PBS Teachers | learning.now . Schools drop laptop programs - but are they dropping the ball as well?

Wonderful article. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought the exact same things. There’s no magic technology that will boost test scores and make the next generation one full of little braniacs. As always, it takes a devotion to utilizing the tools we do have to their utmost potential.

It’s unfortunate to see schools write off the laptops before giving them a chance to succeed (and measuring this success realistically) because exposure to and experience with these technologies will be crucial in the years to come.

I don’t know that we’ll see the changes we’re looking for until those in charge (teachers and administrators) have themselves grown up with this technology.

By Kevin M. Keating 1:19PM on 04 May 07

Andy,

You’re spot on as usual. 1-to-1 computing is not a magic bullet and it isn’t about raising test scores on standardized tests. And, I’ve heard from a well-placed source, the original intent in Liverpool was not about measuring the 1-to-1 program in terms of test scores improvements, but it was about a contemporary learning environment that utilized the laptop as a tool for learning. The emphasis on results on tests is a recent add-on that is being used to help justify the removal of the program from the budget.

Ultimately, 1-to-1 computing needs to be known as 1-to-1 learning; it needs to center around the shift in pedagogy and the development of compelling learning environments for students and teachers. Continuing to fixate on the technology will not move these other priorities forward.

By Matthew Hoover 2:20PM on 04 May 07

Andy,

You are so right. I was involved in an early (1996) adoption of laptops. The school was very conservative in its pedagogy. While I was very much in favor of the move, I remember saying to the director of studies, “You do realize you’re starting a revolution?” As you said, introducing a new technology without taking thought for revamping the pedagogy will result in a “failed” initiative. Looking back after 10 years, it’s so obvious. At the time, we thought the laptops would make educational change all by themselves.

Far better to look at learning first: how do people learn, what is our curriculum, what thinking skills are we trying to teach? I believe answering those hard questions first will ultimately lead to relevant and powerful integration of technology.

By Bob Irving 3:18PM on 04 May 07

Here’s my favorite line from the article:

“But in many other classrooms, there was nary a laptop in sight as teachers read from textbooks and scribbled on chalkboards.”

Need we say more about the unwillingness to change? Even without the laptops, is school still going to be about teachers reading to students and writing on chalkboards?

So much for preparing for a global workplace.

By Michele 4:56PM on 04 May 07

Two observations:

Historically, our culture has a reverence for technology that borders on the mystical. Erik Davis examines this in his book, “Techgnosis, Magic, myth and mysticism in the age of information.” Built-in to our world-view is the notion that any problem can be fixed if we can only invent the appropriate technology and apply it liberally. Its no surprise then that we have looked to computers to solve our education “problems,” the definition of which depend on whom you ask.

The effectiveness of any efforts to reform, improve, or restructure education are limited by the manner in which we assess students. We have allowed the federal government to impose a very outdated and deeply conservative model of assessment on our public K-12 system. But, even before NCLB, states were pushing standardized tests, usually one shot pencil and paper, to “measure” student progress.

Until we are wiling to redefine what the purpose of education is, it is nearly impossible to change the manner in which we teach. Initiatives such as 1-1 computing, will be shoe-horned into the existing pedagogy.

We must create the context in which 1-1 computing can be effective by redefining what education looks like and how it is assessed. Until then we will continue to see “islands of innovation” that prove successful (usually because the rules of engagement have been suspended) surrounded by expensive failures.

Technology can’t force a change in education, as I once believed it could. Education must change first. Then we will begin to realize the full potential of technology.

By Tom Kennedy 5:55AM on 05 May 07

Seymour Sarason called one of his books THE PREDICTABLE FAILURE OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM.

The arrival of every new technology has been greeted with rapture by educational reformers: movies would revolutionize schooling, said Thomas Edison; and radio would bring the great minds of the world into all the poor schools of the US; and television, of course, would totally transform the nature of education.

And when the transformation fails to occur, the responses are always the same: the teachers haven’t been trained, the administrators and the communities resist change, the technology can’t do its work as long as the old restraints remain in place. Or: we’re measuring the new possibilities with the old rulers: we need new metrics.

Does anyone know what needs to be done to education that would allow it to benefit from film, radio, television—and the computer?

Can someone organize a school that demonstrates well after the initial enthusiasm and Hawthorne effect dissolve that a technologized education can make a difference?

By Steve Eskow 1:43PM on 05 May 07

I think the biggest problem is that the laptops take up too much desk space. When I expect students to practice their penmanship, or to work silently in independent work, the laptops are a distraction as students try to collaborate with each other or post to their blogs.

We will never prepare our students for the specialized factory jobs of this century if they are permitted to use computers on social networking sites. My students do not perform on the handwritten essay tests given by our school because they lack the linear writing skills - on a computer they can edit and correct their work - whereas on the test they must plan carefully and ensure that they write the correct words the first time.

We need to prepare our students for this new 20th Century. Computers are standing in the way.

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By Chris Champion 7:55AM on 06 May 07

Hello,
I have enjoyed reading the entries and commentary about the 1:1 Laptop program at Liverpool. The majority of the commentary is right on! In our school district, tucked away outside of Montreal, we are into our fourth year of 1:1 laptop deployments, grades 3-11. There have been many challenges, certainly, but we have insisted on ensuring that the laptops are transformational agents for the teachers and students.
In the province of Quebec, project based learning is the required approach and technology has been integrated to support this fundamental shift in teaching and evaluative practices. Taking a laptop and simply saying to teachers and students, go ahead and prepare yourself for the 21st century is foolish.
There remains many challenges and ongoing support for the teachers and students is always at the forefront of our concerns.
Costs are an issue but we decided, in our district to do something that is rarely seen in education nowadays. We view education as an investment, not an expenditure. In doing so, we have re-aligned our commitment to providing our teachers with every possible tool, so as to enhance their classroom environment.
On our results, we have tested our students on digital literacy, creative thinking and writing skills, and the impact has been important at the elementary level. We will need to work more at the secondary level.
Educators who have visited us, consistently remarked about how the classroom looks and is different. Our teachers and students have done a remarkable job in this domain but there is still much work to complete.
We too have research that clearly stipulates that lousy integration of technology leads to poor or “no gain” results in the traditional areas of measurement. But this is true even for a textbook, poor integration leads to poor results. Curiously, we never heard for the abolishment of textbooks in the classroom.
One other challenge that faces us is that technology suppliers simply “don’t get” the world of education. They still insist that a machine designed for adults can simply be injected into classrooms and children. This is also one of the roots for the technical issues that plague 1:1 deployments around North America.
We remain heavily inspired by Dr. Seymor Papert, who insisted technology should be a transformation tool, not something to provide greater insistence on traditional teaching and learning practices. He made such a comment in 1971 and little has changed since. Simply look at what has happened at Liverpool.

By Ron Canuel 12:07PM on 06 May 07

A-yep.

Great points. I made very similar ones on my blog… and the one thing that consistently amazes me is that schools spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on 1:1 laptop programs and do not create dynamic learning environments via the web. How many schools have 1:1 programs and don’t use Moodle or Drupal (or even Blackboard?)

The sheer lack of planning with so many 1:1 schools astounds me.

By Chris Lehmann 10:49PM on 09 May 07

Let’s not forget this nugget:

“Last month, the United States Department of Education released a study showing no difference in academic achievement between students who used educational software programs for math and reading and those who did not.”

It’s amazing that the government can study just two educational software titles and surmise that ‘All Educational Software shows no difference in achievement.’

Insanity — just sheer insanity.

By Dave 9:11AM on 10 May 07

I just discovered your blog today. What a wonderful resource! Keep up the great work!

By KindAndThoughtful 10:48AM on 10 May 07

As a laptop teacher for the past four years, I have a love-hate relationship with the laptop program. Do they enhance student learning? Maybe. Are they a distraction? Definitely! Until colleges change their teaching styles and standardized testing is rethought as a way to evaluate the student admission process to college, the question of the value of a laptop program in high schools will go unanswered. Does one throw out tried and proven traditional teaching methods simply to incorporate the laptop in the classroom? No way! Education in this country has a history of fads and jumping on the latest bandwagon. In the long run, laptop programs will run their course and then resurface in twenty years as the next great teaching innovation.

By John Ilcisin 10:17PM on 10 May 07

I worry about introducing computers into kids’ lives at too early an age. The next generation will be enslaved by technology to a degree that we may not even be able to fully forsee. Computers will undoubtedly dominate nearly every facet of their lives. Don’t we have a responsibility to make sure kids have ample opportunities to learn how to exist & thrive in the real world before thrusting them headlong into the inescapable cyber-world?

And in making computer-use skills such a priority for kids could we be placing barriers to kids learning to think creatively and solve problems? How self-relaint will the Google generation be when the answer to any problem always seems a mouse click away?

Schools drop laptop programs - but are they dropping the ball as well?

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