Developing a Research Agenda for Ubiquitous Computing in Schools

Abstract

Increasing numbers of states, districts, and schools provide every student with a computing device; for example, the middle schools in Maine maintain wireless Internet access and the students receive laptops. Research can provide policymakers with better evidence of the benefits and costs of 1:1 computing and establish which factors make 1:1 computing more or less effective. To think about the research that is most needed, a framework is discussed focusing on critical features of 1:1 initiatives (e.g., the technology used), interactions and intermediate outcomes (e.g., impacts on teaching and instruction), and ultimate outcomes (e.g., impacts on students and their learning). Some especially high priorities for research on 1:1 computing are identified and discussed, including: investigating the impacts on student achievement, especially for low-achieving students; understanding better the costs of 1:1 computing; and documenting the implementation and impacts of large-scale 1:1 initiatives.

Ubiquitous Computing: a Primer

“…More and more schools are offering classes on ubicomp [19]. At graduate level, such classes may require students to have background knowledge in several areas such as communication networks, distributed computing, and software engineering [20].…”

One-to-One Computer and Language Development in a Multilingual Classroom

“…Research shows that in some cases, teachers in one-to-one computer environments change their teaching style and that pupils become more active participants, more engaged in their schoolwork, and more constructive in their learning (Angrist & Levy, 2002;Bebell & Kay, 2010;Donovan et al, 2007;Mouza, 2008;Zucker, 2004). Other research indicates that teachers do not succeed in integrating computers productively in their instruction (Bebell & Kay, 2010).…”

“…This can be that pupils participate more (Donovan, Hartley, & Strudler, 2007), but also that there is a teaching method whereby the pupils become more active regarding constructing their own knowledge (Mouza, 2008;Zucker, 2004). Teachers also believe that pupils in a one-to-one computing environment are more engaged in the schoolwork, that they become more skillful at looking up information, and that both learning results and cooperation increase (Bebell & Kay, 2010).…”

Informing one-to-one computing in primary schools: Student use of netbooks

“…• more student centred approaches (Donovan, Hartley & Strudler, 2007;Swan, Hooft, Kratcoski & Unger, 2005;Zucker & Hug, 2008); • flexible and constructivist teaching styles (Mouza, 2008;Rockman, 2003;Zucker, 2004); and • delivery of learning episodes which are more project oriented and inquiry based (Swan, Hooft, Kratcoski & Schenker, 2007).…”