Did the Laptop Computers Serve as a Change Agent?
The results from this 3-year project provide three distinct snapshots into tech-
nology integration, each with different results. Of primary interest are the
teaching approaches and how those approaches affected student behaviors
and achievement.
In Year 1, the evidence supports the idea of the innovation as a change agent.
There were dramatic differences between the approaches that the laptop and
traditional teachers employed during the year. The laptop teachers were more
likely to use a student-centered approach and methods that were considered
best practices. A student-centered approach was not a new concept to the
teachers, yet the teachers in the laptop classrooms were more likely to imple-
ment the approach. We believe there were three factors that contributed to the
change.
First, two pieces of anecdotal evidence may provide a perspective. The
students received their laptops in early July giving them almost two months to
explore and learn the Windows interface, explore the Web, and to explore
Microsoft Office. Two events happened in almost every classroom soon after
the school started. The first was a technical problem (e.g., ‘‘I lost my assign-
ment.’’) and second was a student wanting to know how to do something (e.g.,
‘‘How do I put a spreadsheet into a report?’’). Teachers soon realized the
limitation of their knowledge and readily recognized the knowledge and skills
of individual students. Good teachers soon realized they were behind the
students’ learning curve and readily adopted a facilitator’s role. When a pro-
blem arose, the teachers quickly lost their fear of not knowing and took
Did the Laptop Computers Serve as a Change Agent?The results from this 3-year project provide three distinct snapshots into tech-nology integration, each with different results. Of primary interest are theteaching approaches and how those approaches affected student behaviorsand achievement. In Year 1, the evidence supports the idea of the innovation as a change agent.There were dramatic differences between the approaches that the laptop andtraditional teachers employed during the year. The laptop teachers were morelikely to use a student-centered approach and methods that were consideredbest practices. A student-centered approach was not a new concept to theteachers, yet the teachers in the laptop classrooms were more likely to imple-ment the approach. We believe there were three factors that contributed to thechange. First, two pieces of anecdotal evidence may provide a perspective. Thestudents received their laptops in early July giving them almost two months toexplore and learn the Windows interface, explore the Web, and to exploreMicrosoft Office. Two events happened in almost every classroom soon afterthe school started. The first was a technical problem (e.g., ‘‘I lost my assign-ment.’’) and second was a student wanting to know how to do something (e.g.,‘‘How do I put a spreadsheet into a report?’’). Teachers soon realized thelimitation of their knowledge and readily recognized the knowledge and skillsof individual students. Good teachers soon realized they were behind thestudents’ learning curve and readily adopted a facilitator’s role. When a pro-blem arose, the teachers quickly lost their fear of not knowing and took
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