Research Confirms Laptop Program – Connect Charter School

Research Confirms Laptop Program

The laptop program at the Calgary Science School is now entering it’s 5th year.

Our 1:1 program started in the fall of 2006 with 100 grade 6 students. This first year of the program was made possible through a Personalized Learning Initiative grant through the Alberta Government.
In the 2007/2008 school year the program expanded to grade 6 and 7 and the in fall of 2008 we moved to a full 1:1 program – all 600 students in grades 4-9 were provided with Apple Macbooks. After the first year of the program, we no longer had access to grant capital and had to internally cover the budget for the technology.
Over the course of the first three years of the program, the Galileo Educational Network conducted research on the impact of our laptop program on student engagement and learning. This research has recently been released and the result has been a number of news stories over the last week.
Overall, the outcome of the research is simple:

Laptops have an impact on student learning when combined with effective teaching practices.
Here’s a selection of the news stories about our laptop program and the research conducted so far:
This video comes from the University of Calgary’s media department:
http://www.jetvision.tv/Flash/embed.swf?videoID=53871&playerID=2
Schools pave way for digital future – Globe and Mail, Aug 18, 2010
Researchers like laptops in Calgary classroom – CBC, Aug 26, 2010
Technology aiding learning, researchers say – Calgary Sun Aug 29, 2010
Laptops can help: Study – Metro News, Aug 27, 2010
U of C researchers probe whether tech-savvy students have an advantage – Global Toronto, Aug 27th. (Video news story)
We are very open about discussing our laptop program and sharing our 5 year journey with interested teachers and schools.
If you would like to speak with us about our laptop program, or any of the elements of our school, please contact us. You can comment below with contact information or email our Outreach Coordinator, Neil Stephenson, at neil.s@calgaryscienceschool (dot) com.
We look forward to comments, questions and further discussion about this program.

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