their laptops in 2002, for       community in supporting your goals
                                                           example), there is still much to be learned.      (Jeroski, 2003). For example, Maine,
                                                                                                             in response to needs identified by the
                                                                The lessons are presented in five main       state department of education, chose to
                                                           categories: Planning, Training & Professional     implement a professional development
                                                           Development, Managing Change, and                 program to help rural middle schools
                                                           Monitoring & Evaluation.                          improve the teaching of mathematics using
                                                                                                             the laptops.
                                                           PLANNING
                                                                                                                   • Align your technology policies
                                                                                                             and supports with your goals: Is bridging
                                                           Align the laptop initiative with
                                                                                                             the “digital divide” between wealthier
                                                           your goals                                        and poorer families an important goal? If
                                                                                                             so, home use is important. Home use is
                                                                 As noted above, policymakers support
                                                                                                             also important if teachers are expected to
                                                           laptop programs for different reasons,
                                                                                                             give homework assignments that require
                                                           including: increasing the equity of students’
                                                                                                             the use of the laptops. (Note that if the
                                                           access to technology and information,
                                                                                                             laptops do go home, insurance needs
                                                           increasing economic competitiveness
4

                                                                                                             to be considered.) Similarly, if students
                                                           (one of the reasons that former Governor
Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students

                                                                                                             are expected to do homework using
                                                           Angus King supported Maine’s laptop
                                                                                                             the Internet, or enroll in online courses
                                                           initiative), creating a more active learning
                                                                                                             outside normal school hours, then it may
                                                           environment for students, and increasing
                                                                                                             be important to help some families access
                                                           student achievement. The question is, what
                                                                                                             the Internet from home. Henrico County,
                                                           are your primary goals and what will be
                                                                                                             Virginia, for example, offers families the
                                                           needed to achieve them? Bette Manchester’s
                                                                                                             option of signing up with an Internet
                                                           role, for instance, is to “make sure that we’re
                                                                                                             Service Provider at low cost. In some
                                                           focusing all of the technology effort on the
                                                                                                             initiatives, parents are trained and are also
                                                           work of the Maine schools as they attempt
                                                                                                             beneficiaries of the initiative.
                                                           to meet the Maine Learning Results [the
                                                           state’s education standards] and our Maine
Build a strong leadership team at                Successful programs use multiple sources
all levels                                       of funding, including appropriate state and
                                                 federal programs.
      Strong leadership is needed at
all levels, from the classroom and the                 • Use outside funds, when possible:
school to the district and the state. For        Maine uses a variety of federal, state,
example, Indiana’s experience shows              and local funds to support the laptop
that strong and visionary leadership             program. Maine also used a grant
that encourages collaboration and risk-          from the Gates Foundation to provide
taking is needed from teachers, as well          professional development to principals and
as from administrators. According to             superintendents involved in the laptop
preliminary results of an evaluation,            initiative, as well as a U.S. Department
“the ongoing success of one-to-one in            of Education award to support a rigorous
Indiana is dependent upon the support            evaluation study.
and involvement of building-level leaders”
(Lemke & Martin, 2004). Similarly, Bette         Develop solid partnerships both
Manchester believes that, “You really need       inside and outside the school
to spread the leadership for a project.          system
And giving teachers a lot of say and
responsibility for how this project is played        Developing partners establishes a
out is really critical” (Manchester, 2004).      foundation for the project.

      • Meet on a regular basis: In Maine,             • Take into account stakeholders’
school leadership teams (including the           level of interest in the one-to-one
principal, a teacher leader, the technology      initiative and demonstrate success early:
coordinator, and the librarian) meet on a        Stakeholders’ initial perceptions of
regular basis to assure that all aspects of      technology influence their predisposition
the laptop program are moving at a similar       to carry out an initiative like one-to-one
pace, including the technical infrastructure,    computing, and they can either facilitate
professional development, software needs,        or hinder the implementation process.
etc. Technical needs alone ought not drive       Therefore, in large systems it may be best
the initiative; instead, “the educators in the   to begin with volunteer districts or schools,

                                                                                                 5
building need to own the technology work”        as many states are doing, rather than the
                                                                                                 Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students
(Manchester, 2004).                              entire system. Maine, for example, began
                                                 its initiative in a small number of pilot
Think about funding for the long                 schools. Speaking of the first of the laptop
term                                             schools in Maine, former Governor King
                                                 said, “[it] was critical because it gave us a
     Ongoing training and technical              test site that we could point to” (Curtis,
support are costly and require a long term       2004a).
commitment from the operating budget.
Most of the initiatives reviewed for this              • Develop business partnerships:
document faced unexpected costs due to           Business partners, including hardware and
technical difficulties (such as inadequate       software vendors, can help reduce costs and
network bandwidth), and personnel often          build a more effective team. In addition,
requiring more training than was planned.        this type of partnership may help increase
technical and training capabilities as well as   Apple iBooks, because using iTunes was
                                                           decrease skepticism from some stakeholder        a potential distraction. Similarly, one of
                                                           groups (Edwards, 2004).                          the lessons learned from Henrico County
                                                                                                            is the importance of having a certain level
                                                                • Develop partnerships with                 of “control over the type of information
                                                           evaluators: Maine began at an early stage        students use in the classroom and at home”
                                                           to use university-based teams of evaluators      (Edwards, 2002). Henrico staff added
                                                           who could quickly provide the legislature        controls to limit what students could access
                                                           with information it wanted about                 at school and reconfigured the laptops
                                                           implementation of the laptop program.            to limit file sharing and downloading of
                                                                                                            inappropriate materials (Edwards, 2003).
                                                           Plan logistical details carefully
                                                                                                                  • Design systems for distribution
                                                                Laptop initiatives are often delayed or     and for daily management: Prior to
                                                           disrupted by small, logistical details rather    distributing the laptops, inform students
                                                           than by major problems. The director             and parents about the code of conduct
                                                           of the Buddy project in Indiana, Nancy           through a seminar, workshop, or in other
                                                           Miller, provides the following advice to         ways. Require students and teachers to sign
                                                           other educators, “Think long-term. Ensure        the acceptable use policy for proper use
                                                           impact by ensuring that the mundane              and care of laptops. Create an inventory;
                                                           aspects of the project (maintenance,             Henrico for example, scans barcodes to
                                                           upgrades, insurance, replacement of              ensure an accurate and efficient inventory.
                                                           equipment) are planned and supported”            Collect insurance payments and forms.
                                                           (Lemke & Martin, 2004).                          Establish a Help Desk (telephone-based,
                                                                                                            or other) for troubleshooting and technical
                                                                 • Help protect the computers: Once         questions, so students know where to turn
                                                           laptops arrive, they need to be stored in        if they experience problems (Edwards,
                                                           a secure place that is accessible on a daily     2003). It is also essential to have a system
                                                           basis, especially in case students are not       in place to manage the daily use and
                                                           allowed or choose not to take their laptops      distribution of the laptops. If the laptops
                                                           home. To transport the computers safely,         do not go home, who will collect and
                                                           a well-cushioned carrying case will help         distribute them daily, and when? If they
                                                           prevent damage. Similarly, to reduce             do go home, what is the process used to
                                                           students’ intentional or unintentional           check them in and out? If a student does
6

                                                           misuse of laptops, it is important to            not bring his or her laptop to school, what
Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students

                                                           develop and establish a code of conduct          happens? Laptops need to be charged, and
                                                           that specifies the rights and responsibilities   often re-charged, prior to and during the
                                                           of students with regard to the care and          school day. Where will this occur? Is there
                                                           use of laptops (Apple, Profiles in Success:      adequate power and/or space available?
                                                           Henrico).                                        Will the laptops be collected and then
                                                                                                            redistributed during recess, lunch, gym, and
                                                                • Set up filters and other control
                                                                                                            extra-curricular activities?
                                                           mechanisms for laptops: In Maine, the
                                                           iTunes software (a “digital jukebox”) was
                                                           not provided on students’ computers,
                                                           although it is usually provided with
TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL                          effective in addressing their needs (Lemke
                                                 & Martin, 2004). Offer training for both
DEVELOPMENT                                      curriculum-specific and cross-curricular
                                                 applications. At the same time that teachers
      Training and professional
                                                 are learning about technology integration,
development of staff at different levels are
                                                 technology coordinators need staff
fundamental components of a successful
                                                 development about school change processes
laptop program and should be part of the
                                                 that support the key goals of the laptop
initiative from the start.
                                                 program.
Provide training and professional                       • Form a “Technology Leadership
development for teachers and                     Team”: From the onset, administrators
administrators mainly on                         at Gillispie School in La Jolla recognized
curriculum integration, not only on              that “the laptop initiative would succeed
technical skills                                 only if all teachers received ongoing
                                                 professional development” (Apple, Profiles
      Teachers participating in one-to-one       in Success: Gillispie). They therefore
projects agree that in order to make the         formed a “Technology Leadership Team,”
transition to ubiquitous computing, they         which trained teachers new to classroom
need assistance integrating technology into      technology integration and provided
the curriculum, not only help developing         ongoing training and mentoring to teachers
new technical skills. One piece of advice        at all levels and specialties. Similarly, Dan
from Gunderson High School (San Jose,            Evans, former State Superintendent of
California) to other schools considering         Indiana advises new initiatives to “put
one-to-one computing is, “the success of         together a team that brings together
your laptop program depends on having            expertise in curriculum, learning, school
teachers who feel confident in the use of        change, and technology. Focus on getting
technology” (Apple, Profiles in Success:         teachers ready to use the tools in powerful
Gunderson). Similarly, Bette Manchester          ways for learning” (Lemke & Martin,
told principals in Maine, “it was really         2004).
critical that we set up staff development
during the day and that we bring teachers              • Use a variety of training and

                                                                                                 7
together by content area” (Manchester,           professional development formats:
2004). Maine provides staff development          Teachers value both formal professional         Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students

for technology integration in all subject        development events, such as workshops
areas, including training teachers to use        during the school year or summer, and
project-based learning.                          informal opportunities to learn from their
                                                 colleagues. Team meetings, department
       • Assess the technical and                meetings, and other ongoing events can
professional development needs of school         become occasions to discuss technology
staff: Effective training builds upon existing   integration. Co-teaching opportunities can
knowledge. Knowing at an early stage             be useful, as well as demonstration lessons
the different technical proficiencies that       taught by more expert teachers. Online
teachers and administrators have can help        professional development is a viable option,
you develop a professional development           especially because all the teachers have
plan that is sustained, rigorous, and            laptops. Providing teachers with a “menu”
of training opportunities is a good idea.        Train parents on basic technical
                                                                                                            skills and inform them about the
                                                                 • Partner with local universities,
                                                           education organizations, and other               code of conduct and rules involved
                                                           institutions: Explore whether local
                                                                                                                  • Establish a training requirement
                                                           universities and/or education organizations
                                                                                                            for parents: From the outset, Maine has
                                                           have the expertise and capacity to assist
                                                                                                            expected parents to attend a 90-minute
                                                           in training teachers, administrators, and
                                                                                                            training before the laptops are allowed to
                                                           others. The one-to-one program in Indiana,
                                                                                                            go home. Similarly, in Henrico County,
                                                           for example, formed collaborations with
                                                                                                            parents of every middle school student
                                                           Indiana University, Purdue University
                                                                                                            are now required to attend a 90-minute
                                                           Indianapolis and The Center for Interactive
                                                                                                            training session before picking up the
                                                           Learning and Collaboration for teacher
                                                                                                            laptops. These sessions provide technical
                                                           training on curriculum integration (Lemke
                                                                                                            information about the machines as well
                                                           & Martin, 2004).
                                                                                                            as an explanation of the code of conduct
                                                                 • Provide administrator professional       established for the use and care of laptops.
                                                           development: Training is often planned for       In order to establish such a requirement,
                                                           teachers while leaving administrators aside.     however, training sessions should be easily
                                                           However, administrators play a leading           accessible to parents. Henrico offered the
                                                           role during implementation and they              training several times throughout the day,
                                                           also need guidance, advice, and training.        accommodating parents’ schedules (Apple,
                                                           Indiana, for instance, collaborated with         Profiles in Success: Henrico).
                                                           Apple to organize seminars like “Problems
                                                                                                                  • Create parent resource centers:
                                                           Encountered with Teachers Integrating
                                                                                                            Recognizing that a one-to-one computing
                                                           Technology” to help administrators improve
                                                                                                            initiative can reach out to parents and
                                                           their leadership skills (Lemke & Martin,
                                                                                                            families, Henrico used Parent Resource
                                                           2004), and Maine has also provided school
                                                                                                            Centers to make training available for
                                                           administrators with substantial professional
                                                                                                            parents interested in acquiring basic
                                                           development about the laptop program.
                                                                                                            technical skills and conducting Internet
                                                                 • Make professional development            research. Former superintendent Edwards
                                                           flexible: As teachers and administrators         (2004) says, “We work with parents to
                                                           receive training, their needs change.            increase their capabilities and comfort level
                                                                                                            with the laptops,” which contributes to
8

                                                           Therefore, it is critical to keep updating
                                                                                                            the long-lasting impact of the one-to-one
Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students

                                                           professional development. “The key is to
                                                           plan as best you can but to remain flexible,”    initiative.
                                                           the past superintendent of Henrico points
                                                           out. “Technology changes at the speed            HARDWARE & SOFTWARE
                                                           of light and so do the training needs of
                                                           teachers” (Edwards, 2003). Connect               Provide the necessary digital
                                                           teachers’ professional development to            content and tools
                                                           other key initiatives in the state or district
                                                           that affect them, as Maine is doing to try            The effective use of laptops depends in
                                                           to increase achievement in middle school         part on the availability of digital resources.
                                                           mathematics.
• Purchase or license digital              implementation of one-to-one computing
materials: In order for teachers to integrate    is the existence and maintenance of a high-
technology in the curriculum, and for            quality network infrastructure.
students to use technology, they need access
to the necessary software, online databases,           • Assess the infrastructure and
and proprietary websites. Schools and            wiring needs within the school: The
districts should not only take care of           school may require network infrastructure
licensing procedures to make the necessary       modifications, which are costly and take
tools available to teachers but should also      time. If these issues are addressed at the
provide sufficient guidance or training on       onset, significant time and trouble may be
how to use the tools.                            saved later. Lloyd Brown, assistant director
                                                 of technology for Henrico County Public
      • Create e-learning curriculum             Schools, gives the following advice: “look at
writing teams: Many laptop initiatives           your buildings; look at where the wireless
provide opportunities for their teachers,        connections will be set up; look at where
often working in teams, to develop lesson        and how the kids will use the computers;
plans, websites, online courses, electronic      and then model what they will and will not
documents, and other curriculum                  do with them. Then, do your homework;
resources. In Henrico County, teams              talk to your technology suppliers; and
consisting of district curriculum specialists,   figure out what it will take to bring that
teachers, and technology trainers worked         many people online at once” (Apple,
together to develop units that incorporate       Profiles in Success: Henrico).
digitized content and activities. As one
teacher said, “Since I helped develop                  • Support and maintain networks:
electronic lessons, I understand them from       Setting up the necessary infrastructure
the inside out, and I can provide insights       is not sufficient, it is also necessary to
for my colleagues back at school” (Edwards,      maintain it. The experience in Indiana
2003).                                           showed that infrastructure needs to be
                                                 “well supported by onsite technical support
      • Identify software needs and              personnel” in order to keep network
restrictions: Prior to purchasing laptops,       capabilities in good condition and up-to-
determine the key productivity tools             date (Lemke & Martin, 2004).

                                                                                                 9
needed and establish a standard software
package to be used for word processing,                • Consider purchasing display             Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students
spreadsheets, presentations, and so on.          devices: Students and teachers will
Standardization will reduce compatibility        sometimes want to be able to look at
and training issues as well as reduce costs.     a single screen as a group. In Henrico
Determine whether email and chat features        County, each classroom has a display
will be available to students and, if so, how    device. Alternatively, classrooms may share
they will be managed.                            display devices.

Build and maintain the necessary                 Make technology support
network infrastructure                           available onsite as well as offsite

      According to Indiana’s experience,               • Have onsite technical assistance
a critical factor for the effective              available: Teachers across programs often
mention the lack of sufficient onsite           learn about and become comfortable with
                                                           technical support. “If teachers new to          new technology, but also to understand the
                                                           computers cannot get the help they need         change process and its implications for their
                                                           when problems arise in the middle of a          daily activities.
                                                           lesson, they will become soured to future
                                                           technology use” (Apple, Profiles in Success:          • Allow time for teachers to become
                                                           Gillispie School, La Jolla, CA). Some           comfortable with technology before
                                                           schools contract a full-time onsite technical   expecting them to use it for instruction: In
                                                           assistant, if not more than one. Maine uses     Maine, it proved essential to allow teachers
                                                           student technology support teams (iTeams),      sufficient time to become familiar with
                                                           which consist of technology-savvy students,     the laptops before expecting them to be
                                                           who help teachers and classmates with           used in classrooms. Similarly, after rapidly
                                                           troubleshooting and technical questions         implementing the one-to-one program
                                                           during the school day (Silvernail, 2004).       at the high school level, Henrico realized
                                                                                                           that allowing teachers, administrators, and
                                                                 • Establish clear procedures to           other stakeholders sufficient time between
                                                           address major technical needs offsite:          the planning stage and the distribution
                                                           Some technical needs and repairs require        of laptops to students is important for
                                                           specialized offsite services. Developing        successful implementation. Thus, middle
                                                           clear procedures for shipping and repairing     schools teachers received their laptops a
                                                           laptops offsite as well as maintaining a        full year before the students, and that time
                                                           strong partnership with offsite institutions    provided the teachers with a high degree of
                                                           can help reduce delays and make this            confidence in their ability to use the laptops
                                                           process more efficient.                         (Edwards, 2004).

                                                                 • Create a “student-run” help desk:             • Provide students with keyboarding
                                                           Henrico was a pioneer in establishing a help    skills: Technology integration may become
                                                           desk composed of tech savvy students who,       “much more seamless” when students
                                                           under the supervision of a faculty member,      are given sufficient time pre-launch to
                                                           provide help to students and teachers who       become familiar with basic computer
                                                           encounter technical problems during the         skills, like keyboarding, as highlighted by
                                                           school day. Students take turns working         the experience at Gillispie School (Apple,
                                                           at the help desk and earn community             Profiles in Success: Gillispie).
                                                           service points for their efforts. According
10

                                                           to Henrico County’s Director of Public                • Expect change to be gradual:
Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students

                                                           Relations, this initiative proved to be very    In large laptop initiatives, like Maine’s,
                                                           efficient for addressing minor technical        students at different grade levels usually
                                                           problems (Apple, Profiles in Success:           receive laptops in different years. Over the
                                                           Henrico).                                       long term, as computers are used more
                                                                                                           routinely, changes may take place not
                                                           MANAGING CHANGE                                 only in instruction but also in assessment
                                                                                                           systems (e.g., online testing), instructional
                                                                                                           materials (e.g., closer ties between textbooks
                                                           Allow sufficient time for change
                                                                                                           and digital materials, including software),
                                                           and make it gradual                             management systems (including data-driven
                                                                                                           decision-making), and communications
                                                                Stakeholders need time not only to
with parents (e.g., the use of password-       program, students help local senior citizens
protected websites, such as K12Planet,         increase their digital literacy (Lemke
where parents can view their students’         & Martin, 2004). They also organize
grades and assignments).                       annual presentations at which students
                                               use technology tools (PowerPoint and
Foster and maintain stakeholder                iMovie) to share their concerns and
participation and ongoing                      propose solutions to problems that they
communication                                  have identified (Lemke & Martin, 2004).
                                               Henrico involved students from the onset.
     When all stakeholders (teachers,          They created “leadership teams,” which
administrators, students, parents,             included students, teachers, and parents
technicians, etc.) are well-informed about     from the high schools, to discuss the laptop
the project and collaborate with one           program prior to its implementation
another, emerging problems are more easily     (Apple, Profiles in Success: Henrico).
identified and can be addressed at an early
stage.                                         MONITORING & EVALUATION
      • Use various approaches to reach              To meet the challenges of
out to the broad community: All Maine          implementing a laptop initiative, to learn
schools held parent nights at an early stage   more about its impacts, and to inform
of the laptop program, and most continue       ongoing debates about the value of these
to hold annual parent nights. Henrico          initiatives, ongoing monitoring and
County created a “key communicator             evaluation are called for.
network” through which 400 stakeholders
communicate via e-mail to learn about          Make monitoring ongoing
accomplishments and address challenges.
Newsletters, community gatherings,                   Some challenges may be foreseen and
formal/informal presentations, and             addressed during the planning stage but
consultations with community leaders can       others emerge as implementation takes
all be helpful (Apple, Profiles in Success:    place. Ongoing monitoring helps identify
Henrico). The Manatee County, Florida          obstacles at an early stage. For example,
school district advises other programs         Henrico County found it helpful to use
                                                                                               11
to foster ongoing communication with           focus groups of teachers and students on a
                                                                                               Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students
parents. They did so through continuous        regular basis to identify and systematically
“parent night” gatherings and broadcasts       address unforeseen problems that occurred
of “Tech Time,” a TV show that gives           during implementation of their one-to-one
information about the program and              initiative (Edwards, 2002).
generates discussions via call-ins (Apple,
Profiles in Success: Manatee). Meeting         Conduct research or evaluation
with PTA presidents and creating parent        studies
newsletters can also help.
                                                     Because laptop initiatives are new,
     • Involve students: Indiana organizes     and technologies are changing, there is
events where students act as mentors           still much to be learned. Some useful
to parents, siblings, and the broader          evaluative studies of laptop initiatives have
community. Through the “Tech Days”             been done (see http://ubiqcomputing.org
for references). However, there is still a       proficiency.
                                                           paucity of information about cost issues,
                                                           impacts on student learning in many                    • Look for ways to evaluate the long-
                                                           subject areas, and other important topics.       term costs and benefits of the technology
                                                           (Zucker [2004] provides an evaluation            infrastructure: Both costs and benefits are
                                                           framework and an agenda for studying one-        difficult to quantify, but understanding
                                                           to-one programs.) Some needed studies are        them is important. Little has been written
                                                           inexpensive and could be done in-house           about the costs of laptop programs, and
                                                           (for example, it would be valuable to have       about the relationship of those costs to the
                                                           more descriptions of creative teachers’ uses     benefits.
                                                           of laptops during a semester or a year). In
                                                           other cases, external grants from federal,            • Let the research question drive
                                                           state, or private sources may be available for   the choice of method: There are too
                                                           research. Maine, for example, is conducting      many interesting questions to ask about
                                                           a randomized experimental trial of its           laptop programs for you to study them all.
                                                           professional development intervention in         Depending on the research questions you
                                                           middle school mathematics, using research        choose, surveys, case studies, experiments,
                                                           funds from the U.S. Department of                or other methods may be appropriate. No
                                                           Education.                                       one methodology is best for answering all
                                                                                                            questions.
                                                                 Authors of a new book about
                                                           evaluating educational technology in             CONCLUSIONS
                                                           schools (Means & Haertel, 2004) suggest
                                                           that there are a small number of important             As computers and wireless networks
                                                           evaluation principles that will help guide       become more capable and less expensive
                                                           future work:                                     each year, more states and districts are
                                                                                                            providing all students with a computing
                                                                 • Look for critical influences at          device. These initiatives are complex and
                                                           multiple levels of the education system:         challenging. States and districts that are
                                                           There are many influences on teachers’           now beginning to implement one-to-one
                                                           and students’ uses of technology. Study          computing should try to benefit from
                                                           those influences that are most important         the many lessons that others have learned
                                                           in your context (state or district policies,     through experience. Among the most
                                                           school leadership, demographics of schools,      important of those lessons is to focus
12

                                                           teachers’ training and expertise, etc.). Don’t   on the desired goals. According to Bette
Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students

                                                           try to do it all.                                Manchester, the laptop initiative in Maine
                                                                                                            “is not about the technology; it is about
                                                                 • Figure out what you’re especially        the students’ learning and about capacity
                                                           trying to teach, and measure that: If you        building in the schools” (Manchester,
                                                           study student achievement, focus on              2004).
                                                           areas that are high priorities in the laptop
                                                           program. Even then, the evaluation field is            NEIRTEC’s review of lessons learned
                                                           likely to require the development of more        about laptop programs shows that they fall
                                                           good assessments of student learning—for         into five key areas. Policymakers must pay
                                                           example, to measure students’ higher order       careful attention to planning, training and
                                                           thinking, problem solving, and technology        professional development, hardware and
software, managing change, and program       //www.apple.com/education/profiles/
monitoring and evaluation. Thinking about    gillispie, and http://www.apple.com/
these issues from the outset will help you   education/profiles/gillispie/index2.html
achieve the laptop program’s goals while
minimizing unexpected problems.                   Bartels, F. (2002). Reflections on the
                                             RCDS [Rye County Day School] Laptop
     The Internet makes it easy to share     Program After Three Years. Rye, NY.
information about implementing laptop        Retrieved October 21st, 2004 from http:
computing initiatives. Using online          //www.learningwithlaptops.org/files/3rd%2
discussion boards, your own website, or      0Year%20Laptop%20Prog.pdf
in other ways, please share your “lessons
learned” so that others can benefit from          Bartels, F. (2000). Reflections on the
your experiences.                            RCDS [Rye County Day School] Laptop
                                             Program After One Year. Rye, NY. Retrieved
                                             October 21st, 2004 from http://www.learn
                                             ingwithlaptops.org/files/Laptop%20Progra
BIBLIOGRAPHY                                 m%20Reflections.pdf

     Apple. Profiles in Success: Gunderson         Curtis, D. (2004a). A computer
High School – Beating the Odds.              for every lap. Edutopia Online. Retrieved
Retrieved August 25th, 2004, from http:      October 8, 2004 from http://glef.org/php/
//www.apple.com/education/profiles/          article.php?id=Art_1032
gunderson/index3.html
                                                   Curtis, D. (2004b). The Maine
      Apple. Profiles in Success: Henrico    event. Edutopia Online. Retrieved October
County Public Schools – Continuous           8, 2004 from http://glef.org/php/
Learning. Retrieved August 8th,              article.php?id=Art_1119
2004, from http://www.apple.com/
                                                  Edwards, M. (2002, July). Lessons
education/profiles/henrico1/index.html,
                                             Learned. District Administration. Retrieved
http://www.apple.com/education/
                                             Aug, 25th, 2004 from http://www.districta
profiles/henrico1/index2.html, http:
                                             dministration.com/page.cfm?id=188
//www.apple.com/education/profiles/

                                                                                           13
henrico1/index3.html, and http:                   Edwards, M. (2003, April).
//www.apple.com/education/profiles/                                                        Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students
                                             The Lap of Learning. The School
henrico1/index4.html                         Administrator. American Association of
                                             School Administrators. Retrieved August
     Apple. Profiles in Success: Manatee
                                             25th, 2004 from http://www.aasa.org/
County Schools – Starting Small, Thinking
                                             publications/sa/2003_04/edwards.htm
Big. Retrieved August 24, 2004 from http:
//www.apple.com/education/profiles/
                                                   Edwards, M. (2004, February).
manatee/index3.html
                                             Fulfilling the promise of ed tech: Laptops
      Apple. Profiles in Success: The        spur learning. eSchool News Online.
Gillispie School – Ahead of the Wave.        Retrieved February 2nd, 2004 from http:
Retrieved August 25th, 2004 from             //www.eschooolnews.com
http://www.apple.com/education/
profiles/gillispie/index4.html, http:
Jeroski, S. (2003, July). Wireless               Zucker, A. A. (2004). Developing a
                                                           Writing Project Research Report: Phase II.      research agenda for ubiquitous computing
                                                           Horizon Research and Evaluation, Inc.           in schools. Journal of Educational
                                                           Retrieved, from the World Wide Web: http:       Computing Research, 30:4, 371-386. [An
                                                           //www.prn.bc.ca/FSJ_WWP_Report03.pdf            earlier version of this paper is available
                                                                                                           at http://ubiqcomputing.org/eval_
                                                                Kerr, K. A.; Pane, J. F.; Barney H.        materials.html.]
                                                           (2003). Quaker Valley Digital School
                                                           District – Early Effects and Plans for Future
                                                           Evaluation. Santa Monica, CA: Rand
                                                           Corporation. Retrieved October 21st, 2004
                                                           from http://www.rand.org/publications/
                                                           TR/TR107/

                                                                Lemke C. & Martin C. (2004,
                                                           March). One-to-One Computing in Indiana
                                                           – A State Profile (Preliminary Report).
                                                           From http://www.metiri.com/Solutions/
                                                           Research.htm

                                                                 Manchester, B. (2004). Recorded
                                                           interview with Bette Manchester about
                                                           leading in educational technology, prepared
                                                           for the SETDA Leading in Technology
                                                           Program. Newton, MA: Education
                                                           Development Center, Inc.

                                                                Means, B., & Haertel, G. D., eds.
                                                           (2004). Using technology evaluation to
                                                           enhance student learning. New York:
                                                           Teachers College Press.

                                                                Rockman, S. Learning from
                                                           Laptops. (2003, Fall). From http://
14

                                                           www.ciconline.org
Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students

                                                                 Silvernail, D. L. & Lane, D. M.
                                                           (2004). The Impact of Maine’s One-to-
                                                           One Laptop Program on Middle School
                                                           Teachers and Students – Phase One Summary
                                                           Evidence. Maine Education Policy Research
                                                           Institute, University of Southern Maine
                                                           Office. Retrieved October 21st, 2004 from
                                                           http://www.usm.maine.edu/cepare/pdf/
                                                           mlti/MLTI%20Phase%20One%20Evaluati
                                                           on%20Report%201.pdf
You can also read