Date of Award

Fall 12-2006

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership and Research

Committee Chair

Ronald Styron

Committee Member 2

Gary Peters

Committee Member 3

John Rachal

Committee Member 4

Kyna Shelley

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between a laptop learning initiative, student achievement, technology proficiency, and attitude towards technology. The initiative, Project One-on-One, was designed to provide teachers with the ability to teach technology integrated lessons in classrooms with a student-to computer ratio of 1:1. This was accomplished by utilizing two mobile laptop labs that were financed through a national grant competition. The variables that were examined in the study were three years of eighth-grade student achievement scores from the criterion-referenced Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) test and the Louisiana Center for Educational Technology’s Technology Proficiency Self-Assessment Instrument for Students. The 2004 level of the independent variable year provided baseline information; while the 2005 and 2006 levels reflected the technology implementation outcomes. The results from the LEAP and the proficiency self-assessment were treated as the dependent variables. In the study, it was concluded that there was no significant relationship between the one-to-one computing provided by the laptop-learning initiative and the achievement of the test subjects as measured by the LEAP over a three-year period. However, the results indicated that there was a significant relationship in the improvement of student technology proficiency as indicated by the three years of accumulated student self-assessment surveys. The study also revealed that there was a significant relationship between the laptop-learning project and the positive attitudes towards technology and its use in the classroom. Additional findings indicated that there might have been significant relationships between the initiative and the movement of students from lower levels of achievement on the LEAP assessment to higher levels of achievement. Educational leaders may find the results of this study useful in formulating their own plans for assisting schools in meeting the No Child Left Behind Act o f2001 (NCLB) requirement that schools make “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) towards the goal that all schools improve student achievement in reading and math by the year 2014.

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