Evolving Pedagogy with 1:1 Computing and T2K's Digital Teaching Platform Damian Bebell, Boston College with

Rinat Shahaf-Barzilay and Dovi Weiss

Abstract
This study uses a wide range of both qualitative and quantitative measures to examine the effects of Time to Know's 1:1 computing program on teaching and learning in four New York City public elementary schools. It describes the programs implementation and its impact on students, teachers, and schools, while focusing on changes in teaching and learning practices; increased student motivation and engagement in the classroom; student attendance and achievement patterns. Results highlight both the opportunities and challenges of implementing next generation educational technologies in an urban, public school environment. Although research on 1:1 computing initiatives has found largely positive results, one of their most common shortcomings has been the lack of curricular resources and aligned digital content. Recognizing this, the Israeli based Time to Know has recently developed a full multimedia teaching platform aligned to the Common Core ELA and Math curriculum. Although teacher directed, the major elements of the program run on individual (1:1) student laptops. Research: The study employed a pre/post matched comparison design to document and track the impacts of the Time To Know program on teaching and classroom practices in approximately 40 self-contained 4th and 5th grade classrooms across four diverse NYC public schools. Four matched comparison schools were identified and recruited for the study in each pilot school neighborhood. The research employs student and teacher surveys, student drawings, student and teacher focus groups, principal interviews, informal classroom observations, analyses of students standardized test performance, student performance indicators embedded in T2K assessments, analyses of school records, and analyses of Time To Know logs and activities. Main findings: Within the first year of implementation, a number of important teaching and learning changes were observed across the participating classrooms, including increased student engagement, 21st century learning practices, and marked changes in teacher and student attitudes. T2K teachers, for example, reported greater increases than comparison teachers in how often they planned and used assessment results to inform instruction. Over 80% of participating teachers reported that T2K had positively impacted their students engagement in class. Moreover, 92% of all students reported

that using T2K made school more fun 91% believed that T2K helped them learn math better, while 86% reported learning ELA better with T2K. In nearly every school, strong support for T2K was expressed verbally, along with a desire to change practices and adopt T2K throughout the ELA and math curriculum. However, actual practices were often quite variable across classrooms and schools during the two years of implementation examined.

This paper will be presented at ISTEs Annual Conference 2013 in San Antonio by Damian Bebell, Ph.D. from Boston College with Dovi Weiss, Ph.D. from Time To Know on June 24.