School Background
South Elementary is one of six elementary schools in Andover, just north of Boston in Massachusetts. The school is set in 43 acres of woodlands in a closely-knit residential community. They have approximately 600 pupils who come from a culturally diverse, mainly English speaking population in an upper-middle-class area. Classes range from Kindergarten (equivalent to our P2 classes) through to Grade 5 (our P7 classes). They operate an inclusion policy for their special needs pupils who form 9.5% of their total enrolment.

ICT Overview
South Elementary’s laptop project was initiated in 2000, when they received one mobile wireless laptop unit to be shared among the ten 4th and 5th grade classes (P6 & 7 classes). Since then, pupils in two 4th grade and two 5th grade classes now own their own laptops, which are used extensively in school as well as at home. The mobile unit is still shared among the other 4th and 5th grade classes.
In addition to this, each classroom has two or three desk top computers and South Elementary has a computer room, which houses approximately thirty systems. Grade 3 classes also make use of AlphaSmarts which are portable electronic keyboard-based writing, notetaking, and computing devices.

Laptops Project
The rationale for using laptops in the concentrated model was to enhance and promote different forms of writing, develop research skills and integrate computer technology right across the curriculum.
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of laptops as a teaching and learning tool, the school enlisted the help of Boston University to research the project and provide an objective and quantitative measure of their findings. During our visit to the school one of the researchers involved, gave us an informed presentation on how the study, which involved comparing pupils using 1:1 laptops with pupils sharing a mobile unit, was carried out. The five main findings were as follows-:

• Pupils in the 1:1 classrooms used technology more effectively right across the curriculum.
• Pupils in the 1:1 classrooms were more motivated and engaged.
• Pupils in the 1:1 classrooms preferred to use computers as a writing tools rather than pencil and paper.
• There were less management problems in the 1:1 classrooms where differentiation was more easily catered for.
• At home, computers were used for more school based purposes by pupils in the 1:1 classrooms.

Observations Based on our Visit
As a result of our brief visit to South Elementary, we came away with a number of memorable impressions regarding their use of technology

• Many teachers (and especially those in the 1:1 laptop classes) have their own web pages, which provide pupils with information and tasks across the curriculum including relevant and useful web-based links.
• Keyboarding skills were taught as a necessary pre-requisite to effective use of time when producing longer pieces of text.
• Pupils in the 1:1 classrooms were very comfortable with and efficient in their use of the laptops, e.g.- switching between tasks, opening documents, using the taskbars, etc
• A big part of the reason for the successful use of laptops at home was the support network of “techie parents” who were available at the end of a phone or in person, if need be, to deal with technical problems which arose there.
• Pupils in all classrooms were well able to talk about their use of technology and explain what they were doing clearly and logically.
• When asked about having ownership of a laptop, pupils in the 1:1 classes were very positive in their responses and said they enjoyed using laptops.
• Teachers in the 1:1 laptop classes felt that while initially, intensive preparation was required for the project to be successful, the resulting management in the classroom led to more effective teaching and learning and allowed for differentiation.
• They have one full time technology teacher who instructs teachers in the use of new technologies and works with all classroom teachers to design and develop learning activities that integrate technology across the curriculum. She also teaches in the technology lab that is used extensively by the non-laptop classes.
• Last but by no means least, we were impressed by a couple of very practical tips
  1. In the technology lab, when the pupils needed assistance they indicated this to the teachers by placing a red plastic cup on top of their monitor.
  2. In the mobile laptop classes, pupils set their laptop lids at a 45o angle when they completed a task.

Keeping the Balance
While we were at South Elementary we were aware however, that laptops are not used to the exclusion of other more traditional teaching tools. To quote the principal, Dr. Eileen Woods, “In all subject areas, our goal is to have technology available as one of many tools. Our students use books, magazines, encyclopaedias, glue, paint, coloured paper, videos, crayons, markers, music, drama, calculators and computers on a daily basis. By providing this variety of media, each child can choose from the tools available to create the very best product that they can. We help them to make choices based on topic, type of assignment, and the type of learner that they are. We know that when technology is used as a learning tool, student achievement improves, which is what our school is all about.”

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Charles N. Fortes Elementary

School background
Charles N. Fortes Elementary in Providence, Rhode Island, is situated in the largely Hispanic west end of the town from where 78% of the 600 strong school population derives. Catering for children from pre-Kindergarten through to Grade 5, the school has regular education classes, as well as a number of bilingual classes. 98% of school children are entitled to free school meals.
The 4 storey school building which only opened in 1997, is housed in an old converted mill. From the exterior, the school still retains a rather austere, historical appearance, but once inside the building, you cannot help but be impressed by its warmth and colour – bright spacious corridors augmented by lively and vibrant displays of pupils’ art work, not to mention the extensive History Trails of which the school is rightly proud.

A Magnet School
When the school opened its doors in 1997, it was as a theme-based Magnet School – one of six in Providence, which allows pupils to focus on a particular interest or talent as well as studying the core curriculum of English, Maths, Science and Social Studies (Geography & History). In Charles N. Fortes’ case the significant focus was the Anywhere, Anytime Learning initiative which aims to give students 24-7 access to technology through ownership of their own laptop, thereby extending learning beyond the regular classroom to the home.

Current position
Currently the school has 5 desktop computers in each classroom – 4 for pupils’ use and one as a teacher’s demonstration model, as well as 30 systems in a computer lab. There are also computers in the science room, music room, art room and library. In addition to these, the school has 5 mobile laptop units with wireless technology.
Unfortunately, due to problems with insurance and a lack of technical support, the use of laptops at home proved to be too problematic and had to be abandoned. However, within school hours, teachers use both desktops and laptops to facilitate classroom based learning activities. To quote Charles N Fortes’ computer teacher, “My job as the computer teacher is to work with classroom teachers by embedding technology into their existing curriculum. Technology is never taught in isolation, rather it is used to enhance student learning.”

Rationale for using Laptops
Teachers in Charles N Fortes believe that integrating technology into their curriculum

• Improves critical thinking skills
• Develops research skills across the curriculum
• Increases collaboration
• Develops individualized learning paths

Observations based on our visit
While the following comments relate mainly to the use of laptops, they also reflect some of the other applications of ICT within the school, which impressed us.

• Technology was being used very effectively to promote children’s understanding and appreciation of music – the basement of the building was used for music classes where an interactive white board and excellent software allowed pupils to engage meaningfully in the composition of music. The school had also recorded some audio CDs based around a number of different themes.
• Within classrooms where laptops were being used, there was a relaxed atmosphere – some pupils worked at desks while others used bean bags or sat on the floor.
• To encourage independence and promote problem solving when using laptops, team leader were appointed - pupils were paired or grouped in such a way that the skills and expertise of one pupil in each group was being utilised, rather than always calling for teacher assistance.
• Although battery failure meant that laptops had to be powered by mains electricity, this did not act as a deterrent and pupils acted responsibly and carefully when cables and leads were lying across the floor.
• In their rollout of laptops all teachers were given their own laptop first as it was felt that access and familiarity on the part of the teacher would encourage and promote greater use of technology in the classroom with the pupils.
• With younger children, the use of laptops in their own classroom meant that they did not have to use the higher desks and chairs in the computer room.
• As in South Elementary, the full-time technology teacher worked alongside class teachers, providing help and support as well as teaching classes in the computer room.
  

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Norton Elementary

School background
Norton Elementary is situated in a residential, suburban area of Cheshire, Connecticut. Its school population, of approximately 500, spanning Grade 1 – Grade 6 classes, come from a mainly middle class area and the school operates an inclusion policy to integrate children with special needs into mainstream education.
The school building has good outdoor facilities and playground areas as well as bright spacious corridors displaying many examples of pupils’ art work

Laptop project
In 2000, Norton Elementary teamed up with Walsh Elementary, an inner city school in Waterbury and while the two schools were very different in many ways, the common vision which both principals shared, motivated them to apply jointly for a grant which would provide opportunities:-

• To increase multi-cultural interaction and understanding
• To improve and enhance reading and writing scores in both schools

Because the two schools were quite a distance apart it was decided that technology should be used “to bridge the gap” and allow both sets of pupils to engage in virtual visits and email each other. While each school had a computer lab, lack of space prevented either of them from extending this. As a result, laptops in a mobile trolley with wireless technology were seen as the answer.
Since the beginning of the project, each school has doubled the number of laptops in their mobile unit from 12 to 24 and additional wireless access points have been installed to allow small clusters of laptops to be used in more classrooms. At no point in the project have the laptops gone home.

Outcomes of Project
As a result of the project both schools have been very positive about the benefits derived from it. When assessment data was analysed by two of the Project directors, it indicated student growth in reading comprehension in both schools. In addition to this, there was enhanced motivation, greater collaboration and more independent research skills among students. It is hoped to expand the project to include two additional schools.

Observations based on our visit
During our short visit to Norton Elementary we were able to see first-hand how the use of laptops along with desk top computers added to the quality of education on offer there. Of special interest was:-

• The use of a SmartBoard with a laptop to introduce a form of writing to a class. The SmartBoard was used collaboratively as a stimulus, after which the pupils worked in pairs with pencils and paper.
• A cluster of laptops being used in another English lesson where a number of tasks were rotated, and the use of laptops formed part of that rotation.
• The pairing of pupils who are stronger in technology with those who are weaker thereby fostering greater independence and less immediate reliance on the teacher.
• The use of laminated, cut-out hands which could be attached to the monitor with velcro – a red hand indicating that help was needed immediately, while a yellow hand intimated that while help was needed, it was not urgent.
• Grade 6 pupils using spreadsheets in the computer room, while less able pupils engaged in differentiated tasks.
• The principal’s comment that the mobility of laptops made it possible for teachers to take the technology home with them, increasing their confidence and enabling them to prepare materials for classroom use.
• A networked system of television monitors which allowed broadcasts, messages and information to be communicated to all rooms in the school via a host computer.
• A library, which was not only well resourced with books but also with computers to encourage research on the internet.
  

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