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Copyright © 2005, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved. Laptop Program Update By Howard Levin S tudents entering Steve Speier’s Spanish class pull their personal laptops from their achieving a packs and begin preparing for the new level of acceptance lesson. Some review Speier’s board and sense of normalcy now that notes containing a combination of all 295 students are toting around Refl ections typed phrases and dozens of hand- personal laptops. In revisiting our on- to any on the Effects of drawn vocabulary words saved as PDF going progress, I interviewed several new educa- One-to-One Computing fi les from his interactive white board of our veteran teachers, all of whom tional ad- Notebook program. Others don head- experienced years of teaching without vancement. in a High School phones and listen to audio fi les Speier laptops and, in some cases, were deep- We certainly recorded specifi cally for this class. ly skeptical about a one-to-one laptop won’t do that. A couple more are reviewing their program. In general, teachers are now It is, however, recorded voice responses to several having students use their laptops to do quite simple to exam- audio prompts for homework prior to more of what was previously impracti- ine the way laptops are contributing to submitting this for homework. All of cal or impossible. Laptop use and the various aspects of the learning process. this takes place on their personal lap- constant availability of network re- In this light, I will examine four key tops, accessing and sending these fi les sources that was celebrated two years areas where laptops and ubiquitous from the centralized electronic course ago as a bonus is now rapidly becom- access to network resources aff ect the conference. ing a basic assumption of all. Few learning process: communication, In April 2004, I reported about question the wisdom; nearly all are organization, information, and pro- the Urban School’s integrated laptop fi nding eff ective and innovative ways duction—using anecdotal evidence as program (see “Laptops Unleashed: for laptops to support learning. well as results from our recent Laptop A High School Experience,” pp. 6–11). Program Survey . I talked about our fairly atypical Effects on Student Learning laptop program—then in its second Attempting to assess the eff ects of our Communication year—in which all students are pro- laptop program on learning is com- Th e most obvious change brought by vviiddeedd aa llaappttoopp ffoorr tthhee dduurraattiioonn ooff pplliiccaatteedd.. AAttttrriibbuuttiinngg aannyy ccoonnnneecc-- our laptop environment is soaring tthheeiirr hhiigghh sscchhooooll eexxppeerrii-- ttiioonn bbeettwweeeenn llaappttooppss aanndd levels of communication. Th is was true eennccee,, wwiitthh lliittttllee ttoo ccoommpprreehheennssiioonn aanndd// two years back, but the diff erence now nnoo ffoorrmmaalliizzeedd oorr tteesstt ssccoorreess iiss is the natural assumption of electronic ccoommppuutteerr sskkiillllss rriiddiiccuulloouuss uunn-- communication. Student-to-student, instruction. lleessss aa sscchhooooll student-to-teacher, and teacher-to- Much has oorr ddiissttrriicctt student communication by e-mail as N. EVI changed in iiss wwiilllliinngg well as Internet-based learning envi- L RD the past ttoo rreettaaiinn ronments are no longer considered A OW two years aa ccoonnttrrooll bonuses, they are expected. H Y as the pro- ggrroouupp In our survey, we asked students how B S O gram has tthhaatt iiss nnoott oft en they communicate with other stu- T O H matured, eexxppoosseedd dents about schoolwork online outside P December/January 2005–06 | Learning & Leading with Technology 17 Copyright © 2005, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved. of class: 71% reported “daily,” and 24% in-class work that is easily infl uenced munication tools are seen in foreign said “1–2 times per week.” When asked by social issues. “Student ‘production’ language instruction. “Th e extension how oft en they communicate with changes with a laptop program,” says of listening and speaking beyond teachers, 56% replied “one or more history & English teacher Dan Matz. the physical classroom has been a times per week.” We suspect this num- Students can collaborate in new and fundamental change,” says Language ber will continue to rise. Th e ability to interesting ways. “Th ey construct their Department chair Speier. Students can ask quick clarifying questions—to both own understanding in consultation reinforce the critical language skills teachers and peers—is at students’ fi n- with their peers,” Matz says. One of of listening and speaking through in- gertips, and their confi dence that they our core values demands that kids dependent practice at home. “Before will reach someone and receive help is construct understanding rather than laptops, teachers had to do all the a theme repeated oft en. simply swallow what the teacher says. listening and speaking in the physical Teachers report new ways of capi- Th e laptop program oft en provides classroom,” Speier says. “Now, much talizing on the ease of this electronic meaningful opportunities for kids to of this happens as homework [stu- communication. Science Chair Algis do this collaboratively. dents listen and record their replies] Sodonis uses his electronic course Th ese new communication tools freeing up time for other classroom conferences to post solution sets to dif- enable powerful, oft en unintended activities.” fi cult problems. Archives of complex dialogues between age groups. Elec- Th is ease of communication also board work are available for students tronic communication has encour- provides teachers with better feed- to access and the teacher to reuse. Stu- aged students to step out and be back from students, enabling them to dents go through a “hierarchy of help” heard. For example, one 10th grader adjust lessons to better serve student involving a combination of teacher recently posted the following to the needs. Scott Nelson, a math teacher questions, peer support, and access to school’s electronic bulletin board: and initial critic of the school’s laptop these solutions. Sodonis reports, “Th is program, sees this as a major benefi t. Hello everyone. I’m in the process creates a very dynamic and productive “I am starting to use the computers of trying to broaden my musical fi rst 20 minutes of class where students to communicate more eff ectively with horizons and I was wondering if ask the questions they need without my students about math,” says Nelson. anyone had any suggestions of spending a whole period listening to “Th eir feedback is more honest and some old French Jazz, like the me solving all of the problems.” expedient because they are not say- music in the movie Amelie when Likewise, collaborative work is sup- ing it in front of the class. Th is helps they are in the cafe. ported. Th rough e-mail and online me plan more eff ectively and to gauge conferencing, students are able to Within minutes she received nearly a the instruction more to the individual pool information and work on group dozen responses. Th e bulletin board needs of the students.” projects even when not together. Pre- and other online forum tools enable Now that all students and teachers viously, group projects were limited to students to seek connections and ex- have laptops, the artifi cial boundaries pprreessss ssoocciiaall aanndd of time and place have blurred in ways ppoolliittiiccaall ccoonnvviicc-- that support teaching and learning. ttiioonnss iinn aa ssaaffee wwaayy aaccrroossss aallll Organization ggrraaddee lleevveellss.. I have little doubt that students and Th e most teachers benefi t from the many elec- ppoowweerrffuull eeffff eeccttss tronic organizational tools and any- ooff nneeww llaappttoopp-- time access to network resources. One bbaasseedd ccoomm-- teacher reports, “Th e laptop program hhaass hheellppeedd ttoo uunnccoovveerr tthhee oorrggaanniizzaa-- ttiioonnaall ssttrreennggtthhss aanndd wweeaakknneesssseess ooff This student bbootthh ssttuuddeennttss aanndd tteeaacchheerrss..”” uses Stickies More than half our students report to organize tthhaatt tthheeiirr oorrggaanniizzaattiioonn ffoorr sscchhooooll hhaass everything iimmpprroovveedd ssiinnccee rreecceeiivviinngg aa llaappttoopp ((33%% from movies and music rreeppoorrtt aa ddeecclliinnee)).. CCoommmmoonnllyy uusseedd to class ttoooollss iinncclluuddee AAppppllee’’ss SSttiicckkiieess,, ccaalleennddaarr assignments. pprrooggrraammss,, MMiiccrroossooftft WWoorrdd’’ss ““nnoottee-- 18 Learning & Leading with Technology | December/January 2005–06 Copyright © 2005, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved. book” view with tabs for categorizing the assigned cases, they can notes, desktop folders, concept map- follow the complex web of ping soft ware, and self-sent e-mail precedent law that previously reminders. Although paper planners wwaass nnoott ppoossssiibbllee wwiitthhoouutt vviissiitt-- are still important for many, the days ing a law library. “Opinions of one uniform method are over. cited within the cases are Teachers at Urban post a majority always live links—students of their handouts, assignments, and can see how the justices were other class information online within using particular cases by their course conferences. Th is prac- simply clicking on referenced tice was popular two years ago, but ccaasseess,,”” ssaayyss DDaann MMuurrpphhyy,, wwhhoo not nearly as comprehensive as today. has been teaching the subject Central electronic access is supported for more than 25 years. “Th is by the rapidly growing practice of hheellppss ssttuuddeennttss uunnddeerrssttaanndd tthhee iinngg aanndd tthheerreeffoorree aaiiddss tteeaacchheerrss iinn tthheeiirr scanning paper documents directly dynamics of legal reasoning and ability to more adequately evaluate into PDFs and uploading them into citation.” understanding. We see a wider ar- course conferences. Students have one Teachers also oft en take advantage ray of assignments that give students place to access nearly all the informa- of current and immediate access to more opportunities to practice in tion that in the past was lost or simply information on the Internet to add meaningful ways, and this leads to never recorded in their notes. Says meaning and relevancy to assign- observable improvements in student English teacher Tilda Kapuya, “Stu- ments. For example, while students in sophistication. dents’ comprehension is enhanced by Murphy’s class were studying juvenile Among the most obvious areas having more continuity between what death penalty cases, he discovered a supported by laptops is student writ- happens in the classroom and what current case, Simmon v Roper, that ing. In fact, more than 67% of Urban happens at home. Homework now had yet to be decided by the Supreme students report that word processing serves to build upon class work more Court. He had his students review the represents “the best use” of their lap- than ever because the laptop holds all briefs from both sides—all available top. Teachers report specifi c improve- the information together in one place.” online—write their own opinions, and ments in students’ ability to express then compare their thinking with the more ideas and to better edit their Access to Information actual opinion when it was released work. “Essays are more tightly writ- In many ways, student access to in- by the court just days later. “Th e stu- ten than ever,” reports history teacher formation fl ows from improvements dents had anticipated key arguments,” LeRoy Votto. At the same time, Votto in communication and organization. says Murphy. Th is would have been points to students’ increased attention Anytime access to a plethora of In- impractical without constant access to the craft of editing. “I defi nitely see ternet resources and the “Google fac- to Internet sources. Murphy has now more output—that is more words and tor” in the hands of every student has purposely built this component of ex- ideas per writing assignment with the changed the type of information used amining soon-to-be announced cases computer,” says Votto. to support learning. At Urban, we see into his lesson planning. Science teachers also report that signifi cant growth in the nature and student data analysis from labs is oft en use of Internet resources in ways that Student Production much more sophisticated and authen- simply were not practical in the past. Th e progress we’ve seen in the areas tic now that they have own laptops Teachers direct students to informa- of communication, organization, and with powerful soft ware and communi- tion not previously available, and this information and how this helps the cation tools. Students oft en transport is contributing to a more dynamic learning process is clear to most. Th e their active data into Excel or directly curriculum. A wonderful example is more powerful change—which in part into Word. Th is helps them determine the Constitutional Law course. Stu- is enabled by these same forces—is which data are the most valid since dent reading and research material evident in the end products of student they oft en continue to work compu- is now almost exclusively found on work (i.e., those areas of student pro- tations within spreadsheets as they FindLaw, a free database containing duction that teachers are most apt to take shape in the fi nal report. Th at all Supreme Court decisions—includ- evaluate). Our ubiquitous laptop envi- is, editing continues throughout the ing dissenting opinions—reaching ronment increases the alternatives for process, and editing is direct evidence back to 1893. Students not only read students to demonstrate understand- of student thinking. Reports physics December/January 2005–06 | Learning & Leading with Technology 19 Copyright © 2005, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved. Sam talked of video-taping his friends in everyday conversations, im- porting the digital movies and editing in iMovie. He watched and listened re- peatedly until he was inspired to create a series of striking large-format por- traits. Another student, Claire, painted a series of stark images of gaunt wom- en, again with no evidence of technology use. But Claire’s statement (left ) is perhaps the most elegant testimony for laptop use I’ve ever heard. Recent graduate Claire Conclusions describes how technology Teachers and students almost univer- infl uences her artwork in sally embrace the benefi ts of laptops to this composite of several the learning process at Urban. How- of her paintings. ever, some concerns persist, mostly regarding distraction among mainly tteeaacchheerr SSooddoonniiss,, ““ThTh eessee aarree fifi nneerr ddaattaa nniiqquueess iiss ttoo aallllooww ssttuuddeennttss ttoo ssuubbmmiitt the younger students. Only a handful analysis skills which are familiar to all some work as voice fi les as opposed of our incoming ninth graders expe- scientists and unusual in most high to traditional written essays. For in- rienced laptops in their middle school school labs.” stance, Matz asked his freshmen to classrooms, therefore freshmen’s fi rst Two years ago I reported the use record as a homework assignment a few weeks at Urban are fraught with of online discussions in English, a verbal response to an essay prompt. struggles over excessive e-mail use, technique that periodically moves Although several students complained gaming, and Internet surfi ng. We gen- oral discussions into written dialogues that it took them longer because they erally fi nd the novelty wanes rapidly about literature. Th is practice helps insisted on writing their thoughts out for the vast majority of students as empower the less orally confi dent fi rst, several other more verbal learners academic expectations become more student to air ideas and thus receive demonstrated a level of understanding pressing. Although we do not fi lter feedback. Since then, the department that Matz previously could not gauge. or restrict access in any physical ways, has fully embraced the effi cacy of Matz also reported his own evaluation we periodically remotely monitor use those early experiments. Says English process was faster because he could and report students caught gaming teacher Cathleen Sheehan, “Unlike an more quickly type notes and observa- during class to their classroom teach- oral discussion, in-conference post- tions while listening to these “essays.” er. In more extreme cases, the Dean of Students becomes involved, because ings give me greater insight into how Oft en the powerful eff ect of laptops we treat this not as a technology issue, students are processing the reading lies hidden behind student work that, but as a behavior/focus issue. and responding to it. I can ask them to on the surface, shows no sign of com- For the most part, however, our look back at a given passage and guide puter technology. I became intrigued laptop program is smoothly making them as well as give them feedback on by this last spring during the school’s the transition from its earlier experi- spelling and punctuation as needed.” annual year-end senior art show. Our mental phase to one where use is truly Th is enables Sheehan to be more pur- campus was fi lled with beautiful paint- seamless, ubiquitous, and normal. Th e poseful in her advice, as well as more ings, drawings, sculpture and instal- reported advantages are also helping deliberate in her assessments. “I can lation projects, none of which, except to support a truly dynamic curriculum evaluate them more effi ciently,” she the photography, evidenced any use fi lled with a sense of new possibilities. says. Likewise, English chair Jonathan of computer technology. I interviewed Howland reports, “My students are several students, simply asking if they Howard Levin is director of more alert and observant members of used any technology to generate the technology at the Urban School a discussion as well as better writers ideas for their art. I was pleasantly of San Francisco. He recently on account of their ongoing involve- shocked by the results. Th ey all men- delivered the keynote address ment with online conferences.” tioned some intriguing use of their at the Laptop Institute in Mem- Teachers are also fi nding more laptop, whether it was to search for phis. Howard’s work with Ur- ban’s oral history project (http:// creative and multisensory ways for images, process digital photography www.tellingstories.org) earned an NAIS Leading students to demonstrate their under- for modeling, or simply to brainstorm Edge award for technology in independent schools. standing. Among the simplest tech- journal-style to develop their ideas. Find out more at http://www.howardlevin.com/. 20 Learning & Leading with Technology | December/January 2005–06