Almost one-quarter of school districts nationwide and nine states have invested millions of dollars in 鈥渙ne-to-one鈥� laptop programs, hoping the availability of a computer for every student will improve achievement and other skills.
They made those investments despite the fact that research on the impact of such technology on student achievement is largely mixed and preliminary.
But a new wave of studies may help districts get a better sense of whether spending money on laptop initiatives is worthwhile. Those studies seek in part to establish a link鈥攐r a lack thereof鈥攂etween one-to-one computing initiatives and academic achievement.
One report presented at an educational research conference last month, 鈥淥ne-to-One Computing: What Does It Bring to Schools?,鈥� examines a Midwestern middle school over the 2003-04 school year. Students鈥� grade point averages rose during that school year, researchers found, but since GPA 鈥渨as measured by traditional methods of assessment,鈥� the students鈥� GPAs 鈥渕ight not be an accurate assessment of student learning with and without technology.鈥�
鈥淥verall, this is a complicated issue,鈥� said Jing Lei, a co-author of the report and an assistant education professor of instructional design, development, and evaluation at Syracuse University in New York state.
It鈥檚 difficult to tease out the effect of providing each student with a computer from other factors, such as teacher involvement and student study habits, said Yong Zhao, the report鈥檚 other co-author. He is the director of educational psychology and educational technology at Michigan State University鈥檚 Center for Teaching, in Lansing.
As a result of that difficulty, much of the research on one-to-one technology initiatives, so far, looks at teacher, student, and parent perceptions and attitudes, not necessarily at how the tools affect academic indicators such as grade point averages and test scores, Mr. Zhao said. The research that has been done, he said, also tends to focus on just a year of implementation in a district or school, not several years, which would better gauge the impact of technology on achievement.
鈥楳any Variables鈥�
Now, an increasing number of researchers are attempting to examine the effects one-to-one computing initiatives are having on student achievement. And they are looking at more than just one year.
Two education professors at Boston College, for instance, are evaluating a one-to-one laptop project at four middle schools in Berkshire County, Mass. In the three-year study, the researchers鈥擬ichael K. Russell and Damian J. Bebell鈥攁re using teacher and student surveys and interviews, as well as classroom observations, and they plan to analyze school records and student test performance.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of research going into these [one-to-one laptop] programs, but not research on the outcomes,鈥� Mr. Russell said. 鈥淭he Berkshire study is on actual outcomes.鈥�
Meanwhile, the 47,000-student Henrico County, Va., school district in suburban Richmond began a three-year study this school year on its one-to-one laptop project for secondary school students. All 25,000 middle and high school students and 2,000 teachers are issued laptops to use for their schoolwork. They are also allowed to take the laptops home.
Started in fall 2001, the $34 million laptop initiative has been well-received by students and teachers, though it has weathered some problems, ranging from connectivity difficulties to isolated cases of students鈥� use of the computers to cheat, change grades, or download pornography.
Interactive Inc., a Huntington, N.Y.-based education research firm, is conducting the Henrico County study. It is scheduled to release preliminary results this fall that will examine a number of factors, including productivity outcomes such as achievement, integration of technology into classroom instruction, student-assessment practices, and the limits of the laptop computers to improve teaching and learning. The study will also document how and whether students are learning problem-solving, online-communication, and other workplace skills.
While the study鈥檚 results are still months away, some Henrico County educators are confident that laptop computers have helped both students and teachers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 too early to tie academic improvement to technology鈥攊t would be very inappropriate to make that generalization because there are so many variables,鈥� said Albert M. Ciarochi, the principal of the district鈥檚 Highland Springs High School. 鈥淏ut the greatest thing that we can readily see is that [laptops] allow the teachers and students to work smarter, not harder.鈥�
The 11,000-student Daviess County schools in Owensboro, Ky., started a four-year, $1.6 million one-to-one laptop initiative this school year by giving laptop computers to all 900 of its high school freshmen. District officials plan to evaluate that effort before expanding the program to other grades.
Although the district has already invested the money in the program because school leaders are confident it will have a positive impact, they may also approve research on the effects of the program, said Susan Smith, the technology coordinator for the Daviess County district.
The district already has high rates of achievement and daily attendance, Ms. Smith said, so the laptop project was more about jump-starting student engagement than raising test scores.
鈥淚f engagement is there, achievement will follow,鈥� she said.
鈥楾ime and Money鈥�
Some researchers and educators say the public tends to view laptop computers as a way in and of itself to boost teaching and learning. But the machines can鈥檛 simply be dropped into classrooms and work magic.
The experts say districts employing such initiatives must train teachers on how best to use the computers in their classrooms. And students must learn how to amplify the academic applications of the computing devices鈥攏ot just use them to pass electronic notes to each other or play video games.
What鈥檚 more, educators can have a shortsighted view of laptops and other technology tools, Mr. Zhao of Michigan State University suggests. For instance, some schools bar students from using Web tools such as blogs because they fear students will use them inappropriately.
Yet Mr. Zhao argues that students must learn 21st-century skills, such as how to be responsible leaders in online communities, and how to construct effective digital portfolios. He says that schools would be better served if they used laptops primarily to teach those skills, instead of seeing the machines as tools for raising test scores.
鈥淟ots of time and money have [been spent] to retrofit technology to teach traditional subjects,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 not ask the question whether laptops are effective, but how can they be effective?鈥�
Margaret Honey, the director of the New York City-based Center for Children and Technology, echoes Mr. Zhao. She emphasizes that laptops should be used to help develop workplace skills such as problem-solving and effective communication.
She argues that the metrics aren鈥檛 in place to gauge the efficacy of one-to-one school laptop projects, and that the United States has fallen short in measuring the skills in information-communication technology that students must acquire to be competitive with their counterparts in other fast-evolving countries.
鈥淛ust because you speak English doesn鈥檛 make you an effective communicator,鈥� she pointed out. 鈥淪o just because you use technology doesn鈥檛 make you an effective communicator with technology. That鈥檚 why we need effective assessments to judge how students are developing 21st-century [information-communication-technology] skills.鈥�
Maine, which has spent $37 million to place laptops in the hands of every public school 7th and 8th grader and one-third of all high school students, is doing just that, said Bette J. Manchester, the director of special projects for the Maine education department.
The state is working with the Educational Testing Service, based in Princeton, N.J., to develop information-communication-technology assessments, and it plans to pilot technology resources developed by the ETS.
鈥淭hese technology tools are part of an educational process,鈥� said Ms. Manchester. 鈥淛ust like a hospital, you don鈥檛 gauge it on its technology, but on what doctors and nurses do.
鈥淲e need those same expectations for schools,鈥� she continued. 鈥淸Technology tools] can help [students] become independent learners and thinkers and problem solvers.鈥�
