Student Reflections on 1:1

Twelve months ago, Union Pines High School began their 1:1 experiment with Chromebooks. In this Student Feature issue of CBiE I asked UPHS junior Bailey Marona, to share her thoughts on the first year of implementation. Here is what she had to say...

...The first time I heard we were getting Chromebooks I was thrilled to know that we would be allowed to use technology more in a classroom setting. The Chromebooks, although they have their disadvantages, have made my high school education easier and more manageable. In class I am able to do research all over the web and use specific sites such as Quizlet, PowerSchool, and Google Classroom on a regular basis to help me study, prepare for tests and also manage all of my school work. This year I was introduced to Google Classroom and I must say this is my favorite website that I use with my Chromebook. This site allows me to turn in all of my work online and know when things are due and never have to worry about losing papers or being absent. Even when I am absent, I am able to turn in work on my Chromebook and get makeup work so I don’t get too behind. The Chromebooks have also allowed me to better stay in touch with my teachers about deadlines and my teachers are also able to send reminder emails that help out a lot. (Its hard to remember all the things that go on everyday in the life of a junior). In the past 12 months I’ve learned to enjoy classes more due to the fact I get to interact with the information I am being taught. In two of my classes, I do all my work on the Chromebook. These are the two classes that I am most successful in and I feel like I learn the best in. My all time favorite thing about the Chromebook is that there is  no more sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher talk while you scribble notes down that you can’t understand later that night. Typing my notes electronically is faster, easier to study, and more efficient. Now that we have the Chromebooks I don’t think I could go back to the way school was 12 months ago. I am very glad that the school system saw the need to supply us with these tools. They have been put to good use and will help me each day get one step closer to graduation...

Thanks Bailey and we hope you will share your insights with us again soon!

Will Herring

Moore County Schools
DIF Team

Why we chose Chromebooks

In order to get an idea of which device would be best for teaching and learning in Moore County Schools, we conducted a test / pilot of 5 different types of devices- a 15" HP laptop, an 11" Macbook Air, and 3 different types of Google Chromebooks (Lenovo X131e, Samsung 3 series and Samsung S550).  For the first 2.5 months of the 2013-2014 school year, 12 teachers and over 850 students participated in this pilot, using their devices daily to collaborate, create, and publish digital work.  

Students and teachers were asked to provide feedback on:

1. What qualities in a laptop were most important to them
2. How well each laptop was able to handle collaboration, creation, and publication
3. How easy or difficult the devices were to use and manage in the classroom.

Below are the results of this research

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1.  What qualities in a laptop were most important to students?

Question:  When selecting a technology device for school, what is most important to you?

 

In 3 of the top 4 categories, Google Chromebooks were clearly superior (Long Battery Life, Starts up Quickly, Easy to use Google Drive).  In the 4th, "Allows me to Express my Creativity", our pilot showed us that each device performed this task equally well.

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2. How well each laptop handled collaboration, creation, and publication

The culmination of our pilot was a common project created by students that showcased their abilities to collaborate, create, and publish utilizing the devices they had been given.  Each group of teachers worked collaboratively to design and implement this common project.  

Topics for Common Projects:

English I (High School):  Comparing and Contrasting how different authors utilized literary devices to enhance their writing

Biology (High School):    Studying Transgenic organisims, DNA Fingerprinting, and associated ethics issues

7th/8th Grade ELA:      Self-selected informational writing

On November 21st, 2013, selected students showcased their final publications to our MCS senior leadership team, School Board, parents, community members, and the media.

Selected Student Work Samples for each device / project

English I

Connor and Jack	Pinecrest HS	Google Chromebook	Project Link
Sara	Union Pines HS	HP Laptop	Project Link

Biology

Chris	North Moore HS	Google Chromebook	Project Link
Katarina	Union Pines HS	HP Laptop	Project Link

7th/8th Grade ELA

Ryan	New Century MS	Macbook Air	Project Link
Victoria	Elise MS	Google Chromebook	Project Link
Karlye	Westmoore MS	Google Chromebook	Project Link

After carefully reviewing this student work, our digital leadership team agreed that each project was high quality and that there were no measurable differences in quality based on device used.

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3.  How easy or difficult the devices were to use and manage in the classroom.

Through student and teacher interviews, it was determined that:

• Google Chromebooks had very little learning curve and were easy to manage
• Macbook Airs had the largest learning curve but were also easy to manage
• HP Laptops had the smallest learning curve but had management issues (battery life, weight)

We were able to determine that possible negatives to overcome were the screen size of selected devices (11") and the lack of a full-size keyboard.  In order to be corrective with this feedback we are planning on ordering a Chromebook with a 14" screen size and full-size keyboard.

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When all data was considered and our leadership team felt good that each of the devices would work well with our students, fiscal responsibility entered the conversation.  The Chromebook cost significantly less than the other devices considered.   This made the logical conclusion that we could accomplish all of our goals with Google Chromebooks as our student's main device for both school and home.

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Cross-Posted to Moore @School website