Results

They exhibited a rate of change that is rarely found in school reform efforts...This rapidity is not merely due to the provision of hardware and software, but is attributable to the amount of staff development, planning, and cooperative effort that went into it.

One of the most notable factors evident in the DLES schools was that they exhibited a rate of change that is rarely found in school reform efforts. A previous evaluation of whole school reform in Broward County (Younkin, 2000) found that, after two years of implementation, only half of the schools in the study were at the stage of everyone being aware and beginning to implement the project; only one school was at the mature stage, the next and final stage. Within the DLES project schools, after less than a full year of implementation, virtually all of the stakeholders in the schools indicated that they were aware of the project; and the school staff was fully engaged in the process of changing their approach to education to capitalize on the positive aspects of the digital learning environment. This rapidity of change, however, is not merely due to the provision of hardware and software, but is in large part attributable to the extensive amount of staff development, planning, and cooperative effort that went into the implementation.

The experience of the implementation of the DLES in BCPS reflects the findings in the literature that the most important element of success was the training and preparation of the staff. The fact that schools were selected based on teacher involvement in the Digital Education Teacher Academy (DETA) and principal leadership insured that the project would be met with confidence. The issue of repair time quickly surfaced as a major problem at all of the schools. The one major factor encountered not reflected in the literature was the issue of students targeted for laptop theft.

The project appears to have had a positive impact on teacher classroom behavior. Teachers self-reported improving their experience levels with the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) skills, increasing the use of group and project-based learning, promoting a climate where students learn from each other, and increasing their tolerance for diverse student activities. Creative lesson planning utilizing technology as a vehicle for learning was also evident.

Both teachers and students reported that students’ motivation to learn increased significantly. Students self-reported that class assignments were more interesting and enjoyable, they could do a good job easier, information resources were more readily available and easier to use, and that their use of time became more efficient. They also mentioned that they enjoyed learning by accident (finding interesting information while looking for something else). High school teachers did express that problems developed with the students’ inappropriate use of the technology (listening to music, sending notes in class, accessing inappropriate websites, etc.).

The students, according to the evaluator’s and teachers’ observations, appear to have acquired the skills specified by NETS. This appears to be true whether or not students have computers available to them at home, indicating that the project has assisted in overcoming the digital divide.

The teacher portion of the Broward Enterprise Education Portal appears to be on schedule and has been perceived by the teachers in the pilot schools as being relevant to their curricular needs, a valuable resource in curriculum planning and professional development, and a tool that they will utilize regularly.