1 TO 1 Laptop Programs for Students Only As Good As the Teachers Who Integrate Them... Duh!

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/02/16/11-programs-only-as-good-as-their-teachers/

A recent set of studies compiled in an article published in studies were published in January by the the Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment suggests that 1:1 laptop programs employed by schools show positive academic gains in students ONLY when used in a classroom with an effective teacher who has the skills and pedagogical style necessary to use them as an effective tool for teaching and learning.  I am not sure that these are groudbreaking studies since nearly all data collected in classrooms about impacts on student achievement suggest the same thing: its the teacher stupid.  Having worked with technology and teachers for nearly fifteen years at all levels, I have never thought for one moment that ubiquitous access to technology for students was a panacea for increased academic achievement. Anecdotaly, I have been in classrooms where every student had a laptop and the teacher stood at the front of the room lecturing while clicking through slides on their smartboard. This is a technology rich classroom but not learning rich. On the other hand, I have witnessed teachers with only one computer in the classroom utilize it's power as one of many interesting and purposeful learning stations that students engaged in throughout the course of a class period. The difference no matter what instructional tool or resource you provide is the quality of the teacher using it.