For more information see the link below:

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/05/07/ed-tech-group-ids-ways-to-help-boost-achievement/

]]> http://projectred.org/news/?feed=rss2&p=100 0 http://projectred.org/news/?p=90 http://projectred.org/news/?p=90#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:43:26 +0000 admin http://projectred.org/news/?p=90 Properly Implemented Technology Improves Learning and Saves Money
for Beleaguered Schools
New research identifies nine key factors that make the difference

Click read to download the press release

]]> http://projectred.org/news/?feed=rss2&p=90 0 http://projectred.org/news/?p=79 http://projectred.org/news/?p=79#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:34:36 +0000 admin http://projectred.org/news/?p=79 Results reveal that one-to-one computing programs can have a big impact on achievement if properly implemented

Schools with one-to-one computing programs have fewer discipline problems, lower dropout rates, and higher rates of college attendance than schools with a higher ratio of students to computers, according to the results of a major new study. But for one-to-one programs to boost student achievement as well, they must be properly implemented, the study found.

Sixty-nine percent of the schools in the study reported that their students’ achievement scores on high-stakes tests were on the rise. Among schools with 1-to-1 computing programs, that figure was 70 percent. But it was 85 percent for schools with 1-to-1 computing programs that employed certain strategies for success, including electronic formative assessments on a regular basis and frequent collaboration of teachers in professional learning communities.

The findings come from Project RED (Revolutionizing Education), a national initiative that aims to prove that when properly implemented, investing in technology can boost student achievement and will result in monetary savings for schools and local governments. The survey results will be revealed June 28 at the annual International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference [Editor’s Note: For more live coverage

Click read to read the entire eSchool News article

News Highlights
• Technology-assisted classes help students stay in school – reducing drop-out rates.
• Schools with 1:1 learning programs, when properly implemented, have better education
success than do schools with fewer computing devices and poor implementation.
• But 80% of schools under-utilize technologies they have already purchased.
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June 28, 2010, Denver Colorado – At ISTE 2010, the Project RED Team (Revolutionizing Education) announced findings from their major survey of nearly 1,000 school principals and technology coordinators. “The most exciting findings were identification of which implementation factors improve learning outcomes,” said Tom Greaves, CEO of the Greaves Group and founder of the initiative.

Download the Full Version of the Project Red Press Release – June 28, 2010

Download ISTE 2020 Presentation on Project RED

Students who have participated in 1:1 computing report higher achievement and increased engagement, according to findings of studies published in a special issue of the Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment, published by Boston College’s Lynch School of Education.

The journal’s January 2010 edition represents the first-ever collection of peer-reviewed research articles examining the impacts of providing every teacher and student their own laptop computer in school — typically know as “1:1 computing.”

“This new collection of articles brings together some of the best evidence to date on the implementation and impacts of 1:1 computing,” said Boston College Assistant Professor of Education Laura M. O’Dwyer, a co-editor of the journal, which is housed jointly in the Technology and Assessment Study Collaborative (inTASC) and the Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation and Educational Policy (CSTEEP) at Boston College.

The journal includes co-editor and Lynch School researcher Damian Bebell’s evaluation of a pilot program in Massachusetts’ Berkshire County. Bebell found the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative produced improved performance in English and writing, though results for math achievement were flat. Overwhelmingly, the laptops got students excited about school.

Bebell said that across all of the studies contained in the journal, one common link is clear: the value of teachers committed to making 1:1 computing work.

“One of the most salient findings was the critical role that teachers played in the success of each 1:1 program,” Bebell said. Additional factors critical to student success across 1:1 technology settings included:

• Having a strong commitment from school leadership
• Developing consistent and supportive administrative policies
• Creating professional development opportunities for teachers, particularly the sharing of best practices

All of the studies that examined the impact of 1:1 computing on student achievement found that students in the 1:1 settings outperformed their traditional classroom peers on English/Language Arts standardized tests by a statistically significant margin. Study authors also reported on evidence of increased student motivation and engagement, as well as changes in teachers’ instructional practices.

It is recognized that properly implemented ubiquitous technology (UT) in schools positively impacts student achievement, transformation of teaching and learning, and the overall education system’s efficiency/cost effectiveness.

One of the Project Red goals is to identify models of best practice in UT schools that lead to the above findings.  We are seeing preliminary trends in technology rich schools relative to leadership, professional learning for teachers and administrators, funding, problem-based teaching and learning, ed tech sustainability and funding.

Following is an overview of these initial findings.

Teacher Professional Learning in Technology Rich Schools

Seventy-seven percent of the UT schools indicated that teachers’ professional learning has been very well and adequately implemented.  To transform from traditional to student-centered teaching and learning, the professionals need consistent, high quality opportunities to grow and learn how to make the shift.  In these schools, this has been clearly a top priority.

Rate of Effectiveness of Teachers’ Professional Learning in UT Schools

Use of Problem-Based Learning in Technology Rich Schools

Twenty-six percent of UT schools engage problem-based learning activities many times a day and daily.  32.3% do so on a weekly basis.  Problem-based learning is a strategy for integrating 21^st century skill development within curriculum and instruction.  This technique engages collaboration, projects, high level thinking and strategizing within content areas.

Rate of Problem-Based Learning Use in UT Schools

Principal’s Professional Learning in Technology Rich Schools

Leadership is the single most important factor for transforming schools.  To lead the required changes, unique professional growth experiences are needed.  It is significant that the Project Red identified UT schools demonstrate strong commitment to the principals’ ongoing training opportunities.  Thirty-eight percent of UT principals are engaged in ongoing professional development.  11% participated in short or long term courses.

Principals’ Professional Learning In Technology Rich Schools

Funding Sources for Technology Rich Schools

One hundred percent of the identified ubiquitous technology schools are funded through the district’s operating or capital outlay budgets. 38% are funded through state or federal competitive grants.  Demonstrated here is ubiquitous technology schools’ district or school level commitment of existing funds to implement the vision.  Allocation of operating and capital outlay budgets indicates internal control for present and future funding.  Reliance on grants (soft money) to fund these initiatives comes with greater uncertainty for long term sustainability.  Grants are not long term resource solutions and rely on others’ decision making to provide funding to districts/schools.

Stay tuned as the Project Red team continues to provide early insights into this groundbreaking research project!!

“We are looking at how teaching and learning practices by both principals and teachers lead to improved learning and financial savings,” says Jeanne Hayes, one of the co-authors of Project RED. “Partnering with Project Tomorrow makes sense since we can compare the difference in learning practices as described by school principals with opinions about school technology by their student respondents.”

According to Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, “Since our goal is to prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s innovators, Speak Up has always focused on students’ aspirations and views on technology in learning. We believe comparing the Speak Up survey findings to those of Project RED may lead to some interesting comparisons of technology-rich schools to others.”

Both surveys are offered online with Dec. 2009 deadlines. Take the Project Tomorrow survey by Dec. 23 and the Project RED survey by Dec. 31.

by Leslie Wilson

Project Red’s early results are in. They provide a peak into what is happening in technology rich school environments around critical success factors.  Findings directly speak to ‘Race to the Top’ criteria of ‘Teacher and Principal Reform’ which is 28% (highest value) of the grading criteria.

It is recognized that properly implemented ubiquitous technology (UT) in schools positively impacts student achievement, transformation of teaching and learning, and the overall education system’s efficiency/cost effectiveness.

One of the Project Red goals is to identify models of best practice in UT schools that lead to the above findings.  We are seeing preliminary trends in technology rich schools relative to leadership, professional learning for teachers and administrators, funding, problem-based teaching and learning, ed tech sustainability and funding.

With your help and participation:

• We’ll see dramatic improvements in student achievement — statewide.
• Education Technology funding will be substantially increased and will be a standard line item of budgets, less susceptible to whimsical cuts.

Join Project Red by encouraging schools and districts you are associated with to take the survey.

Click here to view the full presentation.