One to One Computing: A Summary of the Quantitative Results from the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative

Abstract

This paper examines the educational impacts of the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative (BWLI), a pilot program that provided 1:1 technology access to all students and teachers across five public and private middle schools in western Massachusetts. Using a pre/post comparative study design, the current study explores a wide range of program impacts over the three years of the project’s implementation. Specifically, the current document provides an overview of the project background, implementation, research design and methodology, and a summary of the quantitative results. The study details how teaching and learning practices changed when students and teachers were provided with laptops, wireless learning environments, and additional technology resources. The results found that both the implementation and outcomes of the program were varied across the five 1:1 settings and over the three years of the student laptop implementation. Despite these differences, there was evidence that the types of educational access and opportunities afforded by 1:1 computing through the pilot program led to measurable changes in teacher practices, student achievement, student engagement, and students’ research skills.