Ssweet Fa1
Ssweet Fa1
a) What are the perceptions of teachers of this program, and how are
teachers using laptops in their classrooms and with what frequency?
b) What are the perceptions of students of this program, and what
types of activities do students use their laptops for during class time
and during break times, lunch times, and free periods?
c) What are the perceptions of parents of this program and their childs
laptop use both in and outside of school?
School Profile
The International School of Kuala Lumpur is located just outside the
city center of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It opened in 1965 and markets
an American-style education. Currently, the student population is
more than 1600 students, with approximately 650 of them in the high
school, from 60 different countries (The International School of Kuala
Lumpur). Most of the faculty are expatriate teachers from the USA,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Britain. The school has 3 levels,
an elementary school from pre-kindergarten to grade 5, middle school
grades 6-8, and high school grades 9-12.
Literature Review
While computer use in schools dates back more than 20 years, having
students come to school with their own device is still relatively new.
The cost to schools as well as families is considerable at the start, from
infrastructure to hardware, software, and professional development for
While the results of 1:1 programs are well documented, schools and
school districts are slow to respond. This may be simply the
institutional way; that beaurocracy creates prolonged decision-making
practices, but other factors are also at play. Raths (2012) describes the
challenges of one school district in Utah in setting up a BYOD program
from the point of view of wireless network preparation. The
infrastructure needed to support the number of devices that would be
using it is significant. Factor into that the cost of the hardware for
families, the software and licenses needed to support the student and
teacher populations, as well as the professional development for
teachers, and the costs per student increase significantly. School
iPads and iPod Touch devices have their strengths, certainly in terms of
being lightweight and portable, but many things that can be done on a
tablet can also be done on a laptop, and laptops have a larger range of
applications that they can be used for. Perhaps as tablets become
more developed and the applications become more sophisticated, they
will become more preferred. For now, according to Crichton et al,
laptops are favored.
Grimes and Warschauer (2008) also suggest that laptop use is most
beneficial at higher grade levels in subjects that require high-order
thinking skills. There may, therefore, be subjects that benefit from a
more comprehensive 1:1 integration than others that rely more on
memorization and recall.
Given that the high school of ISKL is in its first year as a 1:1 school, it is
hoped that the implementation phase has already happened as a
result of the planning and preparation that was done to prepare for a
full 1:1 program. This is explained in the next section.
10
This research focuses on the high school one year after a 1:1 laptop
BYOD program was implemented to ensure that it is effective in
meeting its goals (Appendix A).
Research Method
This study will use a QUAN-QUAL mixed methods approach. A survey
will be used and will include elements of quantitative data, with the
opportunity for respondents to support their choices with qualitative
data. This will allow for triangulation of data within each stakeholder
group, as well as between the groups. Given the relatively large
sample size, this model was chosen to be the best. Data analysis will
allow for statistical analysis, easily presented results which can be
converted into graphics for presentations to board members and/or
shared with the school community as a whole. In addition, the survey
allows for people to give narrative accounts of the choices they make,
with the hope of identifying common themes to either support keeping
elements of the program or changing it.
11
Participants
All students in the high school, grades 9-12, are expected to bring a
laptop to school on a daily basis. As our current grade 9 students
began with a 1:1 laptop program in their last year of middle school,
grade 8, they are coming to the end of the 2nd year of 1:1 use. While
their grade 8 year was not BYOD, the students all had Apple laptops,
they, nonetheless have been exposed to 1:1 laptop use for more than
one year; hence grade 9 students and parents will be excluded from
this study.
Any parents of a grade 10-12 student, who also has a student in grade
9 will also be excluded in order to control the length of time that
parents have been exposed to a 1:1 laptop program. The survey
questions will allow for these parents to be identified. Included in the
study will be students, and parents, who have not previously been
involved with a 1:1 laptop program. This means students new to ISKL
in the 2013-2014 school year, who previously attended a 1:1 laptop
school will also be eliminated.
All high school faculty will be surveyed, although given the turnover of
faculty from year to year, not all faculty will have been at the school to
work through the implementation process. This information will be
collected in the demographic section of the survey, to see if the length
12
of time a teacher has been at the school, and whether they have been
involved in 1:1 programs at previous schools, affects their perception
of ISKLs program. There are approximately 80 teachers in the high
school.
Instruments
ISKL uses a Google platform and all of its communications are through
Gmail and feedback is sought through Google forms. This survey will
also be distributed and filled out through Google forms. Every ISKL
teacher, student and parent has an ISKL email address that will be
used to distribute the Google form.
The survey for the 3 stakeholder groups will have 3 parts. Part A will
consist of demographic information. Part B will center around the goals
of the 1:1 BYOD laptop program and whether they perceive the goals
are being met. Part C will be an opportunity for people to discuss the
strengths and challenges of the program. The questions for Part B will
be centered around ISKLs Technology Vision and Belief Statements
(Appendix A). The survey will have a mixture of structured items,
checklist questions, Likert scale questions, as well as free-response
questions.
13
the parent and teacher surveys will remain the same, some of the
language will be changed to reflect the demographics of each group.
Each survey will be field tested with a few participants before sending
it to the wider community to ensure that the questions are easily
understood and fit within the goals of the study. Five people from each
stakeholder group will be asked to test their respective survey, and
changes will then be made before sending it to the wider community.
Procedure
The school has a 30-minute homeroom every two weeks. These
homerooms are based on grade levels. With permission from
administrators, the students in grades 10-12 will be asked to complete
the survey during one of these homeroom sessions. Each grade level
has approximately 150 students, which will give a maximum sample
size of approximately 450 student surveys. Allowing for elimination of
some students new to ISKL, the sample size will still be close to 400
participants.
14
To avoid people filling in the survey more than once, email addresses
will be recorded, but the results will remain confidential. This will be
stated at the beginning of the survey.
Data Analysis
Quantitative analysis will involve tabulating responses to each question
on the survey. For the Likert scale questions, the strongly agree and
15
Time schedule
Given that this survey is meant to evaluate the program and provide a
possible direction for future years, time is a limiting factor. The results
of this study could prove useful in planning for the 2014-2015 school
16
year. While the school will not eliminate the BYOD program after only
one year, the goals and/or implementation may need to be changed.
Data collection and analysis may take 6-8 weeks, if no release time is
given, since the qualitative analysis will take some time, as a result of
the large number of students and parents. One faculty member will
collate and present the quantitative data and one faculty member will
analyze and synthesize the qualitative data.
Budget
The data collection will be completed through the use of Google forms;
however, the data analysis will take time. Given the need to present
data before the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, in order to
effectively plan, release time would be requested for 2 faculty
members for 5 days to analyze and interpret the data from all three
17
18
may also detail this frustration as they may not be able to complete
assignments, and then are scolded for not having the proper software.
19
in terms of what works or does not work. The hope is that other
schools could learn from the successes and challenges of ISKL as they
implement their own 1:1 laptop program.
20
References
Bebell, D., & O'Dwyer, L. M. (2010). Educational outcomes and research from 1:1
computing settings. Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, 9(1).
Retrieved from ERIC database. (Accession No. EJ873675)
Crichton, S., Pegler, K., & White, D. (2012). Personal devices in public settings: Lessons
learned from an iPod Touch/iPad project. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning,
10(1), 23-31. Retrieved from ERIC database. (Accession No. EJ969433)
Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2012). Educational research: Competencies for
analysis and applications (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Goldenberg, L. B. (2011). What students really want in science class. The Science
Teacher, 78(6), 52-55. Retrieved from ERIC database. (Accession No. EJ944658)
Grimes, D., & Warschauer, M. (2008). Learning with laptops: A multi-method case study.
Journal of Educational Computing Research, 38(3), 305-332. Retrieved from
ERIC database. (Accession No. EJ796562)
Gulek, J. C., & Demirtas, H. (2005). Learning with technology: The impact of laptop use
on student achievement. Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, 3(2).
Retrieved from ERIC database. (Accession No. EJ983985)
International Association of School Librarianship. (2010). Personal, portable,
multifunction-devices and school libraries (A. Weaver, Author). Retrieved from
ERIC database. (ED518558)
The International School of Kuala Lumpur: School profile. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6,
2014, from http://www.iskl.edu.my/about/index.aspx
21
Plummer, L. (2012). 1-to-1: Bar none. T.H.E. Journal, 39(6). Retrieved from ERIC
database. (Accession No. EJ990995)
Raths, D. (2012). Are you ready for BYOD? T.H.E. Journal, 39(4). Retrieved from ERIC
database. (Accession No. EJ980597)
Technology planning @ ISKL [Fact sheet]. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2014, from
https://sites.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/techplan4/
Towndrow, P. A., & Wan, F. (2012). Professional learning during a one-to-one laptop
innovation. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 20(3), 331-355.
Retrieved from http://editlib.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/j/JTATE/
22
23
24
25
26
9. On an average day, how much time do you spend using your laptop
for school related activities?
During non-school time (3pm-8am the next day)
0 hours
0-1 hour
1-2 hours
2-3 hours
3-4 hours
4-5 hours
5-6 hours
6-7 hours
7-8 hours
8-9 hours
9-10 hours
>10 hours
10. On an average day, how much time do you spend using your
laptop for non-school related activities?
During school time (8am-3pm)
0 hours
0-1 hour
1-2 hours
2-3 hours
3-4 hours
4-5 hours
5-6 hours
11. On an average day, how much time do you spend using your
laptop for non-school related activities?
During non-school time (3pm-8am the next day)
0 hours
0-1 hour
1-2 hours
2-3 hours
3-4 hours
4-5 hours
5-6 hours
6-7 hours
7-8 hours
27
8-9 hours
9-10 hours
>10 hours
Part B: Goals of the 1:1 BYOD program.
For each of the following statements, please indicate your level of
agreement with the statement. After each choice, there is an
opportunity for you to comment on your choice if you would like to.
1 Strongly Disagree
2 Disagree
3 Uncertain
4 Agree
5 Strongly Agree
1. I use my laptop in all of my classes at least once per week.
2. I believe that using my laptop helps me learn.
3. I only use my laptop for educational purposes during class time
4. I am comfortable using my laptop for research.
5. I have a system that works for keeping my files organized, meaning
I know how to find them when needed.
6. My teachers use technology in their lessons.
7. I know where to get help if I have a problem with my laptop at
school.
8. My parents supervise my time on my laptop at home.
9. I believe I learn better with the use of my laptop.
10. I have used social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Wechat) as part of
my school work.
11. The use of laptops at ISKL is in line with ISKLs mission statement.
(The ISKL Mission Statement is: The International School of Kuala
Lumpur provides an exceptional education that challenges each
student to develop the attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding
to become a highly successful, spirited, socially responsible global
citizen. )
28
12. The 1:1 BYOD initiative is to allow students to achieve the SchoolWide Learning Results (SLRs). Using a laptop for school work helps me
(check all the apply)
Think Creatively (Give an example)
Reason Critically (Give an example)
Communicate Effectively (Give an example)
Collaborate Constructively (Give an example)
Learn Enthusiastically (Give an example)
Live Ethically (Give an example)
13. The 1:1 BYOD laptop initiative should be changed.
Please comment on your choice.
Part C: Strengths and Weaknesses of ISKLs 1:1 BYOD Laptop program
1. Please describe the strengths of bringing your own laptop (as
opposed to being forced to use an Apple, which is what all teachers are
using)