Learning with Laptops: A Multi-Method Case Study

Abstract

This article examines the implementation of a one-to-one laptop program in three diverse schools in California. The program was carried out in one largely Hispanic low socio-economic junior high, one largely Asian Asian-American high-SES K-8 school, and in the gifted program in a medium-SES elementary school. Interviews, observations, surveys, and analysis of student work indicated that the program helped facilitate writing-intensive, information-rich, multimodal, and student-centered instruction. Analysis of test scores in English and mathematics indicate that laptop students failed to keep up with non-laptop students in the first year of implementation but made strong gains in the second year of implementation. Explanations for these outcomes are discussed.