1-1 Learning

Resources by and about schools involved in Apple 1-1 Learning Programs.

The whole point of a 1:1 is to get students producing with laptops and to have no comment on that worries me.

Don’t get me wrong- I’m for 1:1 initiatives and that’s why I’m concerned. I work in a district going on the 6th year of a 1:1 initiative and I worry that some teachers might give similar “proof” that our program is working.

So here’s how our 1:1 has helped students in our school-

• everyone now has a computer no matter their economic circumstances


• students have the ability to create all kinds of digital media to express themselves and their ideas




• music


• webpages


• graphics




• students have the chance to work on this media outside of school hours (that’s key for me- the school day just isn’t enough time)


• students are learning (sometimes the hard way) how to be responsible for both their digital actions and their computers


• students are taking part in as well as learning from the participatory web

Welcome to your One-to-One Information Resource!

This site will be useful for educators interested in knowing where other school districts/states are undertaking one-to-one initiatives, as well as background information, news, announcements and research about one-to-one teaching and learning programs for K-12 schools and organizations across the United States.

This site is brought to you by the One-to-One
Institute and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) . The original site ("The Ubiquitous Computing Evaluation Consortium") was developed by SRI International under a project funded by the National Science Foundation. In March 2006, SRI International generously transferred the site to CoSN and the One-to-One Institute.

It is estimated that thousands of students will
participate in some type of one-to-one initiative this year. Clearly, one-to-one
computing is spreading in our nation's schools. Education, policy and technology
decision-makers need unbiased information in order to assist them in deciding
about which, if any, one-to-one approach they should pursue. This
website is provided as a free site of vendor neutral information on K-12 one-to-one computing.
We do not endorse or promote any particular product, service or
approach around one-to-one. It is our hope that the information
provided here will facilitate more wise decisions about if and when to
deploy one-to-one strategies that meet the needs of their local communities.

Benefits

After more than 10 years studying laptop computing in schools, Saul Rockman (2003) concludes that one of the most important benefits of a laptop program is an increase in 21st century skills. "Developing the ability to learn independently, collaborate with peers to accomplish work, and communicate the conclusions of your work are the core of 21st century skills, and a highly valued set of competencies in the world outside of school. These accomplishments are seen in many laptop programs, especially those that permit students to take their computer home in the evening." (Rockman, 2003) A workforce with accomplished information and communication skills, thinking and problem-solving skills, and interpersonal and self-directional skills will attract new businesses to Florida and contribute to our state's economic well-being.

State Standards

Although laptops primarily provide students with opportunities to develop 21st century skills, their use also impacts state achievement tests. This has been demonstrated dramatically in Virginia. After two years of a laptop initiative in Henrico County, high school score results increased on all eleven of the Virginia Standards of Learning tests. In 2000, only 60% of Henrico's regular schools were accredited according to Virginia Standards of Learning criteria. By 2003, 100% of Henrico's regular schools were accredited. This includes 40 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, and 9 high schools.

Change in classroom teaching

A 2000 study, also by Rockman, found that teachers in laptop schools showed significant movement toward constructivist teaching. Laptop teachers were more likely to encourage student-led inquiry and collaborative work, while non-laptop teachers did not exhibit this trend.

In a study of over 3,000 teachers in Maine's laptop program, researchers found significant increases in the teachers' use of technology, especially in conducting research, developing materials, managing student information, and communicating with colleagues, students, and parents (Silvernail, 2004).

Bette Manchester, a teacher in Maine's labtop initiative, summarizes the effect of technology on classroom teaching. "One-to-one computer access changes everything. But let me make this crystal clear: This is not about technology or software, it is about teaching kids."

Change in student attitudes and work habits

Even informal studies of laptop use in schools have identified an increased student enthusiasm as one of the program outcomes. This anecdotal evidence was confirmed in a recently released study of middle school students participating in the Maine laptop initiative (Silvernail, 2004). Over 12,000 students returned surveys in the fall of 2003. Students indicated their level of agreement with a list of statements about laptops and school. The results are extremely positive about laptop use in school:

80%	"I would rather use my laptop"
80%	"I am more likely to edit my work with a laptop"
75%	"Laptops help me be better organized"
70%	"Laptops improve the quality of my work"
70%	"I am more involved in school with a laptop"
70%	"I do more work when I use my laptop"
70%	"Laptops make school more interesting"

Many laptop schools also report a substantial drop in student absenteeism. Manatee County experienced a near 40% drop in absentee rates in classes with laptops. Maine schools have reported up to a 50% decrease in student absences. In one Maine high school the rate dropped from 9% to only 2%. Schools have long valued a high attendance rate as one measure of success. A number of laptop schools have also reported a decline in discipline problems among students.

Parents and Community

Laptop schools often report a surge in parental and community involvement once laptops have been introduced. Schools have reported a 100% participation in events that are prerequisite to laptop distributions. Rockman (2003) states that laptop schools typically "see higher attendance at PTA meetings; increased communication via e-mail, phone, or face-to-face meetings; parent participation in tutoring programs and parent-student computer classes offered through the school; and more volunteering at the schools."

Parental satisfaction is also a measure of success. A national Gallup poll reports than 71% of parents are satisfied with their children's education. In Henrico county, that number is a remarkable 94%. Schools note that parent satisfaction, support, and communication is increased in those programs where the laptop is permitted to be taken home. In these cases, the laptop opens a new means of communication and sharing between school and home.

Technical Support

The most cost-effective method of technical support is a three-tiered approach in which problems are taken care of at the lowest level possible. In this way, support costs are kept down and laptops are returned to service more quickly than if every problem is sent off to a specialist for repair.

The first tier is the end-user. Both students and teachers should receive a short training in trouble-shooting and problem-solving frequently encountered glitches. Students, teachers, and parents must be provided with training that includes basic operation, troubleshooting, and proper care of the laptop.

Some schools have also implemented effective student help programs. Students who have an interest and aptitude for problem-solving are given the opportunity for extra training and responsibilities in a laptop program. Noted one middle school tech assistant, "I've learned something new every day that can help me have a good career. I've gained confidence from having the responsibility for all the equipment, and having students and teachers count on me. It's a good feeling to help teachers with computers, and to get noticed in a large school." With effective teacher and student training, many technical difficulties can be averted or solved, thereby freeing the second tier to concentrate on more difficult issues.

School Networks

It goes without saying that a 1:1 laptop initiative will increase the demand on network capacity as students connect to school servers and out to the Internet. Several schools have encountered network capacity problems, often as a result of two factors: 1) a reliance on integrated learning systems or 2) an inordinate amount of unstructured Internet surfing by students.

Throughout this report, the Task Force has recommended the use of tool-based software in support of project-based learning rather than a reliance on a commercial integrated learning system (ILS). That recommendation is based on pedagogical considerations, but there are also technical advantages. With an ILS, students are often all trying to hit the same server at the same time. All requests have to be routed to a central school, district, or Web server causing steady traffic across the entire network. If students are engaged in project-based learning, there can be much collaboration and filesharing as projects are created and turned in to the teacher, but if the network is properly configured, all of the traffic among students and with the teacher is handled locally without impacting the entire network. The other common cause of network capacity problems appears to be the indiscriminate use of the Internet. Using the Internet is an important 21st century skill that is essential in many teaching situations. However, it is not uncommon for a school to implement a laptop program and not give their faculty sufficient training in using cognitive software tools with students. In some of these cases, the majority of student laptop use consists of surfing the Internet without much direction. This can result in a severe strain on the school network. Rather, the Task Force recommends that teachers embrace project-based learning with technology, which requires only a short amount of time doing targeted research on an assigned problem. The majority of the time is then spent in writing, designing, and producing a product--activities that do not require network access.

If a laptop initiative is careful not to create excess network traffic by these means, many schools will find that they will need only modest additions to network capacity that can be accomplished without exorbitant expenditures. Although the cost to upgrade a school network will vary from school to school based on existing capacity, building construction, and floorplan, the following can serve as examples of the cost involved.

School "A" has 1000 students in 40 classrooms where each classroom already has at least two network drops per room, however, most of the existing network is running at the older speed of 10 MB/sec. This school would be able to upgrade their network with a new router, five new switches, and 60 wireless access points for under $10,000. This expenditure of less than $10/student would provide a wireless environment in every classroom and instructional area, as well as the surrounding grounds.

School "B" has the same number of students and classrooms, but has already upgraded their network to 100 MB/sec, a speed which is available in many Florida schools. This school would only need to purchase the 60 wireless access points at a cost of approximately $5,000 or about $5/student to provide wireless access throughout the school and surrounding grounds.

Digital Content

The Task Force has recommended that teaching and learning in schools move away from teacher-centered, textbook-driven methods to student-centered, project-based learning. This shift would substantially reduce the need for textbooks whether in print or electronic format. (A textbook merely ported to an electronic format is not a shift to project-based learning. Electronic texts are a digital means of doing the same thing we have done before and will not lead to educational reform.) Unlike textbooks, online collections of digital content can easily be updated and can be expanded by contributions from many sources.

For example, all Florida students currently study Florida history, typically in fourth grade. There are 179,000 fourth grade students in Florida's schools. The current adopted textbook is priced at nearly $40 so it costs Florida schools over $7 million to supply a textbook for every fourth grade student in the state. However, a free online resource for Florida history has already been created with a Technology Literacy Challenge Fund grant. "Exploring Florida" is on the web at http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/. It has over 70 reading passages that include "FCAT-like" question sets, plus a collection of copyright-free multimedia resources students can freely explore and incorporate into their own projects. Thousands of historic and contemporary Florida photographs, 2,800 Florida maps, virtual reality movies, 3-D stereoview photographs, as well as movie and music clips, are all available for instant downloading and use.

Reducing the reliance on printed textbooks will provide funds to create free online content in many areas and result in substantial savings that can be applied to the support of a laptop initiative.

Guiding principle: Tech support procedures and planning must be adequate to prevent disruptions in laptop availability. Support should be handled at the lowest level practical.

• The end-user (teacher or student) should be taught to exercise problem-solving skills in handling routine maintenance.
  
• A school-based support staff should be able to handle the majority of technical issues.
  
• District support or other outsourcing should be available to handle major repairs.