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Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Schools making laptops a bigger priority for students
By Jill Gambon, Special to Mass High Tech
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While research indicates positive gains in schools where laptop computers are assigned to every student, a lack of funding is slowing the widespread adoption of such programs. Paying for hardware, software and networking infrastructure, training and support adds up to a bottomline total many districts can’t afford as they deal with shrinking budgets.
“The biggest barrier is cost,” said Damian Bebell, an assistant research professor at Boston College who has studied the impact of one-to-one computer initiatives in schools. “There are very few programs with more than one or two years under their belt. Where the money comes from is the stumbling block.”
Several districts have launched one-to-one computing programs, including schools in Andover, Newton, Boston and towns in the Berkshires.
Under the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative, which got off the ground in 2006, five public and private middle schools provided students and teachers with laptops. While research showed improvements in writing, student engagement and teacher satisfaction, the one-to-one program has not been continued in most of the schools due to factors including changes in school configuration, budget pressures and turnover in leadership, Bebell said.
At some schools, the laptops are now available for use in the classroom but are not assigned to each student.
The state of Maine has been out front in providing laptops to public school students. In 2002, through the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, the state began supplying all seventh- and eighth-grade students and teachers with Apple Inc. laptops, as well as software and Internet access. Researchers from the University of Southern Maine reported that five years after the initiative was launched, students achieved improvements on statewide writing tests. The researchers also found that teachers viewed their students as more involved in their work and more willing to revise and edit when using the computers.
A key in the success of the one-to-one computing programs is teacher training, so instructors understand how to integrate technology into lessons and assignments, said Matt Mervis, an education consultant who was involved in the Berkshire initiative. Students were able to access information instantly and create multimedia presentations from their desktops, and traditional classroom projects of posters and dioramas were transformed, he said.
A one-to-one computing program at the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Dorchester has helped transform traditional classroom practices, said Mervis, who is involved with that project. Students are assigned laptops during the day. The school added a training program for parents, supplying them with a low-cost netbook computer and Internet access. “Part of the power of the program is that you extend the learning time for students,” Mervis said.
School administrators in Beverly are taking a different tack with a laptop program for high school students that will debut next year. The district is asking families to pay for Apple MacBooks. Students who can’t afford a notebook or choose not to participate will be supplied with loaners during school, but won’t be able to take them home.
“Information technology can no longer be seen as an add-on piece of the high school curriculum,” said Judy Miller, technology director for Beverly Public Schools. “The Beverly High School One-to-One (laptop) program breaks down the walls of traditional siloed computer labs and places key learning tools into the hands of students and teachers for use anytime.”
Jill Gambon is a freelance writer in West Newbury.
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