Faculty of Education’s Sharon FriesenAs children of all ages head back to school this fall, many of them will have the benefit of having a laptop computer all to themselves. But does having this level of access to technology guarantee the individual student will be successful in their studies? According to two University of Calgary professors, access to technology is only one part of the equation.
In a unique research project conducted by the Faculty of Education’s Sharon Friesen and Michele Jacobsen, students at the Calgary Science School were provided with laptops and then observed over a three year period. The researchers and teachers employed a wide range of technologies including Flash animations, GarageBand, iMovie and digital photography, but the focus was also placed on how teachers adapted their lessons to dovetail with the new tools in the classroom.
Faculty of Education's Michele Jacobsen“The purpose of the investigation was to understand how students’ learning in grades four through nine is impacted in well-designed, well-supported, one-to-one personal technology-enabled environments,” explains Jacobsen.
“What we’ve found is that engaged teaching matters more than ever for learners and learning when computers come to school”, says Friesen. “Well designed lessons, combined with engaged teaching and a technology-rich environment all contribute to the formula for academically engaged students.” In other words, all elements—technology, students connected both literally and figuratively, and educators with the skills to incorporate various methods of teaching and learning—are necessary to create a winning formula for classroom success.
August 26, 2010
