| Public school initiatives that strive to place information and communication technologies (ICT) in the hands of all learners are increasing in an attempt to provide the tools and learning experiences that facilitate a twenty-first century education. The purpose of this study was to give voice to United States History teachers' perspectives of the first year of implementation of a trailblazing Initiative in Henrico County Public Schools in the fall of 2001. The overarching, guiding question for this study was simply the following: From the teacher's perspective, what happens when, through a rapid, massive, pervasive deployment, teachers and students experience one-to-one computing and access to digital curriculum through wireless, network-capable laptop computers?; Fourteen United States History teachers were interviewed in order to determine their perceptions regarding one-to-one computing and digitized curriculum. Through inductive analysis, the following themes emerged from the data: (a) All participants adapted the new technological resources to existing practices, resulting in varying degrees of change in organizational strategies, content resources, and student activities. (b) A lack of teacher readiness and the unreliability of networks were cited as barriers to utilization of the technology. Sources of support included a community of learners comprised of site technology trainers, administrators, colleagues, and, though novel for most teachers, students. (c) The Initiative served as a catalyst for self-reflection regarding the role of the teacher in one-to-one computing environments utilizing digital resources. Participants assumed a corollary between technological skill and youth, whether in students or colleagues.; The study concluded that teachers functioned as learners during the first year of the Initiative. They built on prior knowledge, constructed new models through engaged, active learning, and reflected on their experiences. Changes in teaching occurred. Practice was enriched, and the digital resources of the one-to-one computing environment provided options for teaching and learning that suggest validation of the Initiative as a catalyst for change. |
