The One Laptop School: Equipping Rural Elementary Schools in South India through Public Private Partnerships

This articleΓÇÖs purpose is to report on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) program in South India that provides information and communication technology (ICT) to rural elementary schools. The article examines the current status of rural, government-run elementary schools in India by reviewing reports like the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) in India. Challenges like teacher absences, student drop-outs, lack of electricity, lack of separate toilets for genders, and a lack of teaching resources will be discussed. To meet these challenges, the article will describe the rise in popularity of IndiaΓÇÖs PPPs. Then the article moves to a case study investigation of a PPP, called the SSA Foundation, which implements a ΓÇ£one laptop per schoolΓÇ¥ program in rural areas in the Indian States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Using ethnographic data from field research, the case study includes a description of how the students in a rural Karnataka elementary school use their schoolΓÇÖs laptop. The school is situated in a small village where most travel is non-motorized.┬á Walking, usually without shoes, is the main form of transportation.┬á A bicycle is considered a luxury.┬á Most villagers work in the surrounding ragi and millet fields; laboring, often with only simple tool blades. Wood fires are the main source of fuel for cooking.┬á In this village, the schoolΓÇÖs laptop has become a prized possession. The case study offers a ΓÇ£thick descriptionΓÇ¥ (Geertz, 1973) of how the village schoolΓÇÖs students use the laptop for learning basic computing skills and for learning English. ┬á Keywords: elementary schooling; educational technology, Public Private Partnerships, rural India, sociotechnical narratives ┬

Using Wireless Pedometers to Measure Children’s Physical Activity: How Reliable is the Fitbit Zip?

The purpose of this study is to examine the reliability of wireless pedometers in measuring elementary school children’s physical activity. Activity measurement using a wireless pedometer Fitbit ZipTM was compared to activity measurement using Yamax Digi-WalkerTM SW701 for a group of randomly selected 25 children in Grades 3, 4, and 5. Fitbit ZipTM wireless pedometers were found to have an appropriate degree (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994) of accuracy and reliability compared to the Yamax Digi-WalkerTM SW701 pedometer. The Fitbit ZipTM wireless pedometer collected more step counts than the Yamax Digi-WalkerTM SW701 pedometer; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Participants reported that they preferred wearing the Fitbit ZipTM to the Yamax Digi-WalkerTM SW701 because the Fitbit ZipTM was more comfortable to wear and less likely to fall off. Participants also reported being more motivated to move while wearing the Fitbit ZipTM

READY TO LEARN: THE IMPACT OF THE MORNING BLAST PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTION ON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a physical activity intervention programme, named “Morning Blast”, on elementary school students’ math learning and daily physical activity. The Morning Blast intervention programme was a 16-week cardiovascular endurance emphasized physical activity program that students voluntarily participated in before the school day. Participants that volunteered, did so for the duration of the program. Methods: This mixed-methods study included seven educators and 83 students (n=90). The students were all children who were enrolled in Grades 3, 4, and 5 in a semi-rural elementary school in the United States. Data were collected through focus-group interviews, surveys, quantitative analysis of step counts, and from quasi-experimental research design. Results: Students in the experimental group were found to have: (1) increased scores on math standard score, (2) greater confidence in their academic ability, and (3) had more accumulated steps compared to students in the control group. Students in the experimental group also reported that they were more “ready to learn” after completing the physical activity intervention. This finding was also confirmed by their teachers. Conclusion: This study demonstrates how an increase in physical activity during the morning time has positive benefits for students throughout the school day

Conscientization of a Computer Curriculum: A Case Study of Community Computing Model in Bangalore, India

Paulo Freire (1998) posited that the road is made by walking on it. Encapsulated in this belief is the notion of constructivism, that people give meaning and purpose to things. Yet, Freire’s work was more than just about constructing meaning; his work centered on liberation through critical consciousness. Freire termed such critical consciousness as conscientization or conscientizao, which he describes as knowledge “that emerges only through invention and re-invention, through restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry that human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other” (FREIRE, 1970, p. 58).In the current Digital and Information Age, information technology and computer provide a tremendous amount of knowledge. With just the click of the mouse, a person can video chat with another person living halfway around the world, explore stars and constellations, or just keep up-to-date about the futbol scores in Brazil. Computer technology, via the Internet, provides access to the pursuit of knowledge, but how can it be used for a hopeful inquiry? Indeed, what are the ways that people can use technological tools to also foster critical consciousness? This article takes up these questions

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The purpose of this study is to examine the reliability of wireless pedometers in measuring elementary school children’s physical activity. Activity measurement using a wireless pedometer Fitbit ZipTM was compared to activity measurement using Yamax Digi-WalkerTM SW701 for a group of randomly selected 25 children in Grades 3, 4, and 5. Fitbit ZipTM wireless pedometers were found to have an appropriate degree (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994) of accuracy and reliability compared to the Yamax Digi-WalkerTM SW701 pedometer. The Fitbit ZipTM wireless pedometer collected more step counts than the Yamax Digi-WalkerTM SW701 pedometer; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Participants reported that they preferred wearing the Fitbit ZipTM to the Yamax Digi-WalkerTM SW701 because the Fitbit ZipTM was more comfortable to wear and less likely to fall off. Participants also reported being more motivated to move while wearing the Fitbit ZipTM

Examination of Cybersecurity Technologies, Practices, Challenges, and Wish List in K-12 School Districts

With the growth in digital teaching and learning, there has been a sharp rise in the number of cybersecurity attacks on K-12 school networks. This has demonstrated a need for security technologies and cybersecurity education. This study examined security technologies used, effective security practices, challenges, concerns, and wish list of technology leaders in K-12 settings. Data collected from 23 district websites and from interviews with 12 district technology leaders were analyzed. Top security practices included cloud-based technologies, segregated network/V-LAN, two-factor authentication, limiting access, and use of Clever or Class Link. Top challenges included keeping users informed, lack of buy-in from staff and decision-makers, lack of expertise to implement modern best practices, and cost of resources. Top concerns included possible cyberattacks, leaked student data, and lack of user awareness. Finally, their wish list included technology personnel, access to Clever of Class Link, external system diagnostic checks, professional development for staff, and replacing aging infrastructure. The findings have implications for K-12 administrators, technology leaders, and teachers

Hoping to Teach Someday? Inquire Within: Examining Inquiry-Based Learning with First-Semester Undergrads

Using case study method, this study examines the impact of an inquiry-based learning program among a cohort of first-semester undergraduates (n=104) at a large public university in the southeastern United States who are aspiring to become teachers. The Boyer Commission (1999) asserted that inquiry-based learning should be the foundation of higher education curricula. Even though inquiry pedagogies are emphasized in teacher education, many prospective teacher candidates have limited experience with inquiry as a constructivist practice from their K-12 settings. This study investigates the effects and first-semester undergraduates’ perceptions of an inquiry-based learning project. The research is grounded in Knowledge Building Theory (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006), which posits that knowledge building is comprised of three components: 1) inquiry driven questions, 2) epistemic artifacts, and 3) collective spaces for collaboration. The study found that inquiry projects had positive effects on participants’ understanding of: the complexity of educational issues; the overall inquiry process; and a future career in teaching. Using Knowledge Building Theory, the findings are discussed and analyzed to posit a conceptual model of the entire inquiry process, called the Inquiry Processing Cycle

The One Laptop School: Equipping Rural Elementary Schools in South India Through Public Private Partnerships

This article reports on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) program in South India that provided information and communication technology (ICT) to rural elementary schools. The article examined the current status of rural, government-run elementary schools in India by reviewing reports like the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) in India. Challenges like teacher absences, student drop-outs, lack of electricity, lack of separate toilets for genders, and a lack of teaching resources is discussed. To meet these challenges, the article describes the rise in popularity of India’s PPPs. Then the article reports on a case study of a PPP, called the SSA Foundation, which implemented a “one laptop per school” program in rural areas in the Indian States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Using ethnographic data from field research, the case study includes a description of how the students in a rural Karnataka elementary school use their school’s laptop. The school was situated in a small village where most travel was non-motorized. Walking, usually without shoes, was the main form of transportation. A bicycle was considered a luxury. Most villagers worked in the surrounding ragi and millet fields; laboring, often with only simple tool blades. Wood fires were the main source of fuel for cooking. In this village, the school’s laptop became a prized possession. The case study offers a “thick description” (Geertz, 1973) of how the village school’s students used the laptop for learning basic computing skills and for learning English

China vs. the United States: Comparing what teacher candidates know about each other

The purpose of this paper was to compare teacher candidates’ knowledge and perceptions about China and the United States. Using a survey research design, 91 Chinese teacher candidates and 96 teacher candidates from the United Sates participated. The survey findings indicated that while both groups of teacher candidates had a basic level of historical and political knowledge about the other country, both teacher candidate groups also had stereotypes of each other’s country. In their responses to the comment section and free response questions, though, teacher candidates focused on very different aspects. The Chinese teacher candidates were focused more on the United States’ political and education system. The United States’ teacher candidates focused their responses more on daily life and cultural aspects of China