The use of digital technologies in a 1:1 laptop initiative

The use of digital technologies is now a natural part of schoolwork in many schools. The use of digital technologies and the conditions for technology-enhanced learning and school development were studied in two schools, an upper-secondary school and a compulsory school, over a period of 3 years, exploring the student, teacher, school leader, and school perspectives. In this small study, two surveys (N = 26; N = 17) were used to provide further insights into the compulsory school, by exploring the parent perspective of a 1:1 laptop initiative. Laptop use in the classroom was seen as a potential pedagogical tool for structure and support in learning activities, student responsibility for schoolwork, and issues of digital equity. Challenges included increased laptop use, difficulties regarding insight into and monitoring of schoolwork and homework, students’ focus on schoolwork in the classroom environment, and physical aspects. The results show that the parent perspective provides important insights for teachers, school leaders, and school organizers that may help support students’ learning through the use of digital technologies in the classroom.

The Pandemic and Higher Education

None of the papers presented here reflects on the Pandemic situation. In due time, journals will be filled with research papers on the effects and workings of the Pandemic for academics, students and organizations in higher education. One general theme will be if the changed contexts for teaching and learning we have seen in the time span from February/March 2020 until the present situation will throw significant light into how the future will be. In a report presented by the US organization EDUCAUSE, well before the pandemic, the following trends were foreshadowed: In the social domain, wellbeing and mental health, demographic changes and equity and fairness will be high on the agenda. In the technological domain, AI, new digital learning environment, and leaning analytics and privacy questions will cause concern. In the economic domain, cost, adjustment to the labour market and climate change will take foreground. In the political domain, decreasing funding, estimation of value of higher education and political polarization will need attention. Finally, the dynamics of higher education itself will influence our path to the future: changes in student population, alternative pathways to education and online education. None of these forecasts anticipated the demands of a rapidly evolving pandemic globally. The latter points of the list provided by EDUCAUSE have been the focus of this journal over the last 17 years. We have seen trends come and pass, and watched trends oscillate with the shifts of fashion. In our experience we see that global actors take over the market: Blackboard, Moodle and Canvas. ZOOM and Webex are winning similar positions and a host of add-ons and potentially brilliant contenders try to gain the same advantages. One example comes to mind: one software – no name mentioned – cost a Norwegian institution nkr 30 000 for a license for a studentbody of 40 000 – before the pandemic. After the pandemic, the price for a smaller institution with a studentbody of 15 000, has risen to nkr. 350 000. Another example: the realization of strict GDPR regulations in Europe hampers the use of software in significant ways. The main VLE/LMS-configurations are affected by the different GDPR-arrangements in US vs. other continent and states. The global market for educational software are seriously affected by the globalization and the escalating disharmonies in international collaboration. It does not help that some providers act like profiteers at this time and age. In this edition of our seventeenth volume we offer five articles. In the first, Marcia Håkansson Lindqvist of Mid Sweden University, contributes with an analysis of one Swedish one-to-one laptop initiative. Her take is on how parents conceive of this phenomenon. She describes how the initiative was a mixed blessing, and one sees easily its applicability to the present condition for most student. In the second paper, Rob Miles, of the United Arab Emirates University, has written the paper: “Identifying the contradictions in the technology enhanced language classroom”. It contains an account of a theoretically sophisticated – and highly critical research project in a region not often reported from in Northern academic journals. The paper questions the positive impact of a 1:1 laptop initiative in a context quite different from the Swedish example. Tor Jørgen Schjelde and Ingrid Nilsen Lie of Tromsø University, the Arctic University, present the third paper: “The impact of emotions on learning and motivation in producing and presenting digital stories.” Digital stories have been a strong interest for this journal over the years, and their paper opens new avenues of research into the role of emotional engagement in the production – and reception of digital stories. Three authors, Reidun Lied, Hanne Maria Bingen of VID specialized University and Simen A. Steindal of Lovisenberg Diaconal University College present the paper: “Collaborative Online Learning Using a Blended Learning Design for a Physiology Course in Nursing Education”. It describes an implementation of Salmon’s model for online collaborative learning in a blended learning context for part-time nursing students. Salmon’s model is widely used and is here contesting its applicability for this group of students. Last, Brita Bjørkelo of Norwegian Police University College/University of Bergen, Aslaug Grov Almås of Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and Ingrid Helleve of the University of Bergen present their joint paper: “Perceived adequate education in ethics:A way to tap into ethical Social Networking Sites awareness?”. It provides a very good argument for applied training in ethical issues in teacher training also will prepare them for counteracting illegitimate student use of Social Network Sites.

School Leadership of a One-to-One Laptop Initiative

This qualitative case study examined school leaders’ roles, perceptions, and challenges leading a one-to-one (1:1) laptop initiative in a coeducational, independent middle, and high school in the United States. The findings revealed how the school leaders led the school’s 1:1 laptop initiative through collaborative, yet differentiated roles and responsibilities. Together, they established the school’s vision, planned and implemented the initiative, supported teachers and students, reflected on their practice, and made changes as needed. Generally, the school leaders regarded the 1:1 laptop initiative as having a positive impact on teaching and learning by increasing student collaboration and access to information, as well as fostering teachers’ reconceptualization of their practice. However, the impact on student achievement was inconclusive; they explained it was too early to gauge its impact. Challenges the school leaders experienced involved limited bandwidth, printing problems and students’ off-task behaviors. They addressed them as they would any nontechnology challenge through problem-solving, shared decision-making, and fidelity to the school’s mission and goals.

Up a Creek without a Paddle

“Up a creek without a paddle” explains teachers' views of the new one-to-one laptop initiative implemented by the Ministries of Education in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia. These new initiatives required teachers to change their pedagogy and to negotiate the digital divide that existed between themselves and their students. This study uses the phenomenological research methodology to examine the experiences of teachers in Trinidad and Tobago and in Saint Lucia in implementing one-to-one laptop initiatives. Six secondary school teachers, three from Trinidad and Tobago and three from Saint Lucia, were interviewed to explore the barriers or fences they had to negotiate in the implementation of the one-to-one laptop initiatives. Findings reveal that while some teachers have the competence to integrate ICT in the classroom, others, mainly digital immigrants, lack basic technological skills and/or the required pedagogical skills to engage their students, the digital natives. Discussion and recommendations focus on assisting teachers to obtain the paddle to navigate the creek by building on existing theoretical frameworks that support the use of technology to enhance learning and prepare students for the global economy.

Google Docs in the Classroom: A District-wide Case Study

Background/Context Successful integration of educational technology is a complicated process that is influenced by multiple factors. Recently, both within and across schools, educators have been searching for cloud-based solutions to address the challenges of integrating educational technology into their school systems—assessing whether these programs are affordable, accessible, and well-suited to improve learning. While the popularity of cloud-based applications among educational institutions and students is rapidly increasing due to their enhanced sharing features, accessibility, and cost-efficiency, there have been few efforts to investigate the impacts of these cloud-based applications in educational settings, especially in K-12 settings. Purpose/Objective This paper examines how Google Docs, one of the most popular cloud-based software applications, is integrated into middle-school English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms in a school district with a laptop initiative. Specifically, this case study attempts to understand the contemporary challenges of implementing the collaborative web-based tool and its accompanying opportunities, as well as the contextual factors for its implementation within the district. Research Design This qualitative study followed a grounded approach to data analysis. Using primarily initial coding and thematic coding methods, we analyzed interviews, surveys (from 2,152 students and 25 teachers), classroom observations, and student documents collected over the course of the 2011–2012 academic year. Analysis revealed three key themes (access and workability, cost and practicality, and affordances for writing), as well as the contextual factors of Google Docs implementation (the district's focus on instructional goals and professional development). Conclusion/Recommendations Our case study suggests that the introduction of cloud-based tools was perceived by students, teachers, and district officials to make technology use more accessible and convenient, to enhance cost-efficiency and productivity, and, most importantly, to provide ample affordances for writing practice and instruction. The district-wide implementation of Google Docs provided broad, accessible, and affordable simultaneous access to students and teachers, while increasing their opportunities to improve writing skills through features such as feedback, revision history, and reader selection. We also identified key contextual factors that contributed to these favorable outcomes, such as the district's focus on curricular integration and professional development. As one of the few studies that explores cloud-based tools’ usability and benefits in K-12 settings, we hope to help school districts make informed decisions about adopting these applications for instruction. Though the particularities of context need to be taken into account, the case study nevertheless reveals a cloud-based environment's salient affordances for learning in a district-wide implementation context.

Possibilities and Challenges in a One-to-One Initiative from a School Leader Perspective

The uptake and use of digital technologies from a school leader perspective was studied in Unos Umeå, a One-to-One (1:1) laptop initiative between Umeå University and the municipality of Umeå in Sweden. Through a survey and interviews, school leaders at two schools were closely followed. Possibilities and challenges in school leaders' expected activities and activities during the first two years of the 1:1 initiative were analyzed using the Ecology of Resources Model and the analytical concept of filters (Luckin, 2010). How school leaders prioritize leadership for 1:1, lead to increase subject-specific collaboration for teachers, document best practice, work with administrative systems to structure and follow up teachers', students' and own work are reported. It is concluded that how school leaders lead to support the uptake and use of digital technologies in the classroom will have implications for sustaining school change and the work towards modern digitalized learning environments.

Going 1:1 with Laptop Computers in an Independent, Co-Educational Middle and High School

This chapter describes some of the findings from a QUAL + QUAN concurrent mixed method study that examined the first-year implementation of a one-to-one (1:1) laptop initiative in a suburban, independent, co-educational middle and high school in the United States. Overall, the 1:1 laptop implementation was viewed as a positive learning experience for students, teachers, staff, and the school administration. Nevertheless, several problems developed over the course of implementation. These were: technical problems, issues with student distraction and off-task behavior, inappropriate uses of technology, as well as challenges to pedagogical and classroom management, and inclusion of teachers' voices in implementation decisions. They are introduced in addition to several possible solutions. The chapter closes with suggestions for future research, such as the need to research 2:1 and 3:1 mobile technology initiatives, which are sure to become a part of the 21st century teaching and learning landscape.