2. 2SPONSORED BY INTEL AND LENOVO
Studies conducted by groups such as Project
Red and North Carolina State University’s
Friday Institute for Educational Innovation
have found that personal access to computers
is particularly critical to success.
The research demonstrates that “technology-
transformed schools”–those that have effectively
implemented and integrated learning technology–
are delivering notable results. Such schools have:
• Lower dropout rates
• Fewer disciplinary actions
• Improved high stakes test scores
• Substantial short- and long-
term financial benefits
Indeed, the research provides
firm grounding for further
efforts to bring 1-to-1
programs to schools. Project
Red researchers encourage
schools to “personalize
learning for all students by
frequent, appropriate use of
technology in all classrooms
and other learning places.” As
they see it, “Technology is no longer a supplement.
It’s an integral part of students’ lives outside of the
classroom and is most effective when it becomes
an integral part of the core curriculum.”
RESEARCH FROM SEVEN
STATES DEMONSTRATES
THE IMPACT OF 1-TO-1
The Friday Institute’s research looked at six major
1-to-1 initiatives: Florida’s Leveraging Laptops,
Maine’s Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI),
North Carolina’s 1-to-1 Learning Technology
Initiative (NCLTI), Michigan’s Freedom to Learn
(FTL), Pennsylvania’s Classrooms for the Future
(CFF), Texas’s Immersion Pilot (TIP), and Henrico
County, Virginia’s Teaching and Learning Initiative.
In a survey of existing studies, the researchers
focused on findings related to student behavior and
achievement, changes to instructional practices,
and planning and implementation.
First, researchers found significant evidence that
using laptops and other personal computing
devices in the classroom increases student
engagement. Not only did students themselves
report a greater interest in learning, but the findings
were particularly impressive among at-risk students
and children with disabilities.
While students often found technology-rich projects
to be more challenging and time-consuming than
Schools are in a technology
implementation crisis. While
education technology best
practices have a significant
positive impact, they are
not widely and consistently
practiced.
Project Red
Using technology to deliver personalized coursework
is increasingly essential if K-12 education leaders–
superintendents, principals and headmasters–are to maximize
student learning outcomes. According to recent research,
schools that have embraced personalized, technology-
supported learning strategies–often described as “1-to-1”
learning programs–are outperforming their counterparts.
3. 3SPONSORED BY INTEL AND LENOVO
other projects, students also
reported they were more
interested in learning. In
Texas, teachers contended
that immersion in the
technology improved the
quality of students’ work.
Perhaps even more important
to district leaders is that
teachers and students in
some states report that
using laptops had a positive impact on student
achievement. Florida teachers, for instance,
reported significant gains as measured by test
scores, in higher-level thinking skills, retention,
and transfer of learning. In a different study in
Maine of 1-to-1 programs at nine middle schools,
researchers found that students scored significantly
higher in science, math and social studies than
students at the comparison schools.
Technology-transformed schools also make
a significant impact on teacher behavior and
instructional practices. Researchers found teachers
use the technology devices for many tasks relevant
to learning and instruction. Not only are the tools
used to develop instructional material (e.g., plan
instruction, create integrated lessons, present
lessons, and create student assignments), but for
assessment and feedback as well.
Interestingly, 1-to-1 programs tended to encourage
a shift in roles among teachers and students. Once
the programs had been implemented, teachers
often moved away from traditional pedagogical
approaches to become facilitators and coaches.
And, finally, the planning and implementation
research identified the factors most critical to
the success of 1-to-1 programs. Among them:
effective leadership, high-quality professional
development, and robust technology
infrastructures and technical support.
BIGGEST THREAT TO
PROGRAM SUCCESS? POOR
IMPLEMENTATION
While the research on the impact of
personalized learning programs generally
points to successful outcomes, research
also suggests that such programs can be
compromised by poor implementation.
ACTION STEPS FOR
TECHNOLOGY IMPACT
Effectiveness as a leader depends on bold steps
that demonstrate the power and potential of learning
technology. According to the Consortium for School
Networking, principals and superintendents can take
several “action steps” to provide technology leadership.
Among them:
• Reflect on your own use of technology and
explore new ways to use technology to improve
your knowledge, skills, personal productivity and
leadership effectiveness.
• Commit to attending at least one regional, state or
national conference focused on technology use in
education every year.
• Collaborate as a leadership team to identify
and implement technology-based approaches
to communicating, interacting and engaging
with students, parents and your community.
Videoconferencing technologies, for example, are an
easy-to-use, effective tool for communications and
collaboration.
• Revise annual performance goals to include action
steps for developing technology skills; identifying
opportunities to test technology systems to
strengthen administrative functions or improve
student learning; and modeling uses of hardware,
software and compelling learning environments for
the school community.
• Understand the value of technology in terms of its
costs and benefits.
By having principals
take a leading role in
change management and
professional development
efforts, schools tend to
be more successful in
effecting systemic change
and achieving support at all
levels, according to
Project Red.
4. 4SPONSORED BY INTEL AND LENOVO
According to Project Red,
“Schools are in a technology
implementation crisis. While
education technology best
practices have a significant
positive impact, they are
not widely and consistently
practiced.” The researchers
point to an array of key
implementation factors (KIFs)
that must be addressed if the
projects are to be successful.
And the lower the student/
computer ratio, the better
schools fare on measures of
academic performance.
In fact, Project Red researchers found that
“properly implemented technology” can produce
immediate short-term savings throughout a school
or district. One way savings are generated is by
reducing copy and printing expenses. Project Red
also reported projected savings from reduced
dropouts and increased enrollment, averaging $459
per student per year.
Among the KIFs, the researchers highlighted the
ability of principals to lead change, recognizing
this as the single-most important variable across
11 success measures. By having principals
take a leading role in change management and
professional development efforts, schools tend to
be more successful in effecting systemic change
and achieving support at all levels.
In order to ensure successful implementation,
researchers determined that daily use of
technology, particularly in core classes,
resulted in a higher return on investment.
In fact, daily technology use led to better
discipline, better attendance, and, eventually,
increased college attendance.
CONCLUSION
Education administrators are under pressure
to achieve enhanced learning outcomes with
constrained budgets. They are challenged to
personalize learning–an objective that might seem
like a budget buster to some. However, pioneering
educators from many states are now demonstrating
that the appropriate implementation of technology
can raise performance by many measures.
ONLINE LEARNING AS FORCE FOR
PERSONALIZATION
Online learning is growing, offering a potentially cost-
effective means of personalizing learning and enhancing
outcomes. In 2009, more than 3 million students took
an online learning course—up from a mere 45,000 in
2000, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Most of the growth is occurring in the realm of blended
learning—where students rely on online technology
to attain greater personalization in adult-supervised
environments. Initially, these efforts were focused on
credit recovery labs and dropout recovery schools.
But now a growing number of schools are introducing
blending learning to their mainstream students.
Indeed, it promises to deliver better results—through
personalization—at lower cost than conventional
classroom education.
In a survey of 44 K-12 blended learning programs, the
Innosight Institute found that such approaches made
it possible for students to move at their own pace
and achieve mastery in their subjects, while enabling
teachers to play the role of guide and advisor—focusing
on helping students overcome key hurdles in their own
learning paths.
In a survey of 44 K-12
blended learning programs,
the Innosight Institute found
that such approaches made
it possible for students to
move at their own pace and
achieve mastery in their
subjects, while enabling
teachers to play the role
of guide and advisor—
focusing on helping students
overcome key hurdles in
their own learning paths.
5. 5SPONSORED BY INTEL AND LENOVO
SOURCES
Belissent, Jennifer (2011). “Schools Move Beyond the
Basics: Competition Will Drive Technology into the
Education Market,” Forrester Research, February 2011.
Christensen, Clayton, Michael Horn and Curtis Johnson
(2008). Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will
Change the Way the World Learns, McGraw Hill.
“Empowering the 21st Century Superintendent,”
Consortium for School Networking, 2010.
Horn, Michael, and Heather Staker (2011). “The Rise of
K-12 Blended Learning,” Innosight Institute, January 2011.
“Laptop Initiatives: Summary of Research Across Six
States,” North Carolina State University’s Friday Institute
for Educational Innovation, March 2011.
“The Intellectual and Policy Foundations of the 21st
Century Skills Framework,” Partnership for 21st Century
Skills, 2011.
“The Technology Factor: Nine Keys to Student
Achievement and Cost-Effectiveness,” Project Red, 2010.
