Technology Headlines
eMINTS and CDW-G Chart a New Course for Ed Tech PD
CDW Government LLC — Monday, January 30, 2012
Three-Year Study To Understand Impact of Technology and Professional Development in K-12 Classrooms
VERNON HILLS, Ill. – January 30, 2012 – More than two-thirds of U.S. public school districts provide wireless internet access, computing devices and interactive whiteboards, according to the CDW-G 2011 21st-Century Classroom Report. However, in order to fully integrate these powerful learning tools, educators still need a comprehensive set of best practices for effective use of technology in the classroom. A three-year study of 58 school districts in Missouri plans to address this need and provide a roadmap on how technology and professional development can improve student performance.
The research is a collaboration between the eMINTS National Center, which offers research-based professional development courses to K-20 educators, the American Institutes for Research and private-sector partners, led by CDW Government LLC (CDW-G), a leading provider of technology solutions to education, government and healthcare customers. The effort is underwritten by an Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
“Using high-quality research design in a controlled experiment, we hope to finally understand the link between the use of technology in the classroom, technology-focused professional development for teachers and student performance,” said Monica Beglau, executive director of eMINTS. “School districts will be able to use the results to confidently integrate technology in their classrooms in ways that bring measurable results in student achievement.”
eMINTS professional development uses interactive group sessions and in-classroom coaching and mentoring to help educators integrate technology into their teaching. The eMINTS instructional model has demonstrated positive effects on student achievement in more than 3,500 classrooms across the United States, Beglau noted.
Seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms in 58 high-need rural districts in Missouri are participating in the program. Districts were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Random assignment – which most research studies on the subject have not used – is critical to understanding how the technology and professional development impact student achievement and teacher performance:
Group 1: Teachers receive full eMINTS professional development program while teaching in technology-rich classrooms for two years
Group 2: Teachers receive full eMINTS professional development program while teaching in technology-rich classrooms for two years, as well as an additional year of professional development through the Intel® Teach program
Group 3: Control group; teachers do not receive any technology or professional development until the research is completed in the 2014-2015 school year
eMINTS and CDW-G deployed a total of 2,696 student notebooks from Lenovo and 201 teacher notebooks from Lenovo to Group 1 and Group 2 districts. Districts in Group 3 will receive student and teacher devices when the research is complete in 2015. For teachers, the devices are the center of classroom instruction, controlling the classroom technology, and serving as teachers’ personal learning devices for professional development. Student use the devices in each core content area – language arts, mathematics, science and social studies – to research, write and learn.
“Today, we have qualitative evidence of the value of technology to student learning, but we lack quantitative data,” said Julie Smith, vice president for K-12 education, CDW-G. “eMINTS’ research will provide hard data and a better understanding of how school districts can effectively use technology to improve student engagement and performance.”
CDW-G’s partnership with eMINTS goes beyond serving as a technology provider and private-sector match for the grant, Beglau noted. “Reliable partners are critical to the project; however, CDW-G has really taken us to the next step, providing insight and direction on several technology fronts – from the right devices for the participating classrooms to the IT infrastructure required to support the program. CDW-G’s contribution has exceeded what we envisioned at the start.”
During the three-year study, researchers will track teacher progress through annual classroom observation and surveys. Researchers will also measure student progress and performance using scores from Missouri state assessments, a 21st-century skills assessment from Learning.com and student surveys.
Data collection will be complete in the spring of 2014, and analysis will be published in January 2015. For more information about the program, please visit http://www.emints.org/.
About CDW-G
A wholly owned subsidiary of CDW LLC, ranked No. 32 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies, CDW Government LLC (CDW-G) is a leading provider of technology solutions to government, education and healthcare customers. The company features dedicated account managers who help customers choose the right technology products and services to meet their needs. The company’s solutions architects and engineers offer expertise in designing customized solutions, while its advanced technology engineers assist customers with the implementation and long-term management of those solutions. Areas of focus include notebooks, desktops, printers, servers and storage, unified communications, security, wireless, power and cooling, networking, software licensing and mobility solutions.
For more information about CDW-G product offerings, procurement options, service and solutions, call 1.800.808.4239, email cdwgsales@cdwg.com or visit the CDW-G Web site at CDWG.com
