Project Tomorrow Engages 127 Chicago Public School Students
A two-year study in the Chicago Public School system recently provided amazing insight to the impact of student achievement in regards to the availability of at-home technology and internet access.
Project Tomorrow, Kajeet and Qualcomm:
Before we get into the direct information about the study, let’s first learn a little more about the organizations that made it possible. Project Tomorrow is a nonprofit national education organization that programs supporting their mission to “ensure that today’s students are well prepared to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and engaged citizens of the world”. Sponsoring the study was Kajeet, a wireless service provider specifically focused on children and the education industry; Qualcomm’s Wireless Reach Initiative also provided the funding for the program.
Making Learning Mobile 2.0 Overview:
The study, Making Learning Mobile 2.0, took place over two years in the Chicago Public school system, specifically with 127, 5th grade students and their four teachers. The purpose of the program focused on understanding the transformation of both the teaching practices and the student’s literacy after incorporating tablet technology and an extended internet connection. Each student was given an Android tablet that used Kajeet’s Education Broadband connections allowing them constant access to the internet at school and home. The program then evaluated how the students used these devices to extend their learning time and locations, and how they developed as digital citizens within the educational environment. Another very important part of the study focused on the teachers. Project Tomorrow wanted to understand how the teachers would integrate this technology and the connection it had to how the student’s skills developed from these new methods.
The Results:
Project Tomorrow and Kajeet point out three key findings for this program:
- Because the tablet came with 4GLTE access, the availability of tech access for the pool of students increased by 53%. An amazing increase considering over one-third of the students noted before the program they had no access to internet at home.
- There was an increase in the student’s reading and writing fluency. Teachers in the participating classrooms felt more comfortable sending additional assignments home, especially now that the children had the outlets to utilize the internet and technology. This increase in reading and writing fluency was especially important for the 45% of students considered qualified English Language Learners in the school.
- One of the most important findings of this reports was the student’s increased engagement in lessons. According to the reporting, 72% of students stated having the tablet increased their engagement within the classroom, a goal for any educator!
If you enjoyed learning about this program, Forward Edge encourages you check out Project Tomorrow’s other programs Speak Up and YouthTEACH2Learn on their website, or you can read below to find out more about the Making Learning Mobile 2.0 Study!
Click here to read more about this study: https://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pr/MobileLearningStudy2.html
Click here to download the full study:https://info.kajeet.com/downloadmlmreport