For my thoughtful question, I chose the Virginia success story. This story was interesting for me since I have been part of the Pennsylvania Classrooms for the Future grant in my district for the last three years. In addition, laptops are the big item in many districts today. While it is great to have them, I often wonder how well they are really used. As the reading pointed out, how the technology is used is more important than the technology itself.
In Henrico County, within a three year window, all high school students and staff, middle school students and staff, and elementary staff received laptops. In all, over 28,000 laptops were deployed. The article goes on to stress that the goal was to use the laptops in a constructivist approach. Also important, this was done in a district where the amount spent per pupil was over $500 dollars less than the state average. In a six year window, the percentage of high school and middle school students using the Internet jumped from 5% to 100%.
In addition, students can now take online courses such as advanced math and science or even SAT prep courses. This district not only had a plan to purchase laptops, they had a plan to use them. The resulting awards Henrico county has received show how important this is to implementing technology. Administrators and teachers need to understand this before introducing new technologies. That is the only way to make them successful.
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