1. What Happens When You Give Kids a Laptop to Take Home? Christopher I Cobitz, PhD Thomasville City Schools Miriam L. Wagner, EdD NC A&T State University

2. Agenda The project The computers Who did it What happened In room use Teachers mentors System Home use How it worked Mechanics Implications

3. MAH and PAH Federally Funded Under the GEAR UP program 3 middle school cohorts –Griffin Middle (Guilford Co.) –Ferndale Middle (Guilford Co.) –Thomasville Middle (Thomasville City)

4. Follow cohorts of year 2000 sixth graders Provide support services to assist students in succeeding –Academic, social, financial –Tutors –Mentors –Career exploration –Teacher supply money –Computer support –Technical assistance

5. Well…. They get Excited!

6. Laptops Part of parent communication Discounted by Compaq (Armada 100s) Internet by North State Telecommunications Microsoft Works CD-ROM Sometimes curriculum software

7. Who did it? Griffin –Nightly –Whole summer Thomasville –Nightly Ferndale –No

8. What happened and Why? Student attitude Excitement Mostly parents with computers at home (Griffin) –Differences, alternative methods to reach Touching statements – –“this is so nice I am glad somebody is doing this for my child” –“I don’t know much about these but my daughter will love this”

9. Some sad statements –“Why doesn’t my child get to keep it?” –“It doesn’t have anything on it” –“The game we bought didn’t work on it”

10. Yes they are all here! Have yet to lose one Backpacks not computer cases Compaq tech support is wonderful to us Only one incident, not a child Parents are excited Children ask for the check out

11. Classroom use In one school –Several students who had never gotten to touch a laptop –The whole class doing Math on computer –Science software –Wireless Internet –Writing in English class (writing process)

12. Teachers In service training Take home Direct assistance teaching a class Empowered Driven by student attitudes

13. Mentors Honed and refined skills Training sessions on websites Excitement

14. System Renewed interest in classroom technology Gave impetus Expanded to other technology uses –Labs –Other rooms –Administrative –Asked for 2 more sets

15. Home use Parent Training First Writing Practice for computer skills Internet Homework assignments Bumped

16. Mechanics Griffin –Media specialist check out –Change in personnel made issues Thomasville –Teachers check in –Issues for use in room

17. General issues –It can work –Need more time in the year –Less time in the summer

18. Implications for schools Technology can improve student attitudes Shows a positive impact on writing scores Shows a positive impact on technology skills Takes sometime for teachers to GEAR UP

19. Chris@cobitz.com Wagnerm@ncat.edu www.cobitz.com