Site Visit: King Middle School

On Thursday, May 8th, Terry, Linda, Glenn, Eric, Ruth, and I traveled to Portland, Maine to learn about the King Middle School's 1:1 laptop program, and about expeditionary learning (EL). During our visit we toured the school and saw a class using their laptops, interacted with students showing their EL projects at the Portland Expo Center, and met with school staff to learn both about 1:1 and their EL school design.


BACKGROUND:
The school has 500 students in grades 6, 7 & 8 and is organized into 2 houses. Students loop from 6th to 7th grade with the same students and teachers. Staying in the same house, they then move on to grade 8.

I was surprised to learn that there are twenty-nine languages spoken in the school. It turns out that Portland is a Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement area. Consequently, there is a large ELL population and many of the students have never been in school before and are not literate in their first language.


LAPTOPS:
All 7th and 8th grade students at King have laptops for use in school as part of Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI), a state mandated and funded program that was introduced in 2000. Laptops arrived at King in 2002. The laptops and supporting network are paid for by the state. The school is in its 5th year of using the laptops and this year, and contingent upon parental sign-off, 7th and 8th grade students have the option to take their laptops home. For many families the $25 insurance plan cost is an obstacle. This year the sixth grade students also have laptops because the school bought the end-of-lease laptops (4 years old) from the state for $100 each.


EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING:
From the ELS page on the King Middle School site: "Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound (ELS) is a comprehensive K-12 educational design. Our approach combines rigorous academic content and real world projects -- learning expeditions -- with active teaching and community service". Each year students at King complete 2 10 - 12 week expeditions. The expeditions emphasize students as authors of their knowledge, and the opportunity to work with professionals related to their field work. To read more about ELS and see information about the specific expeditions at King go the site listed below.

http://king.portlandschools.org/files/onexpedition/onexpedition.htm


MY REACTION:
It was exciting to see students' work and interact with them at the Expo. They were very enthusiastic and eager to share their knowledge -- and were comfortable doing so. Whether it was an expedition about media literacy, warming waters, identity, or invasive species in the river, students were articulate about their knowledge and their products. Different technologies such as video, audio, posters that incorporated their analytical data and findings as well as graphics and writing were used to present their work.

It was interesting to see the combination of EL and laptops as their ways for preparing students for the 21st century. The expeditions and laptops facilitate collaboration, data gathering, investigation, and analysis as well as methods for product creation. I was also intrigued by the database course that all 7th graders take. This course is designed to help students know how to collect and determine the quality of data gathered, a critical skill in a world where the amount of information available doubles every three years. I think that this content is something for us to consider, though not necessarily as a stand-alone class.

I was a bit surprised to hear that students don't necessarily use their laptops everyday or at all in every class, although they do use them significantly to work on writing and for research. The expectation and mandate for integrating the laptops definitely seemed less formal and intensive than in other schools we've seen and what I would anticipate in Needham. It also seemed like there was less structured professional development around technology than at the Lilla G. Frederick. I wonder is this difference because of EL? Or is it because of limited resources? Or is this because in Maine since all 7th and 8th graders have them as part of a state program they don't have the same pressure to prove their effectiveness?

If we were to have them at Pollard I would like teachers to use the laptops extensively in their classrooms for a variety of reasons. To do so we would need to make this happen through ITS and peer provided professional development, embed the technology in the culture so it's not "one more thing to do". In Needham we would also have the pressure of needing to show the impact on student achievement.

It was an interesting day and a worthwhile trip. I look forward to everyone's reflections of the day.

Site Visit: Lilla G. Frederick Middle School

On Wednesday, Paula, Gayle, Jen, Laurie and I, went to Lilla G. Frederick Middle School in Dorchester to see their 1:1 wireless laptop program. The school, which opened in 2003, is in its second year with 1:1 laptops. Each of the 720 students has a laptop for use during the school day (they don't go home for safety reasons).

It was an incredible, inspiring environment where the passion and dedication to technology is really in the DNA of all who work there. Technology is in the culture top-down, bottom-up and everywhere in between. I think that's one crucial piece of what makes it work.

ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT THE SCHOOL:
http://www.lgfnet.org - their internal website with student, parent, teacher and community resources. Includes teacher websites, "rules of the road", pd documents, "bagels and laptops" calendar.

http://www.lgfpms.org - the Lilla G. Frederick Middle School homepage


There are at least 1,000 other things to say about all that we saw yesterday. I just want to get this post out there to start the sharing and the dialog.

Deb

YOUR Classroom Experience with the Laptop Carts

We're gathering data about whether a laptop initiative makes sense for us. Please share your thoughts about your experiences using the laptop carts with your classes here at Pollard.

Here's what we're looking for:

1. Here's what I tried...

2. Here's how it went...

3. What I/we learned from this experience

Next Step: Choose a Subtopic

We've moved from the "what and why laptops" to looking at the major issues and areas that need to be considered prior to making a recommendation about whether we should pilot a laptop program @ Pollard.

We will be gathering information about what other schools have done -- both by looking at data that is online and by visiting/contacting other schools. We will be looking at successes and failures because they both will provide us with valuable information and insight. I will be providing some of the guidelines and resources that you will need.

Following is a list of the subtopics and a sampling of the essential questions for each area. I'm asking each of you to read through this list of subtopics and then identify your top two choices. Let me know either by posting a response on the blog or by email. Contact me if you have any questions.


1. Classroom Management:

• How should the classroom be set up?
• How should the laptops be stored/charged?
• What are the policies about students' acceptable use and time management?
• What are the policies, procedures and mechanisms for monitoring student use?
• What level of tech-support/triage is available when there are technical issues during class? What is the role of the teacher and how should he/she be positioned to promote learning?

2. Financial Considerations:

• What are the different buying/leasing options?
• What are the implications of each?
• How is buying/leasing program administered?
• How do laptop programs impact the operational budget?
• What are the financial implications of hardware needs and personnel needs?
• What are the financial implications of implementation and logistics (network/infrastructure and miscellaneous)?

3. Implementation & Logistics:
a)Miscellaneous:

• What type of protective case should be required (and who should pay)?
• How are laptops insured?
• Where and how should laptops be stored (financial considerations as well)?
• Should extended warranties be purchased and if so, by whom? How can theft be prevented? What is an effective laptop program rollout/implementation timetable?

b) Network/Infrastructure -- a subtopic in its own right. It will be handled internally by Media & Technology Services department.


4. Professional Development:

• When should teachers receive their laptops -- i.e. how long before students?
• Who should be trained and by whom?
• What types of training are needed? (adult learning theory is a consideration)
• What is the learning curve?
• When does training happen?

5. Teaching & Learning:

• What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of students?
• How does curriculum need to change?
• What does a model less plan look like?
• How do you assess learning?
• What types of technologies are being used?

11/27/07 Meeting: Enhancing Student Learning

During today's meeting we watched video clips authored by schools and districts that have implemented 1:1 initiatives. In these videos, students, teachers, and administrators shared their thoughts on how their 1:1 laptop environments have enhanced and transformed student learning. Here are some of the recurring ideas we encountered about how 1:1 laptop environments enhance student learning:

• student-centered classrooms;
• teacher as coach/facilitator;
• students engaged in producing knowledge; ownership of knowledge -- not just the information;
• real learning, real-world connections;
• enables differentiated instruction;
• immediate exploration and development of understanding result in deeper understanding;
• students have pride of ownership of laptops;
• students have their own workspace, studios;
• empowering for students

Do you want to share more information about one of these ideas based on the video clip you watched? Does one of these ideas strike you as most important for enhancing student learning? Other? What are your thoughts?

Why a 1:1 Laptop Program @ Pollard?

One of the things that I have learned so far in my study of 1:1 is that schools must first have a clear idea of the rationale and goals of a 1:1 program. With that in mind, I would really like us to focus on WHY we want a 1:1 program. What do we want and hope students will gain from a 1:1 program?

Think about the articles we have read so far as well as the discussions we have had and then post an entry of what you think is important for Pollard students to gain. Start your entry with the statement:

A 1:1 laptop program is important for Pollard students because....

Our thinking around this issue will continue to develop and evolve over the course of the year. I look forward to your comments.

Readings for November 8th Meeting

After reading the introduction to Pamela Livingston's book 1-TO-1 Learning: Laptop Programs That Work, these are some ideas/statements that stood out as "jumping off points" for comment.

• Digital assistants (computers, PDAs) are different than "tools". Tools typically support one activity whereas digital assistants support broader thinking and learning.
• Digital assistants have more functionality than a Swiss Army knife.
• The world requires flexible, adaptable synthesizers of information to solve problems, connect ideas, make decisions, etc.
• Today's students are innately multi-taskers ("Millenials" - born between 1982 and 2000) and teachers are unitaskers. Should we hold students back and make them learn as we did?
• If we recognize and accept that students learn at their own pace, why are we asking them to wait for/share computers when we wouldn't think of asking them to share other resources/tools such as pencils, paper, books, etc.?
• Does genuine technology integration require 1:1 access?
• The two examples of "getting to thinking" faster mentioned by using digital assistants: Maine students studying the ships used by Christopher Columbus on his voyage to America and gathering and charting temperature data and getting to the "what ifs" of an increased temperature change.