Monday, April 9, 2007

Evaluation Framework

Of particular interest to me as I am studying my school's 7th grade laptop initiative as part of my teacher inquiry project was this Evaluation Framework for 1-to-1 Computing. It provides prompts for research questions to use in evaluating a 1:1 initiative and to help guide the evaluation process. It looks at critical features of the 1:1 program such as the technology used (something I've discussed in my wondering about the "durability" of our ibooks); the setting;the implementation plan and the goals and objectives. The goals and objectives section will be especially critical in my research. I think this is where my district has dropped the ball. In my attempts to find out anything about the initial launch of this program, I have come up short. No one seems to understand completely what the vision was behind the program and what they wanted to see happen as a result. In the four years since its inception, no data has been collected to measure achievement/attitudes/challenges, etc. It also looks at interactions and immediate outcomes in terms of teaching and instruction, school leaders, infrastructure and support, schools and systems, schools and community and costs and funding. Finally, in terms of ultimate outcomes, it leads the researcher to look at the impacts on students and their learning, the "digital" divide, and economic competitiveness.

There is also a lit review link which offers reports on ubiquitous computing from 2003-2006 which I will examine in more detail. I had been thinking that it would be a good time to start putting some of the pieces together and figuring out how I wanted to organize my final paper and this seemed like a good organizational tool.

Ann

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Ann: We are currently having discussion regarding a laptop issue on our ballot this May. Would you be interested in having a conversation with our "Community Diaries" or at least posting your thoughts on our page? You can reach us at www.communitydiaries.org or via email at communitydiaries@gmail.com. We look forward to learning from your experience.

Crystal Crozier said...

First of all, I think you have found a very good resource, Ann. I like the way it is organized. It is very easy to navigate.

In the "Teaching and Instruction" section, I found this question to be very important" "What is the impact on teachers’ interactions with one another and on teacher communities? Are teachers sharing what they are learning?"

I know we've talked about professional learning a lot, but what about teacher interaction? Do you see a lot of interaction between teachers at your school on a technological level, or any level for that matter? I do know that I "try" to share what I've learned in these classes with my peers, but I don't always do a good job because they often look at me with blank stares.

There has got to be some kind of way for everyone to share what they are learning, and I don't think grade level meetings once a week for about thirty minutes are going to suffice. What do you think? (Maybe a wiki! LOL!)