learning anywhere, anytime through a laptop: a pilot study in a secondary school

LEARNING ANYWHERE, ANYTIME LEARNING ANYWHERE, ANYTIME THROUGH A LAPTOP: A PILOT THROUGH A LAPTOP: A PILOT

STUDY IN A SECONDARY SCHOOLSTUDY IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL

Adelina MouraAna Amélia Carvalho

University of Minho – Braga, PortugalLisbon, 5 , 7th July 2007

adelina8@gmail.com aac@iep.uminho.pt

STUDY DESCRIPTIONSTUDY DESCRIPTION

third term of 2005/2006

19 students of a secondary

school

laptop computers

1:1

ThinkPadIBM

VodafoneGPRS

3GPortuguês

On-lineproject

KEYWORDS

laptoplearninganywhereanytimemobilityflexibility

Português On-line ProjectPortuguês On-line Project

Contents tableContents table

Objectives Objectives

The main objective was to find out how teaching and learning change when students are provided with their own laptop computer with internet connection and how the students’ behavior was affected.

Data Data collectioncollection

Questionnaire The attitudes of the pupils to the use of the

laptop for accessing

informationTheir opinions regarding the

differences between

individual and collaborative

learning

CategoriesCategories

Mobility

MotivationSelf-learning

Communication

Interaction

engagement in the individual and collaborative learning

Categories Categories

in information research

in the learning of the curriculum

contents

on spare time usage

on individual and collaborative work

Impact on laptop use

Categories Categories Frequency of use one

laptop

accessing Portuguese curriculum activities

participation in the forum

working in different subjects

listening to Portuguese literature podcasts

publishing work in Wiki pages

using Messenger

playing

using email

downloading data

ResultsResultsMobility Liked the ability to access

infomation from anywhere90%

Motivation Take the iniciative to search information

89%

Self-learning Felt more autonomous in learning and carried out activities for other subjects

63%

Communication Interaction

They communicate more online than before and improved the performance of timid students

100%

ResultsResultsImpact on

laptop Use

(good)

In finding information In curriculum contentsIn collaborative workIn individual work

84%89%84%95%

Frequency of use one laptop (2/5 times

week)

Access activities Participation in forum Publish work in wiki pages School work

58 %74 %58 %58 %

ConclusionsConclusionsThe laptop program has improved student motivation to work in groups or individually;

It has increased interest in curriculum activities and in the school generally;

Students worked well, to organize their activities and to use laptops in an effective way;

Working with laptops allow students to have more leisure time;

ConclusionsConclusionsFlexibility and mobility were the most appreciated elements of this pilot study;

It enabled a much wider range of student interaction with course materials, with teachers and with each other;

The potential benefits of using laptops in school are improvements in student motivation, engagement, organization, homework completion and collaborative learning.

Future WorkFuture WorkWe intend to study the impact of mobile technologies (mobile phones, and Tablet PCs) in the teaching and

learning process

Two research questions- Which will be the implications of mobile technologies in individual and collaborative learning?- The mobile technologies will be able to contribute to change student’s attitude to the curriculum matters and school?

Thank you for your attention!

adelina8@gmail.com aac@iep.uminho.pt