Kajeet and Project Tomorrow Announce Results from Landmark 1-to-1 Mobile Learning Study
Bethesda, Maryland (PRWEB) November 20, 2013 -- Kajeet® (http://www.kajeet.com/education), the only wireless service provider dedicated to kids and education, and Project Tomorrow®, a national education nonprofit, announce the results from a year-long study on the impact of mobile devices on teaching and learning. The Making Learning Mobile study took an in-depth look at the impact of 1-to-1 tablet implementation -- including off-campus access -- in two very different school districts: Chicago Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools.
The project was sponsored by Kajeet with funding from Qualcomm’s Wireless Reach Initiative. Kajeet and Project Tomorrow will host a webinar on Dec. 5 at 3 p.m. EST to discuss the results, including how the tablets transformed teaching and learning for both students and teachers. Register for the webinar at http://tinyurl.com/webinarMLM.
"This project represents a landmark study in the developing K-12 mobile learning space," said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow. "This study is important because it gets beyond simply putting a tablet in the hands of students, and it examines how to effectively implement tablets within instruction to improve student learning."
As part of the Making Learning Mobile study, Chicago 5th grade and Fairfax County 8th grade students were provided with educationally-managed broadband Android tablets using the Kajeet Sentinel® platform to connect kids in school and at home. The objective of the study was to evaluate how the students used the devices, in school and out of school, to support their schoolwork and extend learning beyond the classroom. While the majority of 8th graders in the Fairfax County study had high-speed Internet access at home, only 39 percent of the Chicago 5th graders had similar access. Therefore, the Chicago study represented an opportunity to provide first-time home access to the Internet for many families, a ground-breaking initiative within Chicago schools.
"For today’s students, learning should be a 24/7 enterprise and mobile technology in the classroom is an exceptional tool that allows students to engage and extend their learning opportunities," said Michael Flood, vice president of the education market at Kajeet. "On the instruction side, the teachers experimented with mobile apps and online resources that they couldn't imagine using for a lesson when the project began."
While each study resulted in different findings based on the student grade level and demographics, some common results included:
• Students appreciated having a personal tablet because it made it easier for them to get online at school, review class materials whenever they wanted and read online textbooks outside of school all without competing for home computer access.
• Teachers creatively used the tablets in a variety of ways to engage students in learning, to increase student-teacher communications, and to support instruction.
The Making Learning Mobile study is continuing this school year within Chicago Public Schools. Register for the webinar at http://tinyurl.com/webinarMLM and download the complete report from both school districts at http://www.kajeet.com/4u/education/MLM-form.html.
About Project Tomorrow
Project Tomorrow®, the national education nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering student voices in education discussions, designed and implemented this program evaluation for Kajeet for Education. Project Tomorrow has 17 years of experience in the K-12 and higher education sector and regularly provides consulting and research support to school districts, government agencies, business and higher education institutions about key trends and research in science, math and technology education.
About Kajeet®
Kajeet, the only wireless service provider dedicated to kids and education, is solving the digital divide in schools. Kajeet for Education provides portable Wi-Fi hotspots with school-managed off-campus Internet connectivity. Giving teachers or administrators the ability to set access hours and filter out non-educational content, the Kajeet Sentinel® platform, gives students the access to essential academic resources on the Internet anytime, anywhere. The Kajeet SmartSpot™ is compatible with all devices students use today and is 100 percent compliant with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). For more information, please visit us at http://www.kajeet.com/education.
Linda Kerr, Kajeet, http://www.kajeet.com/4u/education/index.html, 571-294-6435, [email protected]
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