From roypea at stanford.edu Fri May 4 06:01:04 2007 From: roypea at stanford.edu (Roy Pea) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 15:01:04 -0700 Subject: Correction: One less worry for the underprivileged children of the world Message-ID: <8BB1128E-20F7-413B-8F01-AFADE92ABA82@stanford.edu> One less worry for the underprivileged children of the world: Remember all that buzz last week about how the One Laptop Per Child program's XO computer might end up able to run a version of Windows as an alternative to the open-source OS designed for it (see "OK, that's $176 for the laptop, $3 for Windows and $500 for the remote tech support")? Well, forget it. Apparently the major wire services and other news outlets latched on to a random info-nugget and extrapolated to the extreme. Microsoft is indeed one of more than 1,500 companies accepted to OLPC's developer program, does have access to XO prototypes and has made vague noises about developing for the machine, but that's the extent of it, according to Walter Bender, president of software and content at OLPC. Bender told the folks at Ars Technica that his group has made no agreement with Microsoft, held no talks regarding the use of Microsoft's $3 Student Innovation Suite, and received no requests from governments for a Windows version of the XO. "We are a free and open-source shop. We have no one from OLPC working with Microsoft on developing a Windows platform for the XO. MS doesn't get any special treatment from OLPC," Bender told Ars. Comment on this post From Good Morning Silicon Valley -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chan at cl.ncu.edu.tw Mon May 7 15:05:35 2007 From: chan at cl.ncu.edu.tw (Tak-Wai Chan) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 15:05:35 +0800 Subject: Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops In-Reply-To: <6219957c1b095b47f885a899191e6fa7@kf.oise.utoronto.ca> References: <7.0.1.0.2.20070414173920.04878e78@imag.fr><8BC366E077C50C4D99A2C515A4CDE5290CDF63@NSF-BE-04.ad.nsf.gov> <6219957c1b095b47f885a899191e6fa7@kf.oise.utoronto.ca> Message-ID: <003d01c79076$1c9a1870$0202fea9@Chanx60> Jianwei, This is another news about one-to-one computing in schools, which Chen-Chung, my colleague who is now visiting University of Colorado at Boulder, sent me. Success of one-to-one will probably lie on this one-to-one group through establishing successful experimental classes and schools. Tak-Wai ======= Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops By WINNIE HU May 4, 2007 New York Times LIVERPOOL, N.Y. - The students at Liverpool High have used their school- issued laptops to exchange answers on tests, download pornography and hack into local businesses. When the school tightened its network security, a 10th grader not only found a way around it but also posted step-by-step instructions on the Web for others to follow (which they did). Scores of the leased laptops break down each month, and every other morning, when the entire school has study hall, the network inevitably freezes because of the sheer number of students roaming the Internet instead of getting help from teachers. So the Liverpool Central School District, just outside Syracuse, has decided to phase out laptops starting this fall, joining a handful of other schools around the country that adopted one-to-one computing programs and are now abandoning them as educationally empty - and worse. Many of these districts had sought to prepare their students for a technology-driven world and close the so-called digital divide between students who had computers at home and those who did not. "After seven years, there was literally no evidence it had any impact on student achievement - none," said Mark Lawson, the school board president here in Liverpool, one of the first districts in New York State to experiment with putting technology directly into students' hands. "The teachers were telling us when there's a one-to-one relationship between the student and the laptop, the box gets in the way. It's a distraction to the educational process." http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html > -----Original Message----- > From: discussion-bounces at g1to1.org > [mailto:discussion-bounces at g1to1.org] On Behalf Of Jianwei Zhang > Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 4:38 AM > To: > Subject: School boards in Toronto ban cellphones and personal devices > > Dear G1:1 folks, > > I want to share with you this news because I believe it > presents a big challenge that the G1to1 community needs to > deal with. On Wednesday evening, Toronto District School > Board, the largest school board in Canada, voted > overwhelmingly in favour of a motion to force students to > turn off their cellphones and other personal electronic > devices such as BlackBerrys, once they walk through the > school doors. Another smaller school board has already passed > a similar ban in February. They also have a plan to ban other > devices, like iPod in schools. Major concerns about these > devices include: > --cellphones caused disruptions in class, distracted students; > -- cheating by accessing the internet on their phones or > receiving answers via text message; > -- Safety and privacy issues as the result of the video and > picture functions. > http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/04/19/toronto-cell > phones.html > > This is apparently not good news for technology developers > like Apple, who is envisioning the next generation computing > based on cellphones! This is another example of the conflict > between technology as an "invading species", using Yong > Zhao's term, and the school ecology; and the tension between > the educational and "childcare" functions of schools. Solid > research and design work needs to be done to demonstrate what > mobile devices can do for teaching and learning in order to > win these schools back. In term of technology per se, I'm > thinking whether there should be cellphones and other > handhold devices specially designed for school students that > can help address schools' concerns in some way. > > Jianwei > > > > > ================================= > Jianwei Zhang > Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology > OISE/University of Toronto > > From valerie.crawford at gmail.com Fri May 4 23:49:26 2007 From: valerie.crawford at gmail.com (Valerie Crawford) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 08:49:26 -0700 Subject: NYT article: Schools drop laptop programs Message-ID: A somewhat disturbing article on laptop initiatives in US schools. Valerie [image: The New York Times] [image: Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By] ------------------------------ May 4, 2007 Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops By WINNIE HU LIVERPOOL, N.Y. ? The students at Liverpool High have used their school-issued laptops to exchange answers on tests, download pornography and hack into local businesses. When the school tightened its network security, a 10th grader not only found a way around it but also posted step-by-step instructions on the Web for others to follow (which they did). Scores of the leased laptops break down each month, and every other morning, when the entire school has study hall, the network inevitably freezes because of the sheer number of students roaming the Internet instead of getting help from teachers. So the Liverpool Central School District, just outside Syracuse, has decided to phase out laptops starting this fall, joining a handful of other schools around the country that adopted one-to-one computing programs and are now abandoning them as educationally empty ? and worse. Many of these districts had sought to prepare their students for a technology-driven world and close the so-called digital divide between students who had computers at home and those who did not. "After seven years, there was literally no evidence it had any impact on student achievement ? none," said Mark Lawson, the school board president here in Liverpool, one of the first districts in New York Stateto experiment with putting technology directly into students' hands. "The teachers were telling us when there's a one-to-one relationship between the student and the laptop, the box gets in the way. It's a distraction to the educational process." Liverpool's turnabout comes as more and more school districts nationwide continue to bring laptops into the classroom. Federal education officials do not keep track of how many schools have such programs, but two educational consultants, Hayes Connection and the Greaves Group, conducted a study of the nation's 2,500 largest school districts last year and found that a quarter of the 1,000 respondents already had one-to-one computing, and fully half expected to by 2011. Yet school officials here and in several other places said laptops had been abused by students, did not fit into lesson plans, and showed little, if any, measurable effect on grades and test scores at a time of increased pressure to meet state standards. Districts have dropped laptop programs after resistance from teachers, logistical and technical problems, and escalating maintenance costs. Such disappointments are the latest example of how technology is often embraced by philanthropists and political leaders as a quick fix, only to leave teachers flummoxed about how best to integrate the new gadgets into curriculums. Last month, the United States Department of Education released a study showing no difference in academic achievement between students who used educational software programs for math and reading and those who did not. Those giving up on laptops include large and small school districts, urban and rural communities, affluent schools and those serving mostly low-income, minority students, who as a group have tended to underperform academically. Matoaca High School just outside Richmond, Va., began eliminating its five-year-old laptop program last fall after concluding that students had failed to show any academic gains compared with those in schools without laptops. Continuing the program would have cost an additional $1.5 million for the first year alone, and a survey of district teachers and parents found that one-fifth of Matoaca students rarely or never used their laptops for learning. "You have to put your money where you think it's going to give you the best achievement results," said Tim Bullis, a district spokesman. Everett A. Rea Elementary School in Costa Mesa, Calif., where more than 95 percent of students are Hispanic and come from low-income families, gave away 30 new laptops to another school in 2005 after a class that was trying them out switched to new teachers who simply did not do as much with the technology. Northfield Mount Hermon School, a private boarding school in western Massachusetts, eliminated its five-year-old laptop program in 2002 after it found that more effort was being expended on repairing the laptops than on training teachers to teach with them. Two years ago, school officials in Broward County, Fla., the sixth-largest district in the country, shelved a $275 million proposal to issue laptops to each of their more than 260,000 students after re-evaluating the costs of a pilot project. The district, which paid $7.2 million to lease 6,000 laptops for the pilot at four schools, was spending more than $100,000 a year for repairs to screens and keyboards that are not covered by warranties. "It's cost prohibitive, so we have actually moved away from it," said Vijay Sonty, chief information officer for the district, whose enrollment is 37 percent black, 31 percent white and 25 percent Hispanic. Here in Liverpool, parents have long criticized the cost of the laptop program: about $300,000 a year from the state, plus individual student leases of $25 a month, or $900 from 10th to 12th grades, for the take-home privilege. "I feel like I was ripped off," said Richard Ferrante, explaining that his son, Peter, used his laptop to become a master at the Super Mario Brothers video game. "And every time I write my check for school taxes, I get mad all over again." Students like Eddie McCarthy, 18, a Liverpool senior, said his laptop made him "a lot better at typing," as he used it to take notes in class, but not a better student. "I think it's better to wait and buy one for college," he said. More than a decade ago, schools began investing heavily in laptops at the urging of school boards and parent groups who saw them as the key to the 21st century classroom. Following Maine's lead in 2002, states including Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Dakota helped buy laptops for thousands of students through statewide initiatives like "Classrooms for the Future" and "Freedom to Learn." In New York City, about 6,000 students in 22 middle schools received laptops in 2005 as part of a $45-million, three-year program financed with city, state and federal money. Many school administrators and teachers say laptops in the classroom have motivated even reluctant students to learn, resulting in higher attendance and lower detention and dropout rates. But it is less clear whether one-to-one computing has improved academic performance ? as measured through standardized test scores and grades ? because the programs are still new, and most schools have lacked the money and resources to evaluate them rigorously. In one of the largest ongoing studies, the Texas Center for Educational Research, a nonprofit group, has so far found no overall difference on state test scores between 21 middle schools where students received laptops in 2004, and 21 schools where they did not, though some data suggest that high-achieving students with laptops may perform better in math than their counterparts without. When six of the schools in the study that do not have laptops were given the option of getting them this year, they opted against. Mark Warschauer, an education professor at the University of Californiaat Irvine and author of "Laptops and Literacy: Learning in the Wireless Classroom" (Teachers College Press, 2006), also found no evidence that laptops increased state test scores in a study of 10 schools in California and Maine from 2003 to 2005. Two of the schools, including Rea Elementary, have since eliminated the laptops. But Mr. Warschauer, who supports laptop programs, said schools like Liverpool might be giving up too soon because it takes time to train teachers to use the new technology and integrate it into their classes. For instance, he pointed to students at a middle school in Yarmouth, Me., who used their laptops to create a Spanish book for poor children in Guatemala and debate Supreme Court cases found online. "Where laptops and Internet use make a difference are in innovation, creativity, autonomy and independent research," he said. "If the goal is to get kids up to basic standard levels, then maybe laptops are not the tool. But if the goal is to create the George Lucas and Steve Jobs of the future, then laptops are extremely useful." In Liverpool, a predominantly white school district of nearly 8,000 students, one in four of whom qualify for free or reduced lunches, administrators initially proposed that every 10th through 12th-grade student be required to lease a laptop, but decided to make the program voluntary after parents protested. About half the students immediately signed up; now, three-quarters have them. At first, the school set up two tracks of classes ? laptop and non-laptop ? that resulted in scheduling conflicts and complaints that those without laptops had been shut out of advanced classes, though school officials denied that. In 2005, the school went back to one set of classes, and bought a pool of 280 laptops for students who were not participating in the lease program. Soon, a room that used to be for the yearbook club became an on-site repair shop for the 80 to 100 machines that broke each month, with a "Laptop Help Desk" sign taped to the door. The school also repeatedly upgraded its online security to block access to sites for pornography, games and instant messaging ? which some students said they had used to cheat on tests. Maureen A. Patterson, the assistant superintendent for instruction, said that since the laptop program was canceled, she has spoken to more than 30 parents who support the decision and received five phone calls from parents saying they were concerned that their children would not have technological advantages. She said the high school would enlarge its pool of shared laptops for in-class use, invest in other kinds of technology and also planned to extend building hours in the evening to provide computer access. In a 10th grade English class the other day, every student except one was tapping away on a laptop to look up food facts about Wendy's, McDonald's, and Burger King for a journal entry on where to eat. The one student without a computer, Taylor Baxter, 16, stared at a classmate's screen because she had forgotten to bring her own laptop that day. But in many other classrooms, there was nary a laptop in sight as teachers read from textbooks and scribbled on chalkboards. Some teachers said they had felt compelled to teach with laptops in the beginning, but stopped because they found they were spending so much time coping with technical glitches that they were unable to finish their lessons. Alice McCormick, who heads the math department, said most math teachers preferred graphing calculators, which students can use on the Regents exams, to laptops, which often do not have mathematical symbols or allow students to show their work for credit. "Let's face it, math is for the most part still a paper-and-pencil activity when you're learning it," she said. In the school library, an 11th-grade history class was working on research papers. Many carried laptops in their hands or in backpacks even as their teacher, Tom McCarthy, encouraged them not to overlook books, newspapers and academic journals. "The art of thinking is being lost," he said. "Because people can type in a word and find a source and think that's the be all end all." -- --Valerie -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From yishaym at gmail.com Tue May 8 18:30:53 2007 From: yishaym at gmail.com (Yishay Mor) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 11:30:53 +0100 Subject: NYT article: Schools drop laptop programs In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Saw this last week, and couldn't resist throwing in my 2p: http://www.noe-kaleidoscope.org/people/yish/blog/start-0_-2007-05-08_read-87 Stop press: Shlepping a chunk of plastic and wires does not improve your grades. Winnie Hu from the NYT writes about schools ditching their laptop programmes for lack of results . A must read. When the school tightened its network security, a 10th grader not only found a way around it but also posted step-by-step instructions on the Web for others to follow (which they did). Wow. Talk about problem solving. Collaborative learning. These kids are obviously learning something. Well, the school, and the reporter, where not that impressed Yet school officials here and in several other places said laptops had been abused by students, did not fit into lesson plans, and showed little, if any, measurable effect on grades and test scores at a time of increased pressure to meet state standards. That is surprising, given the reports from Maine Attendance is up. Detentions are down. Just six months after Maine began a controversial program to provide laptop computers to every seventh grader in the state, educators are impressed by how quickly students and teachers have adapted to laptop technology." http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/nyregion/05LAPT.html?ex=1179268008&ei=1&en=469140e27abd5a63 "You hear kids say: I feel smarter now", "some say it has transformed the relationships between students and teachers" http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4660781 The answer is at the end of the article. A teacher is quoted: "Let's face it, math is for the most part still a paper-and-pencil activity when you're learning it," she said. In the early 19C schools in America and Europe introduced slates and number frames as means for maths instruction. Until then, the standard method was - a teacher reading out of a text book, and students chanting after. Exams were oral, and students were expected to recite textbook proofs down to variable names. I can see the Winnie Hu of the day quoting a teacher: "Let's face it, learning maths is still for the most part repeating after the teacher. A slate just gets in the way." ___________________________ Yishay Mor, Researcher, London Knowledge Lab http://www.lkl.ac.uk/people/mor.html http://yishaym.wordpress.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/yishaymor http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=yishaym%40gmail.com +44-20-78378888 x5737 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From yishaym at gmail.com Tue May 8 18:35:15 2007 From: yishaym at gmail.com (Yishay Mor) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 11:35:15 +0100 Subject: and now - the $99 laptop (+ $13 / month backup service) Message-ID: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cheap-pc/zonbu-to-roll-out-99-linux+based-computer-this-summer-258177.php Zonbu to Roll Out $99 Linux-Based Computer This Summer There's a cheap computer on the way that undercuts them all, the $99 Zonbu, due this summer in a silent-running form factor that's about the size of a paperback book. It has 4GB of flash memory on board, and automatically backs up a copy of your data online. Besides that $99 purchase price, you'll also pay $12.95 a month (for 25GB,scales up to 100GB for more money) to store its data on the Zonbu servers, giving you the ability to compute anywhere with this tiny device, or access your data from other PCs. If you don't commit to a service plan, the little PC costs $250. -- ___________________________ Yishay Mor, Researcher, London Knowledge Lab http://www.lkl.ac.uk/people/mor.html http://yishaym.wordpress.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/yishaymor http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=yishaym%40gmail.com +44-20-78378888 x5737 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jon.dron at brighton.ac.uk Tue May 8 19:09:20 2007 From: jon.dron at brighton.ac.uk (Jon Dron) Date: Tue, 08 May 2007 12:09:20 +0100 Subject: $99 laptop too expensive: try $10 instead In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <46405A60.7060709@brighton.ac.uk> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/HRD_hopes_to_make_10_laptops_a_reality/articleshow/1999828.cms Cheaper than a paperback novel, if it comes off. Note that they already believe that they can achieve a $47 laptop, including labour charges, which is half the price of my hardback book. -- Dr Jon Dron National Teaching Fellow Head of Learning Environments School of Computing, Mathematical and Information Sciences University of Brighton Watts Building, Lewes Road, Brighton, E. Sussex, BN2 4GJ tel: +44 (0) 1273 642480 fax: +44 (0) 1273 642405 web: http://www.cmis.brighton.ac.uk/staff/jd29/ New book: Control and Constraint in E-Learning, http://www.cmis.bton.ac.uk/staff/jd29/research/inandoutofcontrol.html From rory at athabascau.ca Tue May 8 23:50:08 2007 From: rory at athabascau.ca (Rory McGreal) Date: Tue, 08 May 2007 09:50:08 -0600 Subject: NYT article: Schools drop laptop programs In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <0JHQ0L6A2BZK3F@local.athabascau.ca> Valerie, In the 1820's in Ontario Canada, there was a Teacher's Association resolution condemning slates use in schools. The teachers were concerned that the slates were expensive and that students no longer knew how to roll birch bark for writing on. Also, I remember when in school in the 50s, in England, the teachers would not let us use ball point pens (biros) because they were expensive and we would not learn how to use our wooden quill pens properly. All the best. Rory _____ From: discussion-bounces at g1to1.org [mailto:discussion-bounces at g1to1.org] On Behalf Of Yishay Mor Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 4:31 AM To: Valerie Crawford Cc: discussion at g1to1.org Subject: Re: NYT article: Schools drop laptop programs Saw this last week, and couldn't resist throwing in my 2p: http://www.noe-kaleidoscope.org/people/yish/blog/start-0_-2007-05-08_read-87 Stop press: Shlepping a chunk of plastic and wires does not improve your grades. Winnie Hu from the NYT writes about schools ditching their laptop programmes for lack of results . A must read. When the school tightened its network security, a 10th grader not only found a way around it but also posted step-by-step instructions on the Web for others to follow (which they did). Wow. Talk about problem solving. Collaborative learning. These kids are obviously learning something. Well, the school, and the reporter, where not that impressed Yet school officials here and in several other places said laptops had been abused by students, did not fit into lesson plans, and showed little, if any, measurable effect on grades and test scores at a time of increased pressure to meet state standards. That is surprising, given the reports from Maine Attendance is up. Detentions are down. Just six months after Maine began a controversial program to provide laptop computers to every seventh grader in the state, educators are impressed by how quickly students and teachers have adapted to laptop technology." http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/nyregion/05LAPT.html?ex=1179268008 &ei=1&en=469140e27abd5a63 "You hear kids say: I feel smarter now", "some say it has transformed the relationships between students and teachers" http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4660781 The answer is at the end of the article. A teacher is quoted: "Let's face it, math is for the most part still a paper-and-pencil activity when you're learning it," she said. In the early 19C schools in America and Europe introduced slates and number frames as means for maths instruction. Until then, the standard method was - a teacher reading out of a text book, and students chanting after. Exams were oral, and students were expected to recite textbook proofs down to variable names. I can see the Winnie Hu of the day quoting a teacher: "Let's face it, learning maths is still for the most part repeating after the teacher. A slate just gets in the way." ___________________________ Yishay Mor, Researcher, London Knowledge Lab http://www.lkl.ac.uk/people/mor.html http://yishaym.wordpress.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/yishaymor http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=yishaym%40gmail.com +44-20-78378888 x5737 __ This communication is intended for the use of the recipient to whom it is addressed, and may contain confidential, personal, and or privileged information. Please contact us immediately if you are not the intended recipient of this communication, and do not copy, distribute, or take action relying on it. Any communications received in error, or subsequent reply, should be deleted or destroyed. --- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From valerie.crawford at gmail.com Wed May 9 01:04:18 2007 From: valerie.crawford at gmail.com (Valerie Crawford) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 10:04:18 -0700 Subject: NYT article: Schools drop laptop programs In-Reply-To: <0JHQ0L6A2BZK3F@local.athabascau.ca> References: <0JHQ0L6A2BZK3F@local.athabascau.ca> Message-ID: Yes, the historical perspective sheds a great deal of light on the dynamics of technology in schools -- the interplay of morphogenesis (in this case the introduction ICT and all its affordances in schools) and morphogenesis (an institution's (schooling) tendency to resist change in form and structure). Today, when technology and society are changing schools and universities need to recognize that they are preparing students for jobs that don't exist today in which technologies that today aren't imagined will be integral. That indicates that teachers and schools need to learn to be much more agile with the integration of new technologies as well as teaching students to be adaptive and continuous learners, to keep up with technology, knowledge, social change, etc. Of course, learning technologies are a huge investment and public institutions need to be strategic in how the appraise and adopt technologies--but simply decrying that technologies don't fit with the institution of schools is obviously not the solution. I note that the Institute of the Future / Knowledge Works Foundations Map of the Future Force Affecting Education predicts a significant change in the institution of schooling (e.g., unbundled education; participatory pedagogy) ( http://www.kwfdn.org/map/map.asp). These changes are driven, of course, in part by the dominant model of 1:1 computing -- outside of schools. Thanks for your posts. Valerie On 5/8/07, Rory McGreal wrote: > > Valerie, > > In the 1820's in Ontario Canada, there was a Teacher's Association > resolution condemning slates use in schools. The teachers were concerned > that the slates were expensive and that students no longer knew how to roll > birch bark for writing on. Also, I remember when in school in the 50s, in > England, the teachers would not let us use ball point pens (biros) because > they were expensive and we would not learn how to use our wooden quill pens > properly. > > All the best. > > Rory > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* discussion-bounces at g1to1.org [mailto:discussion-bounces at g1to1.org] > *On Behalf Of *Yishay Mor > *Sent:* Tuesday, May 08, 2007 4:31 AM > *To:* Valerie Crawford > *Cc:* discussion at g1to1.org > *Subject:* Re: NYT article: Schools drop laptop programs > > > > Saw this last week, and couldn't resist throwing in my 2p: > > http://www.noe-kaleidoscope.org/people/yish/blog/start-0_-2007-05-08_read-87 > > *Stop press: Shlepping a chunk of plastic and wires does not improve your > grades. > * > > Winnie Hu from the NYT writes about schools ditching their laptop > programmes for lack of results. A must read. > > When the school tightened its network security, a 10th grader not only > found a way around it but also posted step-by-step instructions on the Web > for others to follow (which they did). > > Wow. Talk about problem solving. Collaborative learning. These kids are > obviously learning something. Well, the school, and the reporter, where not > that impressed > > Yet school officials here and in several other places said laptops had > been abused by students, did not fit into lesson plans, and showed little, > if any, measurable effect on grades and test scores at a time of increased > pressure to meet state standards. > > That is surprising, given the reports from Maine > > Attendance is up. Detentions are down. Just six months after Maine began a > controversial program to provide laptop computers to every seventh grader in > the state, educators are impressed by how quickly students and teachers have > adapted to laptop technology." > > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/nyregion/05LAPT.html?ex=1179268008&ei=1&en=469140e27abd5a63 > > > "You hear kids say: I feel smarter now", "some say it has transformed the > relationships between students and teachers" > > http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4660781 > > > The answer is at the end of the article. A teacher is quoted: > > "Let's face it, math is for the most part still a paper-and-pencil > activity when you're learning it," she said. > > In the early 19C schools in America and Europe introduced slates and > number frames as means for > maths instruction. Until then, the standard method was - a teacher reading > out of a text book, and students chanting after. Exams were oral, and > students were expected to recite textbook proofs down to variable names. I > can see the Winnie Hu of the day quoting a teacher: > > "Let's face it, learning maths is still for the most part repeating after > the teacher. A slate just gets in the way." > > > > ___________________________ > Yishay Mor, Researcher, London Knowledge Lab > http://www.lkl.ac.uk/people/mor.html > http://yishaym.wordpress.com > https://www.linkedin.com/in/yishaymor > http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=yishaym%40gmail.com > +44-20-78378888 x5737 > -- --Valerie -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeremy.roschelle at sri.com Tue May 22 00:56:59 2007 From: jeremy.roschelle at sri.com (Jeremy Roschelle) Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 09:56:59 -0700 Subject: [Fwd: FW: [FYI, from IDB] Expression of interest request: 1-to-1 computing monitoring and evaluation] Message-ID: <4651CF5B.7050304@sri.com> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: FW: [FYI, from IDB] Expression of interest request: 1-to-1 computing monitoring and evaluation Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 09:53:13 -0700 From: Edmond Gaible To: Jeremy Roschelle Jeremy, hi, You may know someone from an eligible country who would be interested in the 1:1 evaluation opportunity described below. Best, Ed Gaible ------ Forwarded Message From: mtrucano at worldbank.org Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 12:33:56 -0400 To: mtrucano at worldbank.org Subject: [FYI, from IDB] Expression of interest request: 1-to-1 computing monitoring and evaluation Hello everyone, I am sending along a request for expression of interest (just received) from colleagues at the Inter-american Development Bank related to an evaluation of 1-to-1 computing initiatives, in case it might be of interest to you or qualified people/firms you know. I note that 'Eligible firms must be from one of the following countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Canada, Finland, Japan, Netherlands, Korea, United Kingdom'. The deadline for response is 24 May 2007. If you have any questions, please follow-up with IDB directly; I am just passing this RFP along as a courtesy. Cheers, Mike (See attached file: Expression of interest - EvaluationFramework.doc) ================================== Michael Trucano mtrucano at worldbank.org infoDev -- The World Bank 2121 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC 20433 USA http://www.infodev.org tel: [+1] 202-473-9841 , fax: [+1] 202-522-3186 ================================== ------ End of Forwarded Message -- jeremy Jeremy Roschelle SRI International 333 Ravenswood Ave, BN-376 Menlo Park CA 94025 phone: 650 859-3049 fax: 650 859-4605 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Expression of interest - EvaluationFramework.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 36352 bytes Desc: not available URL: From chris.teplovs at utoronto.ca Wed May 23 10:39:08 2007 From: chris.teplovs at utoronto.ca (Chris Teplovs) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 22:39:08 -0400 Subject: Intel's Classmate PC Message-ID: <627a93b90705221939o2644fe49vdc3f66473f3c15c0@mail.gmail.com> There's a BBC story about Negroponte's response to the Classmate PC ( http://www.classmatepc.com/) at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6675833.stm . See also the discussion at Slashdot: http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/21/187257. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From yishaym at gmail.com Thu May 24 19:53:12 2007 From: yishaym at gmail.com (Yishay Mor) Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 12:53:12 +0100 Subject: Intel's Classmate PC In-Reply-To: <627a93b90705221939o2644fe49vdc3f66473f3c15c0@mail.gmail.com> References: <627a93b90705221939o2644fe49vdc3f66473f3c15c0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: see also: http://olpc.tv/2007/05/21/60-minutes/ On 23/05/07, Chris Teplovs wrote: > > There's a BBC story about Negroponte's response to the Classmate PC ( > http://www.classmatepc.com/) at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6675833.stm > . See also the discussion at Slashdot: http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/21/187257 > . > > > _______________________________________________ > connect with G1:1 community -> discussion at g1to1.org > subscribe/unsubscribe G1:1 discussion mailing list -> > http://mail.g1to1.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion > > -- ___________________________ Yishay Mor, Researcher, London Knowledge Lab http://www.lkl.ac.uk/people/mor.html http://yishaym.wordpress.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/yishaymor http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=yishaym%40gmail.com +44-20-78378888 x5737 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: