Case #7 Evaluating the Impact of a k-12 Laptop Program

1. Case #7Evaluating the Impact of a k-12 Laptop Program by Darryl Spradley Ail 606

2. Start of the program • Program was implemented in rural Anderson South Carolina • Bradley Cook mill owner and a Tech person from Toh Inc. discussed the possibility of laptops for k-12 schools • Mr. Cook decided to do it without the school systems knowledge. • He told the teachers and administrators at their winter meetings with the news media present • Tech coordinator Tina Sears was put in charge of developing goals and evaluation tools for the program

3. Anderson County School District Pilot Laptop Program • Program goals The purpose of the pilot laptop program is to : 1. Equip each 5th-grade classroom with high- performance laptop computers 2. Ensure students and teachers are computer literate 3. Increase student achievement through the use of laptop computers

4. Professional Development Plan • Fifth grade teachers will attend: • 2 week summer seminar and monthly 3 hour sessions during the school year • Teachers will perform three types of activities: experiencing classroom simulations, creating materials and resources to support technology integration efforts, and practice modeling scenarios to build implementation and management skills

5. Implementation • Eight 5th grade classrooms • 1 school year • Teachers implemented the lessons taught during PD • Students were engaged and teachers became more active in the classroom

6. Initial Evaluation • Add ‘ technology use’ to district annual teacher observation • Collect video tapes of successful laptop use • Conduct teacher focus groups to see how the teachers feel about using laptops • Give teachers, students, and parents a survey to see how they feel about the use of laptops • Compare last year’s test scores with this year’s

7. Evaluation report • Mr. Cook Emails Superintendant because he is unhappy with the report • He is happy about the positive attitudes of teachers, students, and parents • He is unhappy that test scores did not improve • He is going to pull the funding unless the system can come up with another plan • The new plan must be submitted in front of all the stakeholders.

8. New Plan • Mr. Cook paid for outside help to come up with a better evaluation instrument • Tina contacted the Pd trainer from the summer • He recommended a nationally known school evaluator Dr. Lisa Colm • Dr. Colm presented to the stakeholders to take the pressure off of Tina • Dr. Colms team came up with stakeholder questions

9. Stakeholder Questionsby Colm’s team • Do teachers teach differently when lessons include student use of computers? • In what Way do parents support the laptop program? • How do students’ scores change, if at all, in the ITBS? • In which subject areas do student ITBS scores increase the most? • How often do students use the laptops? • In which subjects do students use laptops the most? • Do students behave differently when they us laptops? • How confident do teachers feel to integrate students use of computers into their instruction?

10. First evaluation Add ‘technology use’ to districts annual teacher observation Collect video tapes of successful laptop use Conduct teacher focus groups to see how the teachers feel about using laptops Give teachers, students, and parents a survey to see how they feel about the use of laptops Compare last year’s test scores with this year’s Second evaluation Do teachers teach differently when lessons include student use of computers? In what Way do parents support the laptop program? How do students’ scores change, if at all, in the ITBS? In which subject areas do student ITBS scores increase the most? How often do students use the laptops? In which subjects do students use laptops the most? Do students behave differently when they us laptops? How confident do teachers feel to integrate students use of computers into their instruction? Comparison of Plans

11. Class Discussion • Why did he give the system one more year? • What implications should testimonials have on making technology purchasing decisions? • How can stakeholders be convinced that learning can be measured other ways besides tests? • What techniques can be utilized to ensure unbiased results? • How would data collection have to change if implementation was holistic?