Up a Creek without a Paddle

“Up a creek without a paddle” explains teachers' views of the new one-to-one laptop initiative implemented by the Ministries of Education in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia. These new initiatives required teachers to change their pedagogy and to negotiate the digital divide that existed between themselves and their students. This study uses the phenomenological research methodology to examine the experiences of teachers in Trinidad and Tobago and in Saint Lucia in implementing one-to-one laptop initiatives. Six secondary school teachers, three from Trinidad and Tobago and three from Saint Lucia, were interviewed to explore the barriers or fences they had to negotiate in the implementation of the one-to-one laptop initiatives. Findings reveal that while some teachers have the competence to integrate ICT in the classroom, others, mainly digital immigrants, lack basic technological skills and/or the required pedagogical skills to engage their students, the digital natives. Discussion and recommendations focus on assisting teachers to obtain the paddle to navigate the creek by building on existing theoretical frameworks that support the use of technology to enhance learning and prepare students for the global economy.

ICT-enabled innovation in technology rich schools?

This article takes its point of departure from the main findings from research into four upper secondary schools that have implemented digital technology through one-to-one laptop initiatives. Various data sources have been used in order to identify and understand how teaching and learning are organised and the reasons why and how digital technologies are used in educational settings. This is a response to a demand for more knowledge regarding the ways in which desirable changes of education can be realised and the potential role of educational technology this process. The conclusion drawn is that fundamental transformations in education are less concerned with technology and have more to do with changing structures and discourses regarding teaching, learning and education.

Digital Technology Integration in American Public Schools

This paper explores the literature review on 1:1 laptop initiatives in America’s digital schools and school district efforts to integrate technology into classroom instruction to maximize student learning. The findings indicate that the much needed instructional integration has not kept pace with the increase in available instructional technology tools. Therefore, there is need for school districts to focus on appropriate technology development activities that could help teachers and students to overcome the barriers in technology integration. Further, school leaders must make sure that the technology integration practices translate to proactive laptop implementation to enhance effective student-centered learning in the digital age.

Implementing a Laptop Program within a College of Pharmacy

There has been a lot of change within pharmacy education over the past 15 years as schools and colleges of pharmacy, either independently or collaboratively with their institution, have invested in the use of technology for the processes of teaching, learning and assessment. One of the changes brought with the evolving technology is the onset of laptop initiatives. Theses are programs in which students bring either a provided or pre-determined laptop to classes and the use of technology within the program is greatly enhanced. Implementing a laptop initiative is a long term process requiring planning, implementation and budgetary support. This article provides an overview of the different ways a laptop initiative can be implemented, the pros and cons of different methods, the reasons for starting a laptop initiative, and some general challenges.

Domestication of a laptop on a wireless university campus: A case study

<span>This study reports how university students domesticate their personal laptops at the beginning of studies on a wireless campus. The aim was to examine how students integrate the laptop into their personal education experience, what sort of processes were experienced to render the laptop useful and meaningful, and how gender and IT proficiency influenced this process. Qualitative interview data with twenty students (identified and selected by quantitative survey) was analysed using the grounded theory approach during which a multi-aspect domestication process was identified. Results highlight the importance of a structured way of organising laptop initiatives in universities. It is important that students have the kind of support available that best suits their needs. Pedagogically, successful domestication enables students to integrate the computer into their learning experience. However, we argue that successful domestication allows the artefact to become more than just a tool for learning, but also an integral part of an individual's existing media environment. In effect, comfort of use and IT capability is regarded as only one way of expressing successful domestication. This article adds to the growing number of studies using domestication as an analytical and theoretical framework and considers the phenomenon in an under-researched area.</span>

Perceptions of Laptop Initiatives

Parallel to advancements in information technology usage, there are increasing demands for basic computer skills at minimum from today’s college graduates. As a consequence, many colleges and universities have chosen to stimulate campus laptop initiatives as a way to provide their students opportunities to grow their computer skills and experiences. However, the success of laptop programs is very much dependent on the degree to which students and faculty are accepting a laptop environment and are willing to implement such programs. Defining which conception factors are necessary is essential for successful implementation. This study examines such factors by focusing on university student perceptions of required laptop programs in order to distinguish which factors they perceive as important. In understanding what factors encourage student support of laptop initiatives, such programs can be made more useful to students as well as more beneficial to universities.