Research+-+Success+Factors+in+1to1+Laptop+Implementation


 * Holcomb, L.B. (2009) Results and Lessons Learned from 1:1 Laptop Initiatives: A Collective Review**

**On the + side:**
 * laptop students are more engaged, reflective and active in their learning
 * also spent more time engaged in collaborative and project-based instruction
 * decrease in absentee rates
 * fewer behaviour referrals
 * confirmed by teachers: students more engaged, actively involved and produce better quality work
 * students earned higher test scores in both writing and mathematics
 * teachers empowered to enhance and improve their instructional practices
 * rockmann (2000) "teachers in laptop schools showed significant movement towards constructivist teaching and were more likely to encourage student-led inquiry and collaborative work"
 * teachers able to transition to role of coach/facilitator (Ross and Strahl, 2005)
 * as teachers continued to improve their technology proficiency, they identified more technologically-complex applications for teaching and instructional practices

**On the flip side**
 * Numerous examples where such implementation terminated and abandoned
 * In Texas, no statistically significant effects (Garner, 2008)
 * same for Hu,2007 research: students misuse laptops (cheat on tests, download inappropriate material and hack into other networks) -> lack of support among parents and teachers. Parents critical of the misuse and cost. Teachers viewed the laptops as a distraction and did not use them as part of their teaching practices.
 * some teachers also found to misuse laptops
 * Other insurmountable obstacles: cost and sustainability
 * more resources being spent on repairing the laptops than on training teachers to use them
 * given the high costs and no guarantee of success, many schools abandoning 1:1 laptop implementation

**Learnings**
 * Demographics can play a pivotal role in the impact of 1:1 initiatives
 * Implementations go beyond the technology and extend to the training, support, and strategies utilised by teachers and schools
 * All parties involved in a 1:1 laptop initiative need to have realistic expectations re timeline for returns, method of implementation and standardised tests
 * "It usually takes 5-8 years for an innovation to be implemented fully and for the impacts of the innovation to be discernible" (Silvernail & Gritter, 2007)
 * **Method of implementation**: how and when laptops distributed to students and teachers, hosting parent nights, model of implementation used
 * **Teachers need time and training:** teacher practice is key (Muir, 2005). "It is not uncommon for teachers who do not have confidence in their technology skills to fail to utilise laptops (Hu, 2007;Muir,2005). Teachers must adjust and redesign their instructional practices if they are going to sucessfully integrate the use of 1:1 computing teaching and learning practices while also staying aligned with the curricula and standards. The most effective professional development is job-embedded, student-centered, collegial, ongoing and metacognitive (Lemke and Martin 2004a). Educators need professional development that is anchored in the context of teaching and learning and is aligned with curriculum and standards. Teachers simply cannot learn technology skills in isolation of their teaching. It needs to be ongoing and structured so teachers have the opportunity to practice and reflect on the training (Crutchfield, 2006).
 * **Standardised Assessments:** There is a disconnect between standardised assessments and the educational benefits of 1:1 initiatives. Many of desirable workforce skills are difficult to measure in cost effective ways (Rockman, 2004). ie skills that are critical and inherent to a 1:1 initiative don not necessarily align with today's standardised assessments - they do not assess skills connected with 1:1 learning. This in turn impedes the ability to assess the educational impact such an initiative has had on student achievement. Schools and districts often need to develop their own assessment measures in order to get an accurate assessment of student achievement.