Atomic Learning for a 1:1 Laptop Program
Atomic Learning Helps Echo Horizon School Effectively Implement 1:1 Laptop Program Echo Horizon School, located in Culver City, California, is a progressive pre-kindergarten to sixth grade private school dedicated to providing all students with equal access to technology. Echo Horizon has implemented a 1:1 laptop initiative for all fifth and sixth graders. And, to ensure all students and teachers can effectively use these laptops and the accompanying software, Echo Horizon has chosen Atomic Learning as part of its technology training solution. Echo Horizon School Adopts Laptop Program Technology coordinator Elaine Wrenn, who is also an Apple Distinguished Educator, explained that Echo Horizon saw the release of Apple’s iBooks in 1999 as an innovative learning opportunity for both students and teachers. Starting out with purchasing two iBooks for each of their 5th and 6th grade classrooms, Echo Horizon immediately saw positive results. The iBooks gave students the ability to learn and work anywhere, anytime—in their desks, on the floor, in a quiet corner. Other classes could also borrow the laptops from each other so that more had access to technology throughout the school day. Echo Horizon began planning to increase the use of laptops throughout the school, starting with shared laptop carts. The next school year, they began a teacher laptop pilot program with goals of increasing the integration of technology in the classroom, increasing student access to technology, and improving teachers' skill and comfort levels with technology. After seeing the impact of the teacher laptop program, Echo Horizon gradually went to a 1:1 laptop program for all 5th and 6th graders, reaching this goal in 2004-05. Atomic Learning Helps to Maximize Echo Horizon’s Investment in Technology Echo Horizon chose Atomic Learning to help get the most out of their large investment in hardware and software. Technology staff members make a point to promote the resource with teachers and students at the beginning of each school year through emails and posters around the school. Elaine reported, “The students love the AL post-it notes and keep them right on their laptops as a constant reminder of the learning resources they have at their fingertips.” Information about Atomic Learning is also placed in packets that go home with students the first day they take their laptops home, so that parents are aware of their access to the resource. How One Student Found Inspiration with Access to Technology and Atomic Learning Elaine is especially excited about how the students at Echo Horizon School have benefited from their 1:1 laptop program and Atomic Learning. She talked about Nathan, a fifth grade student at the time, who took the initiative to design a website focused on a service project his class was participating in to aid tsunami relief. Nathan used Atomic Learning to learn about Dreamweaver, a Web design software. After finding success with the Dreamweaver tutorials, Nathan went on to explore other things he could learn from Atomic Learning. Nathan used Atomic Learning extensively to teach himself Flash animation. When he reached sixth grade, students began to notice his animation work and started asking him to show them how to use Flash. Nathan asked his teacher if he could teach a class on Flash animation once a week during their lunch period. Many students came faithfully to Nathan’s class each week. Elaine said, “He was an excellent teacher; both patient with and responsive to his students. As a follow-up, students were able to use Atomic Learning to review concepts Nathan had taught them. As a result, several of these students ended up creating Flash animation projects as a way to show what they had learned in social studies and science classes.”
By having access to technology through the 1:1 laptop initiative, learning Flash techniques from Atomic Learning and teaching others to use Flash to create their own works of art, Nathan received an award from the California Student Media and Multimedia festival for his work in Flash animation. “All of this was possible because of what Nathan learned from Atomic Learning!” said Elaine.
Published by 2007 Best Practices in School Technology: A supplement from the publishers of eSchool News. www.eschoolnews.com