Useful+Websites

Here is a summary of the research compiled by Shanghai American School: =Current Research= Current research related to the role of technology for schools present the emerging reality as follows:

Laptops provide a platform for learning environments and personal growth unlike any learning tool ever invented. This is documented by many educational researchers and writers:
 * “The missing technological element is true one‐to‐one computing, in which each student has a device he or she can work on, keep, customize, and take home. For true technological advance to occur, the computers must be personal to each learner. When used properly and well for education, these computers become extensions of the students' personal self and brain. They must have each student's stuff and each student's style all over them (in case you haven't noticed, kids love to customize and make technology personal), and that is something sharing just doesn't allow. Any ratio that involves sharing computers ‐‐ even two kids to a computer ‐‐ will delay the technology revolution from happening. (Prensky, 2007)
 * Laptop classes were more active learning environments. Most revealing was the Laptop students’ superiority in using the computer as a learning tool. Laptop students to be more attentive and interested in learning. (Lowther and Ross, 2003)
 * Ever more prevalent, and presupposing at least a 1:1 ratio between students and computers, is the concept of “ubiquitous computing”** (Weiser, 1991)
 * Computers are embedded in everyday life activities to the point of “invisibility,” so that we unconsciously and effortlessly harness their digital abilities as effort‐saving strategies for achieving the benefits of “distributed intelligence” (Pea, 1993).
 * At a National Research Council workshop on improving learning with information technologies that brought together K‐12 educators, learning scientists and technology industry leaders, Pea et al. (2003) characterized 1:1 computing as an essential “first transformation” for realizing the potential of computing to support learning and educational processes.
 * Laptop students demonstrate superior writing skills and have two seemingly impor‐ tant advantages over non‐Laptop students. One is that their teachers placed greater emphasis on research and problem‐solving tasks. Second, Laptop students have greater accessibility to and be[er skills at using applicaEon sogware geared to solving open‐ended learning problems. (Lowther and Ross, 2003)
 * In the Year 1 evaluation of the program results indicated greater uses in the Laptop classes of student‐centered teaching strategies, such as project‐based learning inde‐ pendent inquiry/research, teacher as coach/facilitator, and cooperative learning. Overall, the Laptop classes were “busier” and more active learning environments. Most revealing was the Laptop students’ superiority in using the computer as a learning tool. (Lowther and Ross, 2003)
 * Another positive impact is suggested from the significant finding in Grade 5 (and directional trend in Grades 6 and 7) for Laptop students to be more attentive and interested in learning relative to Control students. (Lowther and Ross, 2003)

=Stillwater Laptop Program= Stillwater Minnesota's Laptop Program The Stillwater Area Public Schools began their laptop initiative in November of 2003. At that time, each teacher at Stillwater Junior High School (SJHS) and OakLand Junior High School (OLJHS) received a laptop and began a program of professional development focused on increasing teachers’ knowledge and skills related to using the laptops and integrating technology into their curriculum. Students at both schools received laptops in the spring of 2004. High school students had their own laptop in a one‐to‐one program that allowed computers to be taken home. The junior high used mobile laptop carts, offering a 3:1 student‐to‐laptop ratio. Both schools made wireless Internet access available throughout their buildings and offered students and parents online access to course assignments and grades. The “Stillwater Area Public Schools Laptop Initiative Evaluation Report” was published in November, 2008. As the following highlights reveal, the evaluation showed that the district was making good progress towards meeting its goals: Further information about 1:1 Laptop programs can be found at h[p://[|__www.aala.org__]
 * Eighty‐four percent of teachers said that access to a computer or laptop contributed to an increase in students’ higher‐order thinking skills. This was confirmed in inter‐ views with the teachers and classroom observaEons by the researchers.
 * More than 90 percent of teachers agreed they were better able to access diverse teaching materials and resources for their students with help from the technology. Furthermore, 90% of the OLJHS teachers and 81% of the SJHS teachers said that the computers helped them to individualize learning.
 * Eighty‐four percent of the teachers agreed that they were better able to meet their curriculum goals when students were using computers or laptops. In observations of instruction with laptops at both schools, researchers found that a high proportion of the students were focused on the intended curriculum objectives when using the laptops and that they frequently were involved in learning activities that could not otherwise be easily done. These results provide evidence that the laptops are being used to enhance the curriculum rather than serving as an add‐on to the standard curriculum.
 * Information from several sources suggested that student engagement was higher when students had access to computers or laptops, with the vast majority of students at both schools indicating that using a computer at school or home makes schoolwork more enjoyable.
 * More than half of the students surveyed said they are be[er able to understand their schoolwork when they have access to computers. A slight majority of students indicated they used the laptops to pursue a topic beyond the assignment and the vast majority reported that laptops encourage them to revise and organize work.
 * Student access to a computer increased communications with teachers when students were at home. Laptops also created more communication with other students about school projects and assignments from home.
 * Parents value online access to their child’s assignments/class calendar and grades. Over three‐fourths of the parents at each school reported that they had worked on schoolwork with their child using a computer, indicating that the new technology did not intimidate parents. Conversations about assignments and grades have also in‐ creased.
 * Statistical analyses of the growth in student achievement in reading and mathematics during junior high, as measured by standardized tests, revealed few significant differences between students at SJHS and students at OLJHS. The results suggest that neither the one‐to‐one model nor the cart model of laptop access detract from students’ performance on standardized assessment measures.
 * All other benefits were more apparent with the high school’s one‐to‐one program than with the junior high school’s cart program.

=Other Successful 1:1 Implementation Programs=
 * A notable large‐scale implementation in 2001, Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) in the state of Virginia was the largest school district in the US to give every student a com‐ puter in its middle and high schools, serving 25,000 Grade 6‐12 students and teachers.
 * Within the US alone, several districts are already supplying every student within their middle‐ and high‐school classrooms with one to one compuEng resources. (Edison Schools, Illinois’ School District 203, and the State of Maine and the State of Michigan among others)
 * 2006: 30% of the districts in the US implemenEng 1 to 1 reported moderate to significant improvement while in 2007: 78.7% of the districts reported moderate to significant improvement in learning gains. 27.1% of the school districts in the United States are reporting 1:1 implementation under the strictest definition of 1:1 computing: a full grade level with NO carts. The average district PILOT in the US in 2008 was 1631 students, with 40% of schools including over 1000 students and 10% including over 5000 students
 * Only 7% of schools noting problems with their 1:1 implementation.
 * Korea International School, in 2005 implemented a full 6-12 1 to 1 laptop program which is still running to this day. The biggest problem is finding teachers who have 1 to 1 laptop teaching experience (Tim Bray 2011)

Here is a list of some of the websites that we have been reviewing:

SAS

ISB

[|ISB China]

[|Laptop Program]

[|YIS]

[|implementing a 1-1 ipad]

[|Alfie Kohn]

[|PYP and Technology]

[|Great teaching]

[|Schoo of the future]

[|Textbooks for the ipad]

[|Article] from Rachel C.

Info from Allen on [|Allen November] from his conference at AAIE

International School Of Prague: [|Information Technology]

[|21st Century Curriculum]

[|Asking the right questions]