Whitfield School August 2006 Whitfield School 1: 1 Computing Program: An assessment of the implementation of an open-source 1: 1 computing model Table of Contents

Overall Program Satisfaction

Examining the available research on Windows-based 1:1 Computing Programs, Whitfield appears to have achieved comparable levels of satisfaction with its open-source-based laptop program. For example, in Rockman’s “Report of a Laptop Program Pilot” (June 1997), the researchers evaluated Windows-based laptop programs in a range of schools and districts. They found that the faculty expected the program to have an overall positive impact on the classroom (average rating of 6.1 out of 7.0). After implementation, these faculty members continued to believe the impact was positive.
The faculty at Whitfield expressed increased levels of satisfaction with the program from the Phase I to Phase II periods. Many remarked that laptops were vital to the education process and that they could never go back to teaching without them. Moreover, the students also perceived the laptop program to be very positive—a belief that even increased throughout the academic year. Therefore, from the experience at Whitfield, one could conclude that open-source-based 1:1 Computing Programs have the potential to achieve, at least, comparable impacts on satisfaction.

3. 
   Lessons Learned
   

The Whitfield assessment provides a valuable base line for open-source 1:1 Computing Program implementations. Obtaining the 360-degree feedback from representatives of all constituencies involved with this program, including administrators, faculty, families, and students in multiple phases allowed us to understand the expectations, initial perceptions, and actual experiences with the program. This understanding has resulted in the development of several valuable lessons learned regarding the implementation of an open-sourced 1:1 Computing Program.

• 
  Students will adopt Linux – Given the idea that most people are more comfortable operating in a Windows-based environment, it is significant to note that despite the fact that the faculty favored using Citrix, both faculty and students reported that students favored the Linux operating system. This seems to indicate that the open-source model is easily adoptable within the student population.
  
• 
  Importance of upfront training – Well developed up-front training programs for both students and faculty are key requirements for successful program implementation. Lack of appropriate training can cause the program to begin slowly, which leads to frustration and delays the potential positive impacts.
  
• 
  Selection of appropriate software - Given the concept that most teachers and students are more familiar with Windows-based software, it is vital that the IT Department and the faculty work together to determine the most appropriate open-source software for each department’s needs. While it is often relatively easy to locate an open-source solution, a lack of the appropriate software or software skin can cause unnecessary headaches if teachers and students attempt to use software that is unsuited to their specific needs.
  
• 
  Use a staggered, multi-platform approach - Implementing a model which phases in Linux and provides Citrix for a limited time increases user comfort and eases the transition to the Linux environment. This type of approach allows users to adjust from the solely Windows-based environment at their own pace, but requires their eventual transition (especially as students come to prefer Linux).
  

• 
  TCO Lessons Learned – The Linux/Citrix laptop model does not, by any means, guarantee that the hardware cost per client computer will decline in comparison with a traditional desktop model. An increase of some degree is likely to occur whenever a school transitions from desktops to laptops, since the latter tend to cost more due to the advantages afforded by their greater mobility. However, if appropriately planned and managed, and supported by a well-staffed, capable IT support team, other costs related to centralized configuration management, shared software licensing costs, and direct labor costs for IT support are likely to be lower on a per-client computer basis than with either a traditional model wherein students share desktop machines, or a Windows-based 1:1 laptop computing model. This will help alleviate the financial burden on the school’s management team as it implements 1:1 computing for the first time.
  

4. 
   Implications for Future Research
   

From the experience at Whitfield, an open-source model appears to offer significant promise for 1:1 Computing Programs now and in the future. At Whitfield, this approach yielded many of the same benefits associated with Windows-based laptop programs (e.g., changing roles, improved technology competence, etc.), but did so at a reduced cost. The cost effective nature of this model may open up individualized laptop learning to more schools than would likely be possible with traditional approaches. The evidence also suggests that an open-source program can be readily adopted by faculty and students, that technical problem resolution is not substantially different than Windows-based models, and that it achieves high satisfaction and buy-in among users.
While these findings are indeed encouraging, further research is needed to understand the extent to which they can be generalized to other schools and districts. In particular, as described at the beginning of the report, Whitfield is a small private school in a fairly affluent suburb of St. Louis, MO. The school had an existing tradition of technology, collaboration, and high academic performance. Therefore, in the future, researchers should examine open-source laptop programs in schools and districts with different characteristics. For example, it would be critical to ascertain whether this model would work effectively in schools with different existing teaching practices, academic performance levels, class sizes, and technological sophistication.
In addition, Whitfield’s laptop program was focused on 11^th and 12^th grade students. Therefore, future research should investigate the effectiveness of the program for younger students as well as older ones. To determine the full potential reach of an open-source model, it will be important to understand any differences in adoption or impact that may be attributable to the age and grade level of the affected students. In some ways, Whitfield provides an ideal setting for this research, since it plans to introduce laptops to 9^th and 10^th graders—along with the 11^th and 12^th graders—in the 2006-2007 academic year. Down the road, the school is also considering including its 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade students in the program.
Finally, the availability and quality of open-source software products was one of the biggest challenges Whitfield confronted. Even though Whitfield actively worked to provide new and enhanced products wherever possible, there were certain cases where the faculty and students felt open-source software packages did not provide the same features or functionalities that commercially available products provided. As it’s likely that open-source software products will improve over time, future research should assess the extent to which open-source software packages meet users’ needs—in particular, over the coming years. Regularly assessing open-source 1:1 Computing Programs would help the research community understand to what extent these software issues increase, decrease, or remain the same.

5. 
   References
   

Greenspan, A. (2004). “The critical role of education in the nation’s economy.” Remarks presented at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce 2004 Annual Meeting, Omaha, Nebraska, February 20, 2004. 
Downloaded from www.federalreserve.org/boarddoc/speeches/2004/200402202/default.htm.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2002). Learning for the 21st Century.  Available at www.21stcenturyskills.org.
Rockman, S. (1997). Year 1: Report of a Laptop Program Pilot. Downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/Education/aalresearch1.mspx
Rockman, S. (1997). Year 2: Powerful Tools for Schooling: Second Year Study of the

Laptop Program. Downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/Education/aalresearch2.mspx

Rockman, S. Year 3: A More Complex Picture: Laptop Use and Impact in the

Context of Changing Home and School Access. Downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/Education/aalresearch3.mspx

Rockman, S. (2003). “Learning from Laptops.” Threshold.  Downloaded at www.ciconline.org.
San Diego City Schools Educational Technology. (2006). 1:1 Mobile Computing Vision. Available at http://edtech.sandi.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=177&Itemid=336

1 This may be viewed at www.classroomtco.org

2 In order to eliminate this type of discrepancy, a possible modification to the CoSN/Gartner model would be to have participants record the replacement cost of their computing assets instead of the current fully-amortized values.

3 For details, please see the presentation by Alex Inman, Director of Technology, Whitfield School, “Laptops with Linux: Definitely Cheaper and It Might be Better”, July 2006