Laptop Learning Programs.

The experiences of cutting-edgeschools suggest the whys,the why nots, and the hows oflaptop learning programs.inLaptopMark Warschauercomputers and wirelessnetworks represent two of thefastest-growing technologiesin schools. The state of Mainehas adopted a one-to-onelaptop program (see Muir, Manchester,& Moulton, 2005), and districts aroundthe United States are experimenting withsimilar efforts. Is it time for your schoolor district to consider going one-to-one?During the last two years, I haveserved on a team of faculty members,graduate students, and undergraduatesat the University of California-Irvinethat has been investigating one-to-onelaptop learning programs. We haveconducted case studies of 10 schools-7 in California and 3 in Maine-thathave implemented such programs(Warschauer, in press; Warschauer,Grant, Del Real, & Rousseau, 2004).The schools are located in diverse rural,urban, and suburban communities;grades covered in the laptop programsrange from 3rd to 12th. During thosetwo years of study, we have surveyedmore than 1,000 students and teachers;interviewed approximately 200teachers, students, parents, and administrators; and carried out 750 hours ofclassroom observations. Here's what wefound.The Why NotsLet's start by looking at what one-toone laptop programs are not likely toachieve in your district.Higher test scores. Although there areundoubtedly exceptions to the rule,laptop programs in general have nothad any appreciable effect on studenttest scores. The strongest evidencerelated to this statement is the state ofMaine, where achievement test scores(already among the highest in thenation) failed to rise in the first twoyears of the state's laptop program. Oneof the most impressive school laptopprograms we examined in Californiasimilarly showed no gains in test scoresbeyond what the same students hadachieved in previous years withoutlaptops.Why would such an expensive andambitious education effort yield so littlein test score returns? First, because thelearning advantages that laptops bringto students-through greater ease insearching for information, usingmultiple media, and revising writingdo not necessarily show up on paperand-pencil tests. And second, becauselaptop programs are still in theirinfancy, and almost any technologicalinnovation takes a number of years tohave a full impact.Reform of troubled schools. Laptopstend to amplify what is already takingplace in schools. Whatever a school isdoing well, it can probably do betterwith laptops. By the same token,though, if a school is seriously troubledwith discipline problems or unfocusedinstruction, laptops may amplify thosedifficulties by giving students a newI034EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP/DECEMBER2005/JANUARY2006

m-emeans for off-task behavior andteachers a new tool for keepingstudents busy rather than teachingthem. Laptops will make a good schoolbetter, but they won't make a badschool good.Erasure of achievement gaps. Laptopscan be an important technologyresource for students who do not havecomputers or Internet access at home.But already-privileged students will stillhave an advantage in working withlaptops because of their prior experience with computers; the learningsupport they have at home; and theirmore advanced language, literacy, andstudy skills. This is called the "SesameStreet Effect," in which an innovationthat promises to help at-risk childrencatch up educationally instead benefitsaffluent children as much or more(Attewell & Battle, 1999). The bottomline: Learning with laptops can benefitall students, but don't count on laptopprograms to erase education inequitiesin your district.The WhysConsidering the caveats, why start aone-to-one laptop program? We havefound five excellent reasons.21st century learning skills. Probablythe single most important reason tostart a one-to-one program is thatASSOCIATIONlaptops facilitate the kinds of learning,thinking, and analysis that today'sworld demands. Students in theschools we visited had plentifulresources and data at their fingertips;they learned to access that information,analyze and critique it, and work it intoa wide variety of authentic products.This kind of learning occurred evenmore in schools that already valuedcritical inquiry and had strong information literacy programs, from the classroom to the library.Greater engagement through multimedia. One teacher we interviewed saidthat students are "technology sponges."Actually, we found them to be "multimedia sponges," whose out-of-schoolhours are filled with images, video,sound, music, and animation. It is unrealistic to expect students to give up allthese things when they walk through theschool door. Working with multimediaon a daily basis in school creates higherlevels of student engagement-andengaged students spend more time ontask, work more independently, enjoylearning more, and take part in a greatervariety of learning activities at schooland at home. Students in laptopprograms also learn to produce andinterpret multimodal content, a valuableskill in today's world.More and better writing. A schoolwidefocus on writing can be a powerfullever for raising student achievementacross the board (Reeves, 2002) andcan also prepare students for highschool exit and college entrance examinations. Yet with large class sizes andoverburdened teachers, few schools areable to focus on writing as much asFOR SUPERVISION AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT35

they wish. Students in laptop schoolswrite much more than those in traditional classrooms. They revise theirwriting more easily and morefrequently They take pride in theprofessional appearance of theirwriting. And they receive more feedback on their writing--either becausetheir papers are more accessible to theirteachers (think how long it takes toread a handwritten paper comparedwith a computer-written one), orbecause, at some schools, they submittheir work to automated essay-scoringprograms.Deeper learning. Technology providesstudents with multiple angles to get atthe same material, thus facilitatingproject-based work that enables themto dig further and deeper. Nearly all theschools we visited reported a greateremphasis on in-depth student researchthan before. The work we collectedfrom these projects was impressive. Theschools often shared student work withparents and community members atpublic events.Easier integration of technology intoinstruction. The teachers we interviewedand surveyed were nearly unanimousin their enthusiasm for the way laptopshelped them naturally integrate technology into instruction. With a one-toone laptop program, teachers no longerhave to make do with a few computersin their classroom or wait to schedule alaboratory or a mobile cart. Studentscan just come into class and pop opentheir laptops, thus avoiding the delaysinvolved in bringing students to acomputer lab or distributing andcollecting equipment. After a fewmonths, students in laptop schools gaina high degree of technological sophistication, which allows teachers to focusmore on content and less on technology training.The HowsOK, you're thinking about starting alaptop program. How do you go about it?36Put education goalsfirst. Be sure tobegin by keeping your broader instructional goals in mind. As suggested bythe organizers of the Maine program(Muir et al., 2005), make your laptopinitiative an education program firstand a technology program second. Thatmeans you need to spend as much timethinking about the learning goals,curriculum, pedagogy, and professionaldevelopment as you do about theconfigurations and the networks. It alsomeans you need to think carefullyabout the instructional software youTECHN-BYTpurchase and the peripherals youchoose to support leaming (digitalcameras, projectors, printers, and soon).Keep in mind the total cost ofownership. Once you work out all theissues involved in initiating yourprogram, you'll have to figure out howto finance it. In preparing your budget,remember that the total cost of ownership goes far beyond just purchasingthe computers. Some of the programsthat we studied floundered becausethey didn't factor in the expense ofextra technical support, softwarepurchases, or hardware repair andreplacement. On the other hand, inlong-term financial planning for yourdistrict, bear in mind that as you moveEDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP/DECEMBER 2005/JANUARY2006to a one-to-one system, you can probably shut down computer laboratoriesand reduce the purchase and maintenance of classroom desktop computers.This will allow some savings on space,equipment, and perhaps personnel.Choose a good vendor. Bid yourcontract out to multiple vendors, butbe sure to keep your broader educationgoals in mind. Features to look forinclude stability of the operatingsystem, protection of computers fromviruses and security problems, andquality and ease of use of multimediasoftware. The least expensive laptops topurchase will not necessarily be thecheapest to maintain or the best foreducational purposes.Practicecreativefinancing. How areyou going to finance such a venture?The experience of Fullerton SchoolDistrict in California, which implemented a pilot laptop program at threeschools in 2004-2005 and is graduallyextending the program throughout thedistrict, provides a good example ofcreative financing. The district's laptopprogram costs 468 annually for eachstudent and includes a three-year leaseto-own contract, educational software,a warranty, insurance, and a protectivesleeve for each laptop. At the two pilotsites in middle-to-high-income neighborhoods, parents were asked to leaseto-purchase the laptops, and all of themdid. The third school, a junior highschool in a low-income neighborhood,used Title I funds to lease the laptops.As the program expands to otherschools, the district will ask parents topurchase laptops for their children andwill put together financial supportpackages-using state funds, federalfunds, or donations from businesses orparent groups-for families that can'tafford the purchase on their own.Leverage student technology talent.Keeping a large number of computersup and running is a challenge. A goodmaintenance contract is essential, ofcourse, but beyond that, Fullerton's