For the past several years, the Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP) in Texas has immersed select middle schools in technology by providing a wireless mobile computing device for each teacher and student, technology-based learning resources, training for teachers to integrate technology into the classroom, and support for effective technology use. A related research study, conducted for the Texas Education Agency by the Texas Center for Educational Research, gathers data from these schools to see if student achievement improves over time.

The most recent findings in the four-year study are based on year three data. Evaluation of the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot Outcomes for the Third Year (2006-07) defines how schools were selected along with how data is collected and analyzed. The program involves 42 schools, divided equally between the treatment group (21) and control group (21).

Major findings show a mix of successes, disappointments, and surprises. The disappointments included slow adoption – only about a quarter of middle schools achieved what the researchers termed substantial immersion, while the remaining schools had minimal to partial immersion levels – and the low intellectual expectations many teachers in both the control and pilot group had for their students.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the study was that students in the TIP schools had significantly lower school attendance rates than those in the control schools. According to the report, “The reason why immersion students attend school at a lower rate is unclear. It is possible that some students may occasionally skip school so that they can use their laptops at home” This could explain why the lower attendance rates did not always translate into lower achievement rates, since the report found that students who used laptops more extensively for learning outside of (as well as in) school, had higher test scores.

Other findings, are summarized below.

Effects of Technology Immersion on Teachers and Teaching:

• In the third year, immersion teachers continued to grow in technology proficiency and in their use of technology for professional productivity at significantly faster rates than control teachers.

• Teachers at schools with higher concentrations of student poverty grew in technology proficiency at a slower rate.

• Teachers in immersion schools expressed increasingly stronger ideological associations across time with technology integration and learner-centered practices than control teachers.

• Teachers at immersion schools had more collegial interactions on technology-related issues than control teachers, and students used technology more often for core-subject learning in immersion classrooms.

• Although the intellectual demand of core-subject lessons was typically found to be low across middle-school classrooms in both groups, cumulative evidence suggests that laptop computers and digital resources have allowed students in technology immersion schools to experience somewhat more intellectually demanding work.

Effects of Technology Immersion on Students and Learning:

• Technology immersion significantly increased students’ technology proficiency and reduced the proficiency gap between economically advantaged and disadvantaged students.

• Technology immersion significantly increased the frequency of students’ classroom technology use and their interactions with peers in small-group activities.

• Students at immersion schools, compared to control, reported infrequent but mounting technical problems involving used laptops.

• Technology immersion and control students regarded themselves as similarly self-directed learners and reported similar levels of school satisfaction but students in immersion schools had significantly fewer disciplinary actions.

• Students in immersion schools had significantly lower school attendance rates, although this did not necessarily translate into lower academic achievement.

Effects of Technology Immersion on Academic Achievement:

• Technology immersion had no statistically significant effect on students’ TAKS reading achievement.

• Technology immersion had a statistically significant effect on TAKS mathematics achievement, particularly for economically advantaged and higher achieving students.

• Students who had greater access to laptops and used laptops for learning to a greater extent, especially outside of school, had significantly higher TAKS reading and mathematics scores.

• The effects of technology immersion on reading and mathematics achievement generally became stronger over time as teachers and students became more accomplished technology users.

• Evidence regarding the effects of technology immersion on students’ TAKS social studies, science, and writing achievement is inconclusive.

Nature of Third-Year Implementation:
 

• Although the overall level of implementation increased between the second and third project years, just a quarter of schools reached substantial levels of technology immersion. Nevertheless, third-year results show that technology immersion can have positive effects on teachers and students even at lower implementation levels.

• Higher levels of administrative support for teachers’ technology immersion led to higher levels of immersion.

• Core-subject teachers at the majority of schools reported only partial levels of classroom immersion in the third year; teachers at some schools, however, made collective progress in creating technology-immersed classrooms.

• Students’ access to and use of laptops for learning within and outside of school generally fell short of substantial to full implementation.

• Larger schools and schools with a greater proportion of economically disadvantaged students had lower levels of implementation.

According to the study, “These [last] findings are consistent with other studies showing that unequal technology opportunities between higher and lower socioeconomic status schools generally persist despite the infusion of resources that have diminished the digital divide (Education Week, 2007; Warschauer, 2007). Clearly, if students are to realize the full potential of laptops and technology resources, larger schools and schools serving disadvantaged student populations must have adequate supports for technology immersion in place to meet the specific needs of the school’s teachers, students, and parents prior to implementing an immersion project.”

Source: Evaluation of the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot Outcomes for the Third Year (2006-07)