Learning From “Lessons Learned”

 

From Literature

 

The following issues were taken from the sources that address lessons learned about providing laptops for all students.  These sources can be found at:

 

 Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students

http://www.neirtec.org/laptop/LaptopLessonsRprt.pdf

 

Bartels, F. (2002). Reflections on the RCDS [Rye County Day School] Laptop Program After Three Years. http://www.learningwithlaptops.org/files/3rd%20Year%20Laptop%20Prog.pdf

 

 

One-To-One Computing:
Lessons Learned and Pitfalls to Avoid

http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech197.shtml

 

Lessons Learned As Submitted by the Presentors

http://www.wfu.edu/~brown/educause/LLlist.htm

 

Review of State and National Laptop Initiatives

 

http://etc.usf.edu/L4L/A-Review.html

 

Synthesis of Research on the Use of 1 to 1 Laptop Computers

 

http://www.tcps.k12.md.us/research.pdf

 

Cyber Security: A Survival Guide

http://www.techlearning.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=60400188

 

Portable and one-to-one, untethered school computing goes mainstream

http://www.scholastic.com/administrator/article_wireless.asp

 

Apple. Profiles in Success: Gunderson High School – Beating the Odds.  

 http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/gunderson/index3.html

Apple. Profiles in Success: The Gillispie School – Ahead of the Wave

 http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/gillispie/index4.html

Apple. Profiles in Success: Gunderson High School – Beating the Odds.

http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/gunderson/index3.html

Apple. Profiles in Success: The Gillispie School – Ahead of the Wave.

http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/gillispie/index4.html

 

Edwards, M. (2002, July). Lessons Learned. District Administration

http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?id=188
 

Edwards, M. (2003, April). The Lap of Learning. The School Administrator. American Association of School Administrators. Retrieved August 25th, 2004 from http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2003_04/edwards.htm
 

Edwards, M. (2003, April). The Lap of Learning. The School Administrator. American Association of School Administrators. http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2003_04/edwards.htm

 

 

IBM ThinkTank

 

Here are tidbits that DCPS staff gathered:

 

• Plagiarism is more of a problem in classes that are NOT on-line.
• On-line courses are text-based only because they HAVE to be- in the near future they will be multimedia. This will happen as soon as broadband is pervasive.
• In leading threaded discussions, one professor grades by the ANSWERS that students contribute to other students. 
• Students will have to re-invent themselves many times over their lifetimes.  We need to give them the experiences and tools to enable them to do this.

Chuck Philips, Clovis  Unified School District   

• The biggest thing that we have to reform is our memories.
• Teachers post artwork and ask the kids to enter a chat room and debate what period the art work is from. This teacher requires correct grammar, spelling  and punctuation.  You  save the chat and grade the “discussion”.  This is group work that the teacher can monitor EVERY interaction.  If you are waking around the room, you can’t do that.
• Radius servers for MAC addresses and VLANs (one for students, one for staff at Clovis, grade groupings for different computer models, rooms)  PEEP Also won’t let students logon if Rapid Restore reverts to old version of the virus software. 
• “Feed the rabbits and starve the snails”
• Parents should use 1-800-IBM-SERV
•  On-line courses need to be very interactive both teacher to student and student-to-student.  Kids actually “listen” to each other on-line.
• CUSD Math Portal http://www.cusd.com/math/Default.htm
• Teaching American History site www.cusd.com/dalonline/tah
• Web-based formative assessment  Edusoft   Automatically scored tests.  Some district tests, some teacher made tests.
• Social Sciences and English are fine for on-line teaching, but Math and Science not so much.
• Criterion seems to work.  It scores a little high.  Great rough draft tool.
• Kay Jacobson at Telis Sanger Unified School District….
• Rensselaer worked with a company called “Kelty” to design a backpack
• Parents like a brochure handed to them at the beginning of the program- they won’t appreciate e-mails.
• Silicon Chalk is similar to Conference XP, and Webex  - Silicon Chalk doesn’t need a central server.
• Secure Exams- some say it works and some don’t.

 

Vital Books

·        Charles County Public Schools, MD (Jack Tuttle), uses Vital Books to distribute CRDs, Core Content, Program of Studies, and anything that is in our 3 ring binders.

·        They marked the on-line textbook with places where the Core Content is taught. 

·        They have lesson plans that link the primary sources that are already on the computer.  Students/ teachers can annotate these primary sources on their laptops.  The assessment items are links and embedded in the lesson plans.

Example –Under Unit 1 –Foundations of Government and Politics

Curriculum Guide Resources

Curriculum Map

Primary Documents

Textbook

 

·        Teachers will voluntarily amend the curriculum maps for their use over the summer!!!! Never did that when they were on paper.

·        Because the texts are resident on the computer, students and teachers can make notes “on the page”.  (Can’t do that on a web site)

·        Textbooks are on the VitalBooks site and the code will allow only so many downloads.

·        VitalBooks is working on a server solution so that the books don’t have to be on the individual computers (solves the hard drive crash problem)

·        VB 4.0 will allow you to share notes. (Will work like a shared calendar- Internet based)

 

Birds of a Feather Session

• New IBM tablet model will have only a USB CD Drive
• Clovis school district uses Novell’s iFolder for student documents. The advantage is that there is a synchronization between laptop and iFolder.  Students only get enough space that will fit on one CD.  This encourages them to back up!

 

Birds of a Feather Session

My question:  How do teachers deal with a class that only has a few laptops

·        Let the kids use them- they will show the teacher how they can be useful

·        Kids will explore resources about what is being taught.

·        Require these students to take class notes-  keeps them from being off-task

·        Do group work – kids will share.

·        Refuse to answer questions – make the students seek out answers.

 

PALS -  Portable Audio Labs

Software Secure is used at UNC to lock down the computer while kids are taking tests.  Securexam® Student  http://www.softwaresecure.com/

 

Students of Foreign Language need microphones.  .  CostCentral Website sells mikes for $1.50 apiece.  Students gave 80% of them back.

 

WavePad v 1.06

 

Saves directly to MP3.  Cut, copy, paste.

 

Students turn in their work in to BlackBoard.  They zipped the files- used WinZip. (Too many students not to)   UNC has documentation for students.

 

http://dey110.unc.edu/resources/

 

 

Also going to record lectures

 

Record in mono at 64 kbs to get small mp3 files.  Using 44000 sample rate.  Audacity does multitrack so that you can record your voice and then have students record and compare.  It is public domain.

 

Foreign language- use Skype to speak to people oversees for free.

 

Episcopal High School – 9 years of laptops

 

DO BAN CERTAIN SOFTWARE –Kaazaa, ESPN Motion,

Make sure you have spyware software.  Spyware Guard, Spyware Blaster, Ad-Aware, Spybot

 

Uses Rapid Restore - said it works better on the R51s.

Self-Maintainer is a money maker.  Their repair turnaround time is 2 hours.

Sends out computer tips throughout the year. 

Gives “Chalktalk” for football guys.

Laptop training guide is on the Blue Access Menu Guide-   see Powerpoint

 “LATER” –  Laptop and technology emergency repair

“CRASH”- computer repair and system help

Help desk training manual provided by LPD –

Kids are allowed to make the decision to re-image. All students must back up before they leave the computer at the desk.

Do have a deductible for parents – it goes to the school.  $50-$100  - maybe post jobs that they will have to do for the school.  Puts the responsibility on them! 

Info-Case required – reduced damage.  Cincinnati Moeller School

Lunch duty becomes a tougher job because of possible theft.  – Kids walk outside and drop their laptops.  – Bathrooms- People from outside come in and steal.  Need to talk to people who supervise lunch.  Any unattended laptop is confiscated.   Discipline principal reads them the riot act.  DMs??? Detention??? 1^st offense, 2^nd offense?

 

Any re-design of buildings- put power in the middle of the room kids to plug in.  Power rails to middle of room?  If we mount projectors, we will have power to the middle of the room-  have pull-down.

 

Harpeth School, Nashville TN

 

Health and PE teachers use Excel to track calories on weekday vs. weekend, Personal training stats, videotape performance and play back for review (slo-mo or not), have installed timing cameras on the track to time finishes, have installed video playback in the locker rooms so that they can review tape at half-time.

 

 

Girls Preparatory School – Chatanooga

Sacred Heart – Greenwich Conn.

 

Laptop listserv  schoolkit.com