Manchester Center, VT - October 25, 2011 - Vermont may be a small state, but it has been the epicenter of a project with the potential to transform modern American learning.  For the past three years, Digital Wish, a non- profit on a mission to solve technology shortfalls in American classrooms, has been modernizing classrooms throughout Vermont and carefully studying the process in order to create a model for replicating their 1:1 computing success on a national scale.  These tools were used to implement programs in 28 schools, and both teachers and students from across the initiative are reporting a wide array of gains including increased engagement in learning, technological proficiency, and dramatic increases in the understanding of internet safety issues. Planning time has been reduced from 18 months, down to just 6 weeks, saving schools tremendous amounts of time and money. The 2010-11 data report is below.



Digital Wish spent over a year researching successful and failed 1:1 computing initiatives across the country prior to implementing their own strategies. This intensive research period resulted in the identification of eight strands which must be addressed in order to build a sustainable 21st century learning program, such as leadership, community engagement, and curriculum. The absence of just one component creates a much higher risk of the initiative failing downstream.  



Pilot Phase - 2009-2010

With endorsements from Vermont’s major educational associations of principals, school boards, superintendents, IT coordinators, teacher’s unions, and six regional training centers, Digital Wish raised over $150,000 to fund four pilot sites in the 2009-2010 school year.  Across the pilot classrooms, trainers experimented with sharing computers between students, implementing mobile labs and computer carts, and crafting comprehensive 1:1 computing environments.  The Digital Wish team found that learning gains were so much higher in schools with one-computer-per-child that they abandoned shared computing and mobile computer labs, and pledged to only support 1:1 initiatives on a larger scale.  



Early results gathered through simple student surveys from the pilot schools show impressive statistics that support the importance of making 1:1 computing a top priority for schools nationwide.  Data from the pilot surveys showed:

• 73% of students agree that schoolwork is more enjoyable when using a computer.


• 85% of students report that they produce better work and pay closer attention to lessons when they use a computer.


• 95% of students report that it is important to have their own computer at school.


• Technology utilization doubled and even tripled across subjects for students and teachers, with biggest utilization increases realized in English and research.


• Within 3 months, comfort level with computing increased in every classroom.


• 86% of students say they get work done more quickly when using a computer.


• 85% of students report that having technology in school is important to their future.

**Please note that all statistics were gathered through informal surveys and Digital Wish does not make any conclusive “research-based” claims.



Through these early stages, Digital Wish gathered the resources and support necessary to scale the initiative statewide. According to Heather Chirtea, Digital Wish’s Executive Director, “It’s extraordinarily difficult to develop a successful initiative from scratch, because there are just so many decision points. Every school we enter is facing the same issues, and making the same decisions, and also making the same mistakes in isolation.  It’s an incredible waste of resources. We’ve implemented so many sites now, that we can explain the downstream ramifications of nearly every decision and stop schools from taking a wrong turn very early in the process. These hard-won lessons can be scaled across the state.”



Implementation Phase, 2010-2012

After securing $1.125 million from the Obama administration’s ARRA stimulus funds, Digital Wish planned the implementation of their school modernization program in 24 more schools statewide as a partner in e-Vermont: The Community Broadband Project. The trainers constructed six curriculum units based on the NETS standards for education, which were then taught throughout 24 schools.  These curriculum units will be made available nationally as online courses and as part of the 1:1 Technology Implementation Kit. In addition to the courses, the kit will include all of the model policies, printable worksheets, step-by-step leadership strategies, press plans, and sustainability resources necessary for any school to adopt the successful strategies.



By replicating their successes and strategies from the pilot program and building upon what they found successful as they worked in the 24 additional schools, Digital Wish’s School Modernization Initiative saved valuable resources and time.



“The first site took eighteen months of planning from our first contact with the school, to passing out computers in the classroom,” said Heather Chirtea, Executive Director of Digital Wish, “Our current deployment will reduce the entire planning process down to just two months.”



Survey data was collected from 719 teachers and students from 24 schools across Vermont. Most of the data reflects the differences in responses between the pre- and post- initiative surveys. The complete data report is attached. Listed here are some interesting reported gains:

• Workforce Prep - 93.1% of students say having technology in school is important in preparing them for the future.


• Importance - 90.2% of students say that it is important to their education to have their own netbook/computer during the school year.


• Comfort Levels - Over 50% more teachers reported they are now very comfortable with Internet research and safety, increasing from 40% to 63%.


• Skill - Teachers say that less than half as many students are considered beginners with computers, a decrease of 13% points from 23%. They consider approximately 1/3 more students to be advanced computer users, a 10% point increase from 25% pre-deployment, to 35% post-deployment value.


• College - Students who plan to go to college increased from 90.2% to 91.3%, a 1.1% point increase.


• Frequency - The number of students who use a computer every day in the classroom more than doubled the pre-initiative levels, increasing from 24% to 52%.

Not all gains are measurable, and teachers commonly reported a wide array of anecdotal gains:

• Students are engaged.


• In 1:1 computing classrooms, students view the computers as “their own” and therefore take better care of them.


• Computer breakage rates are lower and behavioral infractions have been reduced with the threat of their computer being taken away.  


• Students are becoming technologically fluent 2-3 times faster.  


• Socio-economic barriers are no longer relevant as students from different wealth classes, who would never previously work together, are suddenly partnering on classroom projects.


• A peer-coaching dynamic has emerged.


• New student leaders have begun to develop from all levels of the social strata. Some of the largest gains have been made by the low-achieving and special education students who tend to be more visual learners.

“It was a real treat to see the changes in these classrooms firsthand,” said Eric Bird, lead classroom trainer for the Digital Wish School Modernization Initiative, “When we began, most classrooms had only a few outdated computers. I’ve seen enormous gains in student engagement.  You really don’t understand how important this is until you find out that the decision to drop out of school is made at the middle school level.  We’re raising engagement levels with students in grades 4-6, hopefully before the decision to drop out ever gets a chance to take root.”



Bird continued, “Students and teachers have become technologically fluent very rapidly; learning independently and solving real world issues.  We implemented a unit where students would study local businesses before being challenged to create their own business ideas. For many students, this was the first time that they had ever envisioned themselves as entrepreneurs. It’s a real game changer as students plan their future, and we’ve already secured funding to implement a multi-grade mentorship program for the Fall.”



Replication Phase

Digital Wish recently won an $80,000 grant award from the Dell YouthConnect program to replicate the Vermont successes in one additional school in Nashua, NH. The guidelines and strategies that were developed across 27 rural Vermont sites are now being tested for replication in a more urban environment at the Nashua School District.



“It’s amazing how rapidly we’ve worked through the planning process at Nashua,” said Sheila Marcoux, Digital Wish’s technology integrator for Nashua. “All of the planning, documentation, usage guidelines, permission forms, and tough decisions were already mapped out. Nashua is avoiding a bevy of common errors that schools tend to make when they implement a new one-computer-per-child initiative.”   



Community Impact

After Digital Wish implemented their 1:1 computing initiative across multiple sites, they began noticing the staff, administrators, and community at large rapidly shifting their assumptions about the need for technology in classrooms. Computers were no longer something that “someone else” had to deal with. Instead, they became an assumed part of every learning experience. Each of the 2009-2010 pilot schools scaled up their technology programs within one semester of Digital Wish’s arrival. One town voted to increase their school’s technology budget from $5,000 to $50,000 in the following school year – ten times the original amount originally allotted for educational technology.



“Students were truly engaged with their learning as soon as the computers entered the classroom,” said Chirtea.  “Digital Wish envisions a day when every student in America will have access to their own computer for learning. My favorite moment in the initiative was when a student exclaimed, ‘I wish I could stay in 5th grade for the rest of my life!’”



Digital Wish - Nationwide

On a national scale, Digital Wish has granted over 26,000 classroom technology wishes through its online network of over 56,000 teachers at DigitalWish.org since August 2009. By granting these wishes, more than ten million dollars in technology has been placed into the hands of educators.  By offering the 1:1 Technology Implementation Kit, as well as many of the most sought-after educational technology products, Digital Wish has become the premier resource for schools and communities looking to implement successful 1:1 learning environments.



“No matter where you live, the combination of ubiquitous technology access and proper training in 21st century skills is critical to bridging the learning gaps and providing equal opportunities for students in every socio-economic class,” said Chirtea. “We have a moral obligation to give every student the skills they need to thrive in the rapidly growing global economy.  We’ve done the research and now it is time to replicate our success on a national scale. It’s America’s turn to get involved.”



In response to the rising community engagement, Digital Wish recently added online fundraising to its website in order to give schools a way to reach into their local communities for sustainability funding.  Now parent organizations and educators can build a fundraising website for classroom technology that includes credit card processing in just a few mouse clicks.  



For more information on Digital Wish’s School Modernization Initiative, visit their website at http://schoolmodernizationinitiative.wordpress.com/ or go to DigitalWish.org today.

About Digital Wish

Digital Wish (http://www.digitalwish.org) is a non-profit on a mission to solve technology shortfalls in K-12 classrooms.  They study technology integration in local schools then scale successful programs nationwide through the website at www.digitalwish.org.  Their website is designed to help teachers locate much-needed funding for classroom technology. Teachers make technology wish lists, and supporters make those wishes come true. Over 26,000 technology wishes have been granted. Digital Wish provides a host of fundraising ideas and allows teachers to e-mail and print their technology wish lists so that parents and community members can contribute. For more information, please visit http://www.digitalwish.org.



 

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Digital Wish School Modernization Initiative

2010-2011 Survey Results (DRAFT - Data will undergo final review)

Organization: Athena Council (D.B.A. “Digital Wish”)

Contact: Heather Chirtea, Executive Director,

[email protected]

Phone: Dir (802) 549-4571, C (802) 379-3000 F (845) 402-7242

Websites: http://schoolmodernizationinitiative.wordpress.com/

http://www.digitalwish.org

501(c)(3): Approved August 26, 2008

About the Surveys

If you would like to cite data from these surveys, please credit Digital Wish.

All data is self-reported by students and teachers who participated in the initiative. Data was collected from the 24 schools participating in the School Modernization Initiative, collected through an anonymous survey conducted on www.surveymonkey.com. The data is broken into two groups:

• Round 1 - 12 schools participated in the Initiative for eight months, from November 2010 to June 2011, covering four to six different technology units.


• Round 2 –12 schools started in April 2011 and the data reflects the first two months of participation in the Digital Citizenship Unit.

The same questions were asked in both the pre-initiative and post-initiative surveys. According to the data, the students showed increases in computer literacy, rising comfort levels with technology, and overall increases in engagement. The data reflects the difference in the responses given between the pre- and post- survey data.

Sample Size:

Round 1

26 Teachers surveyed

404 Students surveyed

Pre-survey administered Nov. 2010

Post-survey administered June 2011

Curriculum taught to grades 4-6

Round 2

19 Teachers surveyed

270 Students surveyed

Pre-survey administered April 2010

Post-survey administered June 2011

Curriculum taught to grades 4-6